A door that is shown in the schedule but not on the floor plan can easily slip through a takeoff. The same is true for a VAV box that is displayed on the mechanical plan but is not in its schedule. Either mismatch can leave scope unpriced until it is found in the field.
Let’s take a simple example of a 200-door project. Suppose four doors listed on the schedule cannot be found on the plans. If each opening is about $1,500 for doors, frames, hardware, and installation, you may have $6,000 of scope to work through before the bid goes out.
This is where schedule-to-plan reconciliation comes in: match scheduled items to their corresponding plan locations and flag anything that doesn't line up.
Which Schedules Are Worth Checking?
Don't stop at the first equipment table you find. Quantities can be tucked into several places across a drawing set:
- Door & frame schedules: Door numbers, sizes, types, frames, and hardware references used for a door & frame schedule takeoff.
- Equipment schedules: Unit tags, capacities, sizes, and other data needed for equipment schedule counts.
- VAV/mechanical schedules: A VAV box schedule can capture boxes, airflow requirements, sizes, and zones.
- Lighting/electrical schedules: Fixture types, panel information, and electrical equipment.
- Plumbing fixture schedules: Fixture types, tags, models, and connection requirements.
- Finish schedules: Flooring, wall finishes, ceilings, base, and other room-specific finishes.
AIA Contract Documents provides industry resources covering construction documentation and project information.
A schedule mismatch doesn’t always mean something was missed; drawings change and schedules are not always updated at the same time. But each discrepancy needs more looking at before you take quantities into the estimate. A quick review can catch scope issues while they are still bid questions, not field problems.
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