Many new athletic fields look old and/or do not function properly. Often the “lousy contractor” is blamed for “doing a bad job.”
Job specifications
Contractors bid and perform work by specifications that are provided by the owner or his architect or engineer. When these specifications are inadequate or poorly written there is little chance of getting an attractive, properly draining or long lasting athletic field.
Technically, under the Spearin Doctrine, the contractor has done his job if he met the specifications provided to him by the owner, even if the resulting work is substandard.
In practice, it is far better if a contractor who recognizes deficiencies in specifications brings those deficiencies to the owner’s attention before work commences.
In our industry, when an athletic field is built to meet poorly drafted specifications, the result is often an inadequate field that users criticize and the owner has no money to fix.
Good specifications additionally give the owner a definitive way to measure the work of the contractor. Without a definite specification, the owner cannot define bad work and therefore has no means for legal remedy.
By simply writing good specifications, the owner has a strong tool to judge performance, which will ensure a well-built field, users have a better image of those who procured the field and the contractor benefits from an enhanced reputation derived from happy customers.
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