RFIs in Construction: What Subcontractors Need to Know

DEFINITION

RFI

Request for Information — a formal written question from the contractor to the design team seeking clarification on plans, specifications, or scope. RFIs are logged, numbered sequentially, and tracked through the project record.

DEFINITION

response time

Most contracts specify a required RFI response window, typically 5-14 business days from submission. Missing this deadline can impact the project schedule and support delay claims if the delayed response causes cost consequences.

DEFINITION

submittal

A document, sample, or product data submitted to the design team for review and approval before installation. Submittals confirm that proposed materials and methods meet specification requirements — distinct from RFIs, which clarify what the specifications require.

DEFINITION

constructive change

When an ambiguous plan or specification requires a contractor to perform extra work not explicitly in the contract — without a formal change order being issued. An RFI documenting the ambiguity and an unanswered or inadequate design team response can support a constructive change claim for additional compensation.

What an RFI Actually Does — and Doesn’t Do

Subcontractors use RFIs too loosely and not consistently enough at the same time.

Used loosely: submitting an RFI as a way to slow down work, document every minor field question, or create a paper trail for claims that don’t have a real basis. Design teams and GCs notice when a sub’s RFI log is padded with questions that don’t need formal documentation, and it damages the working relationship without generating useful records.

Not consistently enough: skipping RFIs on genuine plan conflicts because the super says “just figure it out in the field.” That verbal instruction costs money when the field solution turns out to be more expensive than the original scope and there’s no documentation of the conflict.

The correct use: an RFI goes out when you identify a real discrepancy, omission, or conflict in the contract documents that you cannot resolve by reading the documents more carefully. The test is simple — if two people reading the same drawing could reasonably reach two different conclusions about what to build, that’s an RFI.

What an RFI does not do: authorize work, change the contract sum, or extend the schedule. It asks a question. The design team’s written response either resolves the question within existing scope or confirms that additional work is needed — and that confirmation is where the change order starts.

When to Use an RFI vs. a Change Order

The dividing line is whether the work is arguably within the existing contract scope.

If you find a conflict between two drawing sheets — the architectural plan shows a soffit that conflicts with your duct routing on the mechanical drawing — that’s an RFI. You need a decision from the design team about how to resolve the conflict. The resolution might fit within your original estimate, or it might require extra work.

If the owner verbally tells you to install additional lighting in a corridor that isn’t shown on the drawings, that’s not an RFI. That’s a directed change. You should be sending a change order request, not a question.

The common mistake: subs perform extra work without documentation because the GC said “we’ll take care of you.” Then at closeout, there’s no approved change order and the GC’s project manager has changed. Without an RFI documenting the original scope conflict or a change order documenting the directive, there’s no claim to take care of.

Document the directive in writing — email is fine — and follow it with a change order request. If the GC won’t approve the change order before the work is performed, submit the RFI documenting the conflict or ambiguity anyway. An RFI on file is better than nothing.

RFI Response Delays and Your Rights

Your subcontract specifies how long the design team has to respond to an RFI — read that section. Standard AIA subcontracts require responses within a reasonable time. Project-specific contracts often specify 7 or 14 business days.

When a response is late and you need the answer to continue work, you have two options: proceed based on your best interpretation of the documents (with written notice that you’re doing so, citing the unanswered RFI), or stop work on the affected scope and document the delay.

If you proceed without the answer, document your interpretation in writing before starting. If your interpretation turns out to be wrong, having the unanswered RFI on file still demonstrates that you flagged the issue and didn’t get guidance. That matters for both claim resolution and relationship management.

If you stop work, document the specific scope that’s held up, the RFI number it’s tied to, the response date that passed, and the daily cost of the delay. That documentation supports a delay claim if the project schedule slips because of the design team’s response time.

RFIs are a paper trail. Their value is proportional to how consistently you use them.