Draft RFI Response

An RFI answered carelessly is the cheapest way to give away a change order. The words "provide" and "revise" in an RFI reply have been read as direction more often than any other two words in construction administration.

Inputs the command needs

1. The RFI verbatim, with number, date, and what the contractor proposed if they proposed anything.
2. The relevant documents, quoted or referenced by sheet and detail.
3. Who owns it: architect, a consultant, the owner, or the contractor themselves.
4. The deadline, and what is waiting on it.

Workflow

Step 1 — Classify before drafting

Every RFI is one of five, and the response differs entirely:

Class	What it means	How it is answered
Already answered	The information is in the documents	Point at the sheet and detail. Nothing else
Clarification	Documents are ambiguous; no scope changes	Clarify, and say explicitly that no change results
Not our question	Belongs to a consultant, the owner, or the contractor	Redirect, named. Do not answer it anyway
Substitution or means	The contractor proposes something different	Route it to the correct process, not an RFI reply
Change	The answer adds or alters scope, cost or time	Answer, and name the instrument that will carry it

State the class out loud in the draft before the response text. If the class is unclear, say so rather than defaulting to clarification, which is the class that gives scope away.

Step 2 — Check whether it is already answered

Before drafting anything, look for the answer in the documents supplied. If it is there, the response is a pointer and nothing more. Adding explanation to an already-answered RFI is how a clarification becomes a direction.

Report how many of the questions in the RFI were already answered. If the number is high, that is a pattern worth telling the team about, and rfi-tracker records it.

Step 3 — Split multi-part RFIs

An RFI asking three things gets three classified answers, lettered under the original number. Never renumber. A single paragraph answering three questions leaves two of them arguable.

Step 4 — Draft to the class

Already answered. One sentence. Sheet, detail, and the words that no change results.

Clarification. State what the documents say, where. Then state the clarification. Then state explicitly that it is a clarification and that no change in scope, cost or time is directed. That sentence is the point of the whole reply.

Not our question. Name who owns it and why. Do not offer an opinion on the answer.

Substitution or means and methods. Say that an RFI is not the route, name the route the contract sets, and stop. Means and methods are the contractor's and answering them transfers responsibility.

Change. Answer the question, then state plainly that the answer alters the work and name the instrument that will follow. Never direct the change in the RFI reply itself.

Step 5 — Screen the draft before it goes

Read the drafted response back looking only for these:

• Any imperative verb: provide, install, revise, replace, furnish, remove. Each one reads as a direction. Flag every occurrence and say whether it is intended.
• Any acceptance of a proposed method.
• Any statement about cost or time.
• Any answer to a question that was not asked.
• Any part of the question left unanswered.

Report the flags before presenting the draft as ready.

Step 6 — Report

• The class, per part.
• The draft response.
• The imperative-verb flags.
• The instrument needed, if any, and a note that it has not been issued.
• Anything routed to a consultant, and whether their answer is back.

Rules

• Classify before drafting. Every run.
• Never direct work in an RFI response. Name the instrument.
• Never answer a means and methods question.
• Never renumber, and split multi-part RFIs.
• State "no change in scope, cost or time" explicitly on every clarification.
• Flag every imperative verb before calling the draft ready.
• Never quote a contract clause from memory or from web search.

Anti-patterns

• Answering helpfully at length when the answer was already on a sheet.
• Using "provide" in a clarification.
• Accepting a proposed substitution inside an RFI reply.
• Commenting on the contractor's schedule impact claim.
• Answering a consultant's question to be helpful.
• Treating an RFI that proposes a solution as an RFI that asks a question.
• Leaving the third part of a three-part RFI unanswered.