Construction Contract Details

NOTE-- We retired the MacNail construction software back in 2000, and replaced it with Goldenseal, a complete software package for Macintosh and Windows. Goldenseal is an integrated construction business program that includes construction spec writing, plus accounting, construction estimating, and project management, There is a simpler approach to specification writing in Goldenseal, so it doesn't have separate parts of speech as in MacNail.

Contract Details

For most of the phrase types, the 'details' part of the clause will be placed at the end of the sentence by the MacNail construction management software.

For phrase types #2 and #3, the details end up in a different place, depending on whether they act as an adjective (describing the noun) an adverb (describing the verb, i.e. how the work will be done), or a sentence fragment that always goes at the end of the clause.

For example, in the sentence All ants in the yard will be fed by the Contractor, 'in the yard' describes the ants, not the feeding, so Details acts as an adjective (no flag).

In the sentence All ants will be fed before winter by the Contractor, 'before winter' describes the feeding, not the ants, so Details acts as an adverb, using a V flag (see page 141).

In the sentence All ants will be fed by the Contractor, using a minimum of one pound per day of stale donuts and coffee, the Details fit best at the end of the sentence, so the clause will use an E flag (see page 140).