Construction RFI Template

What is an RFI Template in Construction?

An RFI template is a standard form used to raise a single Request for Information on a construction project, so the question, the documents it concerns and the date the answer is needed are captured the same way every time. Teams also call it an RFI form, and the two mean the same thing.

The template is the document you send. The RFI process is what happens around it: who may answer, how long they have, and what the answer obliges anyone to do. This form is built for the second part, which is why it carries the reply and the claim as well as the question.

What's Included in This Construction RFI Template

Most RFI forms stop at the question. This one runs in three parts.

Parts 2 and 3 are what separate this from a one-page RFI form. Answering and instructing are not the same power, and they are not always held by the same role. A consultant can answer a question about design intent without holding any authority to change the work.

Construction RFI Form Example: A Completed Request for Information

The same form, filled in end to end on a hospital project.

Two drawings conflict and the form names both with revisions. A sanitary stack runs through a post-tensioned band beam on one, while the slab penetration plan shows no penetration there.

Three things get it answered fast. The documents already checked are listed, a solution is proposed rather than just a problem raised, and the needed-by date ties to a program activity with two days of float.

Part 2 carries the lesson. A sub-consultant replied, holding no power to change anything. The contract administrator instructed it separately, which is what makes the work safe to build.

How to Use This Construction RFI Template

Copy the form for each request and number it in sequence. If one gets withdrawn, mark it void and keep the number retired.

1. Set the priority, then name the drawing and revision or the specification clause that needs clarifying.
2. List every document you checked before asking, including any coordination or clash report.
3. Write one question per request, since most project specifications require a single subject per RFI.
4. Propose an answer and say what it does to cost or time.
5. Enter the date the work needs the answer off the program, and name the activity it feeds.
6. Record the date the reply was received, not only the date printed on it.
7. Where the reply changes what the documents require, get it instructed before the work is built.
8. Diarize the claim window, which usually runs from the event rather than from the reply.
9. Add every issued form to one numbered register so the full set stays traceable.

For the wording of the question itself, how to write a construction RFI covers what gets answered fast and what comes back with more questions.

RFI Template in Word, Excel or PDF: Which Format to Use

Use Word to raise and reply to a request, PDF to issue the signed copy, and Excel for the register rather than the form itself.

If your team already runs RFIs through Procore, Aconex or Autodesk Build, use this form to set what people must supply before they open a ticket, since most platforms accept whatever gets typed into the field.

Mastt handles it differently, storing RFI forms in its construction document management software against the budget, contract and risk records they relate to, so the form sits with the commercial data it affects.

Why Construction RFI Forms Get Returned Unanswered

Coordination specifications commonly list grounds for returning a request without answering it. These come from the specification rather than the contract conditions, and most also require the request to come from the contractor rather than a subcontractor direct.

• Information already contained in the contract documents
• Approval of a submittal, or an interpretation of the designer's action on one
• Approval of a substitution
• Approval of the contractor's means and methods
• An adjustment to the contract time or contract sum
• A request that is incomplete or inaccurately prepared

The first is the most common, which is why this form asks what you checked before asking. Listing the drawings, specification sections and coordination model you had already reviewed removes the easiest reason to return it.

Related Articles and Templates

• Submittal Register Template
• Construction Submittals Guide
• Construction Drawings Guide
• Variation Register Template
• Contract Administration Guide