Get Your Guide Specifications Written

About 4specs

Product Guide Specifications are Important

A well written product guide specification may get your company name and products added to a designer's current project, and perhaps even to his or her firm's office master specification for future project specifications.

Guide specifications are written using the Construction Specification Institute guidelines. This is a specific 3-part format to help standardize specs across the US. For more information visit the PageFormat / SectionFormat at the CSI website. SectionFormat is being revised (1/2008). This is a draft of the document. You may want to have your current guide specs reviewed and updated when the final copy of SectionFormat is released.

The cost to get your guide specs written by an independent specifier is typically $2,000 to $4,000 for a set of specs, depending on complexity and research required.

4specs does not write these specs. See the list below of interested independent specifiers who will write the specs for you. Contact them directly. When completed, add the specs to your website.

Suggestions on developing and using your guide specs:

Take charge of your own specifications. The cost savings are significant, especially over time. Working with an independent specification consultant (from the list below), your first year cost will generally be about half what you would pay an “aggregator” publisher (companies such as Sweets, Arcat, and Reed that aggregate and distribute manufacturers’ product information). Then, if you own and host your own specifications in subsequent years, your company can avoid the aggregators’ annual hosting fee – generally $6,000 or more for hosting specs on your behalf.
Be sure you own the copyright. If you do decide to pay an aggregator to develop your specs, be sure your company owns the copyright so when your contract ends, you will retain rights to use the specs on your own website with no additional fees. If developing your own specs, be sure to ask the specification consultant to assign the copyright to you upon their final payment.
Create non-proprietary specs. Keep your specifications simple and non-proprietary. Designers are more likely to use a spec that names several manufacturers and has no lock-out clauses in the spec. Few spec writers will name just one manufacturer with no equals. Why not select the companies you want to compete with?
Publish editable specs and CAD details. If you want designers to use your guide specs, make the spec editable - Word, RTF, and/or WordPerfect documents. CAD details should be in dwg or dxf format so designers can easily use them. As an advertiser 4specs will add the appropriate icon at no cost for qualifying specs and CAD details. This will identify your website as a place to visit for CAD details and specs.
Here are the icons:

Suggested Spec Writers - 4specs has compiled the following list of independent specifier professionals who want to work with manufacturers and develop their guide specifications. They are all members of SCIP.

Gary Schuman - Kansas - Gary has been specialized in writing specs for manufacturers for many years. 800.965-7732 - http://www.garyschuman.com/
Eastern Time Zone
- Margaret Chewing - Virginia - 757.581.0428
- Ed Dvorak - Florida - 954.829.7924 (cell)
- William Dyer - Georgia - 404.876.9525 - http://www.dyerlindbergeron.com/
- Richard Hird - Spec Est Consultants - Ohio - 937.291.9204
- Lars Hubbard - Friday Group - Vermont - 802.877.1577 - http://www.fridaygroupllc.com/
- Phil Kabza - SpecGuy - North Carolina - 704.367.1991 - http://www.specguy.com
- Mark Kalin - Kalin Associates - Massachusetts - 617.964.5477
- Kristin Kennedy - Pennsylvania - prefers to focus on Division 7 and roofing - 412.638.6658 - http://www.floridaconsultingllc.com/
- Melina Renee Meshako - Capital Specs - Maryland - 301.627.4865
- Jonathan M. Miller - JMMa Specs - Vermont - 802.349.9992
- Helaine K. (Holly) Robinson - QSPECS - Ohio - 513.761.1465
- Brad Selph - Knoxville, Tennessee - 865.573.0709
- Dave Stutzman - Focus Collaborative - NJ/Philadelphia area - 609.628.2390
  http://www.focuscollab.com/
- George A. Van Niel - VN Consulting - Ohio - 614/871-7847
Central Time Zone
- Craig Haney - Texas - 972-644-5550
- Doug Hartman - INSPEC - Texas - INSPEC - 972.331.9080
- Dean E. McCarty - Minnesota - McCarty Group - 763.545.0599 - http://www.mccartygroup.com/
- Ken Moore - Illinois - US Consulting LLC, 815.498.1260
Pacific and Mountain Time Zones
- Diane Blitzer - write angle - Oregon - 503.595.9593
- Jim Carpenter - Colorado - 303.973.8776
- Michael Chusid, FCSI - Chusid Associates - Southern California with services nationwide - 818-774-0003 - http://www.chusid.com/
- Ronald L. Geren - RLGA Technical Services - Arizona, 602.569.9645 - http://www.specsandcodes.com/
- George Mills - Washington - 360.371.5487
- Linda Stansen - Northern California - 650.570.6411