Foreword from the Second Edition

It began happening after I'd been in construction for more than forty years. I was a licensed architect with white hair and they started calling me in as expert witness or arbitrator to help resolve some construction dispute or another. I had written a number of books on construction contract documents and those who called me thought I was qualified to say how things should have been handled.

Fortunately I was spared from most of the squabbles about improper workmanship or drinking on the job, but I sat through case after case involving improperly prepared contract documents. It soon became apparent that many contractors and owners alike simply hadn't the foggiest notion about the sacredness of contracts or how to go about documenting them.

Owners could be forgiven for not knowing: most owners only participate in one or two construction contracts in their entire lives. But contractors are another matter. Contractors make their living through contracts, contractors are involved with contracts and subcontracts every day of the week. In the high stakes game that construction has become these last few years, working under properly prepared contract documents may make all the difference between success and failure.

Contractors who specialize in complicated large projects where an architect has compiled the documents are more or less used to working under standard forms issued by the American Institute of Architects. These constitute a high standard for what such documents should be. Yet a large part of construction in the United States and Canada today is not large complicated projects but thousands of simpler and smaller projects where no architect is involved and where the contractor prepares the documents. We'll talk a little about AIA's standard forms but the main thrust of this volume is to explain the intent and general use of standard forms available to every licensed contractor in the State of California.

Note that each State in the United States has its own set of laws governing how contracts should be drawn up and followed. What is true in California may not be true elsewhere. Unless you are properly qualified to do so, don't try to be your own lawyer. Someone a lot smarter than me said that a person who acts as his own lawyer has a fool for a client.

HANS W. MEIER