Identify the walls and the current information
Mark the included levels, zones and walls on a scope plan. Give each wall type a reference linked to its specification, thickness, unit type, finish requirement and relevant performance requirements. Identify whether the enquiry covers labour only, supply and installation, or another defined arrangement.
Issue a register of the architectural, structural and coordinated services drawings used for pricing. Include revisions, dates and status, and identify outstanding details. Preliminary information can support an enquiry if its limits are explicit; it does not authorise construction.
CMHA’s guidance on modular layout explains why masonry dimensions and openings should be coordinated with the selected units. For an enquiry, ask the project team to resolve layout assumptions rather than leaving tenderers to guess cutting or special-unit requirements. The guidance is a general coordination reference, not a prescription of US dimensions or standards for a Dubai project.
Treat openings as coordinated items
Give each door, window, service opening and recess an identifier. Link it to the wall, drawing revision, required opening dimensions and level reference. Distinguish the masonry opening from the finished clear opening and the frame dimensions; confirm which is shown in each source document.
Ask who confirms the dimensions, provides the approved support or lintel detail where applicable, supplies and installs the specified components, and checks the opening before the following trade starts. For frames installed as the wall progresses, identify who supplies the frame and when it must be available.
Services openings need a named coordination route with the mechanical, electrical and plumbing team. Record what will be formed during masonry work and how later requests will be reviewed. Do not assume that an opening can be cut anywhere or that a generic making-good allowance covers a revised design.
Assign the work at each trade interface
Use the following list as a tender clarification template. Fill in the responsible parties and document references for the actual project. An item marked “by others” still needs an identified owner and a clear handover point.
| Interface | What the enquiry should make explicit |
|---|---|
| Wall setting-out | Who supplies reference lines and levels, checks locations and resolves differences between drawings and site conditions? |
| Openings and frames | Who confirms opening sizes, provides the specified support details and components, installs frames and accepts the opening for the next trade? |
| Structure and adjacent walls | Which approved details apply to ties, anchors, reinforcement, movement joints and head-of-wall junctions, and who supplies and executes each part? |
| Services | Who issues coordinated opening information, forms openings, installs services and completes the specified making good? |
| Fire and acoustic treatment | Who defines the required assembly, submits the relevant system details, installs the treatment and provides inspection records? |
| Finishes | Where does masonry stop and plaster, render, waterproofing or other finishing work begin? Who checks the receiving surface? |
| Access and logistics | Who provides agreed access equipment, unloading, internal distribution, storage areas, protection and waste removal? |
| Quality records | Who requests inspections, resolves observations and records acceptance before work is concealed or handed to another trade? |
Keep specialist details visible in the scope
Request the applicable details for movement joints, wall heads and penetrations where these affect the package. State whether the masonry tender includes only forming the geometry, an identified treatment, or coordination with a separately appointed specialist. Do not treat an unspecified filler as an interchangeable solution.
Hilti Emirates describes firestop system selection in terms of joint and penetration applications and site conditions. The practical scope question is therefore which system information the responsible team will issue, who will install it and what records are required. The RFQ should not invent a firestop detail or treat a product name alone as approval of an assembly.
Leave engineering decisions and acceptance with the appointed project team. If a detail is unresolved at tender stage, identify the assumption, its owner and the point at which the price or programme must be reviewed. Make that qualification visible to every tenderer.
State how quantities and extras will be measured
Break quantities down by wall type, thickness and work area. State the measurement basis used in the enquiry, including how openings are deducted and how returns, piers, reveals or other associated work are treated. Use the agreed project rules; do not assume that every quotation measures square metres in the same way.
Keep estimated quantities, pricing quantities and later measured quantities identifiable. Ask tenderers to state whether associated components and tasks are included in the wall rate or separately priced. In a labour-only package, clarify who supplies blocks, mortar and specified accessories, and how shortages or unsuitable deliveries are reported.
List exclusions in plain language and assign the resulting interface. For example, “plaster excluded” should identify the wall condition handed over and who reviews it, rather than leaving surface preparation and corrections unexplained. Confirm how changes to opening details, wall types or released areas will be recorded against the agreed baseline.
Resolve conflicting opening information with one query
Illustrative example: a corridor wall plan and a door schedule show different opening widths for opening D-14. The tenderer records the wall, opening reference, both document revisions and the exact conflict. The responsible design coordinator confirms the correct basis and whether associated details are affected.
Issue that response as a controlled clarification to all tenderers. Ask them to identify any effect on the wall quantity, support components, frame coordination, price or sequence. If the wall has already been built, request reviewed instructions before alteration; the original tender query is not permission to cut it.
This is a hypothetical coordination example, not a record of an ABA PRIME project. Its purpose is to connect one opening to the documents, decisions and package boundaries needed for a comparable return.
Check the quotation and release each work area
Compare the returned scope plan, document register, quantity basis, inclusions, exclusions and assumptions alongside the price. Resolve conflicting responsibilities before award and keep a dated record of what was agreed.
For each work area, confirm that the required information, preceding work, materials and access arrangements are ready under the project’s agreed procedures. Identify inspection points and the party accepting the work before finishes or other activities cover it. Work release should follow the actual coordinated programme, not just a single mobilisation date.
To discuss a masonry package with ABA PRIME, share the project location, included zones, wall-type and opening schedules, current drawings, intended supply arrangement and target sequence. Mark missing details so the quotation can state a clear basis and review points.
- Wall types and included areas are identifiable on the scope plan.
- Openings refer to coordinated dimensions, levels and document revisions.
- Structure, services, fire/acoustic treatment and finishes have named interface owners.
- Quantity deductions and separately measured tasks are stated.
- Supply, access, protection and waste responsibilities are assigned.
- Outstanding design questions and tender assumptions have a recorded resolution route.
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