How subcontractors should document delays
Give written notice to the GC inside the subcontract deadline, record the delay every day it lasts, separate the cost and time it causes, and package it so the GC can pass it up to the owner.
Subcontractors should document delays the day they start: send the GC a short written notice inside the window the subcontract sets, then record each day of the delay in the daily log with crew counts, photos, and what work could not proceed. Keep a running tally of extra cost and lost days, tie each one to the cause, and submit a request for time and money with that backup. The sub that writes it down on day one has a claim. The sub that mentions it at the OAC meeting in month four usually has a complaint.
There is a wrinkle that GCs do not face. Your claim almost always travels through the GC to the owner. That means you have to meet your own subcontract deadline, which is often shorter than the GC's deadline with the owner, and give the GC what it needs to pass your claim up.
Why the notice clock is tighter for subs
Prime contracts set notice periods. The federal clauses are a clear public example. FAR 52.249-10 requires the prime to notify the contracting officer in writing of the causes of an excusable delay within 10 days from the beginning of the delay, unless the contracting officer extends it. FAR 52.242-14, the suspension of work clause, bars recovery of costs incurred more than 20 days before the contractor notified the contracting officer in writing, and it excludes profit from the adjustment. Private contracts have their own versions.
A GC that has 10 days to notify the owner will usually give subs fewer, so it has time to review and forward your notice. Many subcontracts also flow down the prime contract's notice terms, which you can learn about in flow-down clauses explained for subcontractors. Find your number before the job starts and write it on the job's cover sheet.
Step by step: how to document a delay as a subcontractor
1. Know the notice terms on day one
Read the delay, notice, and claims sections of the subcontract, and any prime contract sections it incorporates. Note the number of days, who receives notice, and whether email counts. Check for a no-damages-for-delay clause, which may limit you to a time extension. That changes what you track, not whether you track.
2. Send a short written notice right away
A good notice of claim fits on one page. State the date the delay began, what happened, which areas and activities are affected, the cause as you understand it, and that you reserve the right to request time and cost. Do not wait until you know the full impact. You can update the numbers later; you cannot go back and send the notice earlier.
3. Log it every day the delay lasts
Your foreman's daily log is the evidence. For each day of the delay, record crew size, hours worked and hours on standby, equipment on site (idle or working), the area you could not access, and who told you so. Take dated photos of the blocking condition: the missing embeds, the unpoured deck, the wall still open for another trade. One sentence a day beats a memo written from memory three months later.
4. Separate the cost buckets
- Standby labor and equipment: crews and machines on site that could not work.
- Demobilization and remobilization: the cost to pull off and come back.
- Lost productivity: extra hours from working out of sequence or in a compressed window. Compare to your estimate and to unaffected areas.
- Extended field overhead: supervision and site costs for the extra duration.
- Escalation: material or labor price increases because the work moved into a later period.
Set up a separate cost code for each delay event so hours do not disappear into base scope. This is the single change that makes most sub delay claims believable.
5. Show the time impact on the schedule
Mark up the GC's current schedule or your own three-week look-ahead to show which of your activities slipped, by how many days, and why. If the GC's schedule shows your work on the critical path, say so. If it does not, you may still be owed cost even when the project end date does not move.
6. Submit a request the GC can pass up
When the delay ends, or monthly for long delays, send a request for time and cost with a summary, the notice, the daily log entries, photos, the schedule markup, and the cost backup by bucket. Write it so the GC can attach it to its own submission to the owner with little rework. The guide to documenting construction delays for claims covers the claim package in more depth from the GC side.
Worked example: a drywall sub blocked by late inspections
Here is an illustration. A drywall sub is scheduled to start hanging on level 3 of a hotel on March 4. The above-ceiling inspection is not done, so the GC holds the sub off the floor. The subcontract requires written notice within 5 days.
| Date | Record | Cost impact |
|---|---|---|
| March 4 | 6 hangers on site, level 3 not released, moved 2 to level 2 touch-up, 4 on standby 3 hours | 12 standby hours at $68 = $816 |
| March 5 | Written notice sent to GC PM by email, photos of open ceilings attached | None |
| March 5 to 8 | Crew reduced to 2, other 4 sent to another job | Demob and remob, 8 hours = $544 |
| March 11 | Level 3 released, 5 working days lost | Request 5 days of time |
| March 11 to 22 | Overtime to recover sequence, tracked on delay cost code | 40 premium hours at $34 = $1,360 |
The sub's request asks for 5 days and $2,720, plus markup if the subcontract allows it on delay costs. Each dollar ties to a dated log entry. The GC can forward it without rebuilding anything. Without the March 5 notice, the same sub might be told the claim is waived.
Mistakes subcontractors make with delays
- Giving verbal notice only. A word with the super at the gate is not written notice.
- Waiting to know the whole cost before notifying anyone.
- Mixing delay hours into base scope cost codes, so the impact cannot be proven.
- Signing a change order or lien waiver that releases "all claims to date" while a delay request is open. Add an exception listing the open request.
- Arguing about blame in the notice. State facts, dates, and impacts. Leave the argument for later if it comes.
Templates, terms, and tools
Start with the construction daily report template and the three-week look-ahead template. Related terms: delay claim, excusable delay, and weather delay. Smart Business Automator keeps daily logs, photos, and delay cost codes on the same job record and can summarize a week of logs into a notice draft, through construction workflow automation.
Frequently asked questions
How soon should a subcontractor give notice of a delay?
Within the period stated in the subcontract, which is often shorter than the GC's period with the owner. If you cannot find a number, send notice as soon as the delay starts.
Does an email count as written notice?
Often, but not always. Check the notice section of the subcontract for the required method and recipient. When in doubt, send the email and follow with the method the contract names.
Can a sub recover delay costs if there is a no-damages-for-delay clause?
Sometimes only time is recoverable. Some states limit how these clauses are enforced. Document cost anyway, and talk to a construction attorney before giving up a claim.
What if the GC caused the delay, not the owner?
Document it the same way. The claim then runs against the GC directly instead of being passed through to the owner.
Do federal delay rules apply to subcontractors?
The federal clauses bind the prime. Subcontracts usually set their own notice periods, often shorter, so the prime can meet clauses like FAR 52.249-10 and 52.242-14.
