The specification provides the detailed description of the required materials, dimensions, quality standards, and installation methods for a proposed commercial interior project. Considering the number of trades and products the specification documents must guide to fulfill the client brief, this seems impossible to execute using just the project manual and drawings. Commercial flooring specifications are especially challenging as they directly impact every person who might use the space with aesthetic, performance, wellness and safety benefits.
Manufacturers’ representatives traditionally carried most of the responsibility to support interior design professionals in their specification and selection efforts for commercial flooring. Some major changes have occurred in the last few decades, and despite the massive consolidation of hundreds of flooring manufacturers, the product solutions available to the marketplace have exploded. Choice adds overwhelming complexity to the interior designer’s workload and professional liability.