Temporary power, water and heat: agreeing who provides what
The drywall foreman calls on a cold Monday in November: his tapers start Wednesday, and the office wing is 4 °C inside. The electrical subcontract covers temporary power, the drywall subcontract says heat is by others, and your general requirements make temporary heat yours. Nobody has priced it.
Your contract decides, usually in its general requirements, and it often gives temporary services to the general contractor, who passes some to trades. So before mobilization, list every temporary service with who provides it, who pays for what it uses, who maintains it and when it comes out; check the list against the contract and every subcontract, and confirm it in writing. Gaps and double payments come from reading those documents one at a time.
Owners write these clauses differently. One university's Division 01 makes the contractor pay every entity's water, sewer and power use charges on new construction but pays them itself on renovations; it requires temporary heat for drying and protecting completed work, and sets conditions for using the permanent HVAC system during construction.
- List every service, phase by phase: power and lighting, water, heat and ventilation, washrooms, hoarding and weather protection, snow clearing.
- Fill in five columns for each: who supplies it, pays the use charges or fuel, installs it, maintains it (nights and weekends too) and removes it, with dates.
- Read the general requirements and every subcontract side by side: where two name a service, remove one before either bills; where none does, assign and price it; replace every "by others" with a name. See a subcontract scope that leaves no gaps.
- Check the trade sections for conditions that need a service, such as heat before taping.
- Agree the change to permanent services: when, who pays for the energy, and the owner's terms for running new equipment before handover.
- Issue the list with the subcontracts, post it, and review it at each change of phase.
Common mistakes
- Copying the last job's list into this job's subcontracts.
- Naming who provides temporary power, but not who pays the bill.
- Forgetting upkeep: heaters out of fuel on a Sunday, lights nobody moves as walls go up.
Checklist
Your temporary services list
- Every service, phase by phase
- Who supplies, pays, installs, maintains, removes
- Contract and subcontracts read side by side
- No "by others" without a name
- Gaps priced before mobilization
- The change to permanent services agreed
- Issued with the subcontracts and posted
Check your understanding
Two subcontracts both include "temporary lighting as required". Why is that a problem?
