Masonry Bidding: Review Plans and Specs for Scope Gaps With AI

Split the bid documents by trade, then have AI pull every masonry requirement from the specs, drawing notes and addenda into one table showing source, who supplies and who installs. A second pass hunts gaps: flashings, lintels, sealants, scaffolding, cleaning, testing. Confirmed gaps become RFIs, exclusions and clarifications before you price anything.

AI reads specification text well and drawings poorly, so use it as a second reader that flags, not a judge that decides. It will miss things, and it can cite a paragraph that does not exist. Which document wins when drawings and specs disagree is a question for your contract adviser, and you should check what the bid invitation says about confidentiality before any page goes into a chat tool.

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The examples come from one illustrative three-storey mixed-use building with brick veneer over a block backup wall, limestone sills, a stone base, steel lintels and shelf angles. Section numbers follow the common MasterFormat style, where Division 04 covers masonry. If your documents use another numbering system, the method is the same.

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What a missed line does to a masonry bid

Masonry bids go wrong at the edges rather than the middle. Brick and block quantities get priced carefully, while scaffolding, protection, cleaning and testing live in other sections and get skipped. Take an illustrative $412,000 bid with an 8% net margin, which is $32,960. Nine unpriced items totalling $27,400 would be 6.7% of the price and 83% of the planned profit. The table near the end lists those nine. None needed special skill to price. Each needed someone to notice that it belonged to the masonry contractor.

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Getting the documents ready so AI can read them

Preparation takes about 25 minutes and decides whether the rest works. Do not drop a 600-page set into a chat window and ask for "scope gaps"; you will get a fluent summary that is hard to check.

1. Pull the sections that touch masonry. Unit masonry (04 20 00 in the usual numbering) and stone (04 43 00), steel lintels and shelf angles (often in metal fabrications, 05 50 00), flashing (often sheet metal flashing and trim, 07 62 00, plus any flexible flashing section), joint sealants, and the general requirements sections on alternates, allowances, temporary facilities, testing and submittals.
2. Save each as its own PDF with the section number in the name. If you cannot select text in the PDF, it is a scan: run it through text recognition first, because AI cannot read words that are not there.
3. Add drawings by purpose. Elevations, wall sections, details and general notes, one sheet per file, named by sheet number.
4. Add addenda as separate files named Addendum 1, 2 and 3, and list them in your prompt, because later addenda override earlier text and models do not know the order unless you say so.
5. Write a one-page project note. Building type, storeys, start month, site access, who the general contractor is, and your standing assumptions.
6. Check confidentiality. If the bid invitation or an NDA restricts sharing, stop there and ask the issuer.

Know the file limits. Claude reads PDFs up to 1,000 pages but sees the visual layout only up to 100 pages, and ChatGPT accepts files up to 512 MB or roughly 2 million tokens. Section files stay well inside both. On data use, ChatGPT Business and Claude Team both say they do not train on your content by default, though each needs at least two seats, so a one-person firm pays about $40 to $50 a month for two or uses an individual plan and switches off the training option.

Pass one: every masonry requirement in one table

The first prompt does one job, which is extraction. It does not judge, price or advise. A table forces the AI to commit to what the documents say, with a source you can check, and it puts "unclear" on the record instead of letting a smooth sentence paper over a gap.

You are a second reader for a masonry estimator. The attached files are the specification sections, drawing sheets and addenda for one project. Addenda override earlier text; Addendum 3 overrides Addendum 2.

Task: extract every requirement that affects masonry work, including requirements in other sections that the masonry contractor would have to build, protect, test or coordinate.
Return a table with these columns: ref number, requirement in plain words, source (file, section and paragraph, or sheet and note number), furnished by, installed by, flag.

Rules:
- "Furnished by" and "installed by" must use the document's own words. If the documents do not say, write UNCLEAR. Never infer.
- Quote the exact sentence for any row you flag. If you cannot find a sentence, do not include the row.
- If two documents disagree, put both quotes in one row and flag CONFLICT.
- Do not price, estimate quantities or give advice.
When finished, list any file you could not read.

On the illustrative building the full table came to 31 rows. Eight of them show what the output looks like and where it earns its keep.

Three kinds of flag matter most. A CONFLICT is two documents giving different answers, as with the lintels in row 6, where the metals section says another trade furnishes them and a drawing note says masonry does. An UNCLEAR on furnished-by or installed-by is a gap you have not been told how to price, like rows 4 and 7. And a row whose supplier is someone else but whose work depends on your timing, such as the stone in row 9, is a coordination risk rather than a pricing one.

Gaps are often what the documents do not say, so end pass one with a prompt that asks about silence:

List the topics a masonry contractor would normally expect these documents to address (for example cleaning, protection, testing, sample panels, cold weather, scaffolding, lifting equipment, backup wall preparation) for which you found no sentence at all. For each, write NOT MENTIONED. Do not suggest what the answer should be.

That prompt is where an item such as scaffolding surfaces: a table built from sentences cannot show you a sentence that is missing, but a list of expected topics can.

Check the table before moving on

• Open the PDF for every flagged row and find the quoted sentence with the search function. If it is not there, delete the row.
• Count the rows per section. A 36-page unit masonry section that produced four rows has been skimmed.
• Look for a row on every standard topic in your own estimating checklist. A missing row is a question for the AI and for you.

Pass two: where the gaps hide

Pass two reuses the table and asks the same questions of every bid, which is what makes it a routine and not a hunch. These are the areas where masonry scope most often falls between two documents.

Using the table from pass one and the attached documents, check each of these areas: lintels and shelf angles, flashing, sealants, scaffolding and lifting, weather protection, samples and mock-ups, testing and inspection, cleaning and sealers, backup walls and barriers, allowances and alternates.
For each area return: what the documents say (exact sentence and source), who furnishes, who installs, what is NOT said, and one question I should ask the designer.
Mark each area CLEAR, UNCLEAR or CONFLICT. Do not resolve unclear items by guessing what is normal.

Brick, stone, flashing and lintels: four sections to read twice

These four carry most of the money and most of the confusion, so read them yourself after the AI has, with its extraction beside you.

Brick

Look for an allowance written per thousand with no stated quantity. An illustrative line might read "face brick allowance $950 per thousand, delivered", while the elevations show 14 curved window heads that need special shapes. The question is whether the allowance covers them, because special shapes are usually priced per piece and can eat the allowance on their own. Then check mortar type, colour and joint profile, who supplies wall ties and what spacing they need, the cavity width, the movement joint spacing and the efflorescence clause.

Stone

For limestone sills and a stone base, find out who designs the anchors (often the fabricator), how long shop drawing approval takes, and whether "set by masonry" includes lifting and temporary bracing. Heavy pieces can need a crane or a hoist that is nowhere in the masonry section. Check sealer, cleaning method and the fabricator's lead time against the programme: a stone delivery that arrives after the scaffold is struck becomes a mobilisation cost.

Flashing

The classic split: the sheet metal section furnishes metal flashing and the masonry section installs it, while flexible flashing may sit in either. Ask who furnishes each type, how end dams and laps are made, what the termination is at the top of the wall, and how weeps are spaced. Flashing goes in as the wall rises, so a late delivery stops work or forces remedial cutting later. Price the installation labour even if you do not furnish the material.

Lintels

Loose steel lintels are normally furnished by the metals trade and set by masons, which means you price the lifting, bearing, levelling and any grout, and you wait for deliveries. Shelf angles often go on with the frame by the steel erector, yet you need them level and on time. For block openings, check whether the lintels are precast or built in place with bond-beam units, reinforcement and grout, because the second needs more labour and curing time. The word "by masonry" on a drawing can change who furnishes steel, so quote it in an RFI rather than assuming.

Turning findings into RFIs, exclusions and clarifications

Three documents come out of the gap review, and each does a different job. An RFI is a question to the designer or general contractor that should get a written answer before the bid date. An exclusion states what your price does not include. A clarification states the assumption you priced on where the documents are silent. Send the RFIs first. Where the answer will not arrive in time, the exclusion or clarification protects you, so the two lists are your fallback for every unanswered question.

Good RFI wording quotes the document, names the sheet or section, and asks one question that a person can answer with a few words. Here is the lintel conflict as an illustrative RFI:

RFI 04: Loose steel lintels (L1 to L7)
Section 05 50 00, 2.4 states that loose steel lintels are furnished under that section. Sheet S-301, note 7 states "steel lintels by masonry contractor".
Please confirm whether the masonry contractor furnishes the loose steel lintels or only sets lintels furnished by the metals contractor, and who is responsible for priming and for lifting equipment.
Response needed by [date], ahead of the bid deadline.

Exclusions work best as short, plain statements, each tied to a finding. Sample wording for the illustrative building follows. It is a starting point, not legal advice, so have the final wording read by your contract adviser.

• Furnishing of loose steel lintels and shelf angles. Setting only, unless RFI 04 is answered otherwise.
• Furnishing of through-wall flashing, drip edges and termination bars. Installation only.
• Scaffolding and swing stage above the second floor. Priced separately if requested.
• Cold-weather enclosures and heating beyond the protection described in the section. Priced when the schedule is confirmed.
• Sample panels beyond one panel of the face brick and one of the stone base.
• Testing and special inspection, including prism and mortar tests, by the owner.
• Control-joint sealant, backer rod and joint preparation, by the sealant contractor.
• Acid cleaning of stone and sealing of stone. Cleaning of brick by bucket and brush only.

Clarifications record the basis of the price:

• Priced on the drawings, specification and Addenda 1 to 3.
• Face brick priced at the allowance in the specification; any difference adjusted by change order.
• A crane or hoist for stone and lintels provided by the general contractor, with clear access and a laydown area for deliveries.
• Openings, frames and embedded items by others, installed in time for the masonry sequence.
• Price valid for 30 days from the bid date.

Let the AI draft these from pass two, then edit them yourself. A prompt that works:

From the pass-two table, draft three lists for the masonry bid: (1) RFIs, one per UNCLEAR or CONFLICT area, each quoting the documents and asking one question; (2) exclusions, one per gap, in plain short sentences; (3) clarifications, one per assumption I would need to make if no answer arrives. Keep each item under 40 words. Use "[date]" and "[firm name]" as placeholders. Do not add anything that is not in the table.

Checking the AI's work before it reaches the estimate

An extraction that reads well can still be wrong, and the cost of a wrong row lands on your price. These checks take about half an hour on a package of this size.

1. Verify ten rows at random against the PDF page. Use the file's search box on the quoted sentence. Any row without a match goes in the bin.
2. Look for invented references. In one illustrative run the AI cited "04 20 00, 3.4.D" for a lintel requirement. The section ends at 3.4.C. The real text sat in 3.4.B.
3. Check that addenda were uploaded. A colour change in Addendum 2 was missed because the file never went into the chat. That is a preparation fault, not an AI fault, but the effect on the bid is identical.
4. Watch for merged items. Veneer brick and an interior accent brick with different allowances were merged into one row. Ask for a row per product.
5. Run the extraction twice. Run it again in a different assistant, or a fresh chat, and compare. Rows that appear in only one run deserve a manual look.
6. Keep a misses log. One line per mistake: what it was, which prompt rule would have prevented it. After five bids you will have rules of your own.

Two hours and twenty minutes on one building: what it found

Here is the whole routine on the illustrative building: a 214-page project manual in which nine sections, about 96 pages, touched masonry, plus 14 drawing sheets and three addenda.

1. Preparation: 25 minutes.
2. Pass one and the silence prompt: 40 minutes.
3. Pass two: 30 minutes.
4. Checks against the PDFs: 30 minutes.
5. Drafting and editing the three lists: 15 minutes.

The output was 31 requirement rows, nine gaps that carried money, six RFIs, eight exclusions and five clarifications. The nine gaps, with what each would have cost if nobody had priced or excluded it (illustrative figures):

Not all nine went into the price. After the RFI answers and some decisions, a few became exclusions or priced alternates. The point is that each was a decision made before the bid date, not a surprise on site. Against $27,400 of items to decide, the routine used about $140 of estimator time at an assumed $60 an hour.

If you want to see how the same review reads in another trade, our drywall version covers plan review and scope checks, and the electrical contractors tutorial on bid clarifications and RFIs has more wording for the questions you send.

What the AI cannot do on this job

• Count. Quantities from images are approximate, so keep your takeoff method. Our masonry takeoff tutorial covers counting bricks and blocks from an elevation.
• Rule on precedence. Whether the drawings or the specification governs is set by the contract documents, not by a model's opinion.
• Design anchors or check structure. Anchor design and bearing are for the engineer or the fabricator.
• Read what is not legible. Scanned details, faint hatching and small callouts are where it guesses. Tell it to answer CANNOT READ instead.
• Decide whether to bid. That is a commercial judgement; our bid or no-bid screen frames the questions.
• Check fabricated items. When shop drawings for lintels or stone arrive, a second review against the spec helps, as in our tutorial on checking shop drawings against the specification.

The same table has another use after the bid: it becomes the checklist for levelling the quotes you receive from stone fabricators, lintel suppliers and scaffold hirers. Each quote must answer the same furnished-by and installed-by questions, and any that does not is a gap in your price waiting to happen. Our tutorial on bid levelling with AI shows what it catches and misses there.

To trial the routine without risking a live bid, run it on a package you priced last year and compare the nine areas with what was in your price. If it finds lines you missed, you have your answer. If it finds nothing, you have lost two hours and gained a checklist that is now written down.

Questions masons ask about AI on bid documents

Can I upload a whole plan set and spec book to ChatGPT or Claude?

You can try, but results are better when you send only the masonry-related spec sections and the relevant drawing sheets. Claude reads the layout of PDFs up to 100 pages and text only from 101 to 1,000 pages, and scanned drawings may have no readable text at all. Smaller, labelled files also make each answer easier to check against its page.

Is it safe to put bid documents into an AI tool?

Read the bid invitation and any confidentiality terms first. If uploads are allowed, use a plan that does not train on your content by default: ChatGPT Business and Claude Team both state that, and both need at least two seats. Consumer plans have settings you must check and switch yourself.

Will AI tell me where the drawings and the spec conflict?

It can flag apparent conflicts, such as a lintel marked as masonry's job on a drawing while the spec says another trade furnishes it, if you give it both and ask for exact quotes. It cannot say which document governs. That depends on the contract's order of precedence, which is a question for your contract adviser.

Can AI count the bricks and blocks as well?

Not reliably from drawings. Both OpenAI and Anthropic say counts and positions from images are approximate. Use a takeoff method you trust for quantities, and keep AI for reading text, tabulating requirements and drafting questions, which is where a second reader helps most.

Further reads

• Can AI Do a Construction Takeoff From Drawings? A Small Firm's Test — A small firm's test of AI takeoffs from drawings.
• Can AI Tools Read Construction Drawings? What to Check Afterwards — What AI tools can and cannot read on construction drawings.
• AI for Construction Contractors: Bid Invitations and Follow-Up — Handle bid invitations and chase the ones worth pricing.
• How to Bid Concrete Jobs: Quantities, Pump Costs and AI Checks — The same bid discipline on a concrete package.
• Electrical Contractor Proposals: Scope and Exclusions With AI — Scope and exclusions wording from another trade.
• Custom Home Builder Proposal: Draft Allowances and Exclusions With AI — How allowances and exclusions read in a builder's proposal.
• Construction Tender Writing With AI: Draft, Then Check Against Scoring — Draft a tender, then check it against the scoring.
• Construction Estimating With AI: Turn Supplier Quotes Into a Rate Sheet — Turn supplier quote PDFs into checked rates for your estimates: the extraction prompt, unit traps, five tests, an addenda log and a scope-gap review.
• Use of AI in Quantity Surveying: Comparing Subcontractor Quotes — A worked tender comparison for quantity surveyors: five subcontractor returns on one schedule, with omissions, qualifications and price gaps found using AI.
• AI Software for Construction Drawings: Catch Changes Between Revisions — How to compare two construction drawing revisions with overlay and AI tools, read the change list, and catch what the software cannot see.
• AI Tools and AI Development: The Complete 2026 Guide — the AI hub, including every tutorial in the AI-for-business series.

Sources: Anthropic and OpenAI file and image documentation, business-plan data-use statements, and spec section numbering as used in public project manuals and CSI listings, read in early November 2026. Every project figure in the worked example is illustrative.