This manual worksheet produces a selected-scope brief and questions about unresolved relationships. It does not decide which pavement is suitable, interpret a contract or accept an option. Keep the original offers beside the working copy.
Fix one starting proposal
Give the base proposal a label and record its actual revision and included-work references. Use the paving cost guide to keep the same property, area, preparation, drainage and finished limits in view.
If a second offer replaces the whole base proposal, label it as a separate alternative. Do not copy its preferred inclusions into the first base and continue using the first price. Keep a separate whole-material comparison when that is the decision.
The federal Office of Consumer Affairs renovation guide recommends comparing the same specifications and keeping additional work clearly described. It does not determine which selections a particular paving proposal permits.
Ask what each alternative does
Use the proposer's existing item labels. The following are working-sheet descriptions, not definitions of legal tender terms.
| Relationship stated by the proposer | What the working record must preserve |
|---|---|
| Addition | The identified work added to the named base, with any conditions |
| Substitution | The particular base item replaced and the replacement description |
| Whole alternative | A different base proposal, kept as its own comparison |
| Choose one from a stated group | Which listed choices the proposer says cannot be combined |
| Required together | The other named item that the proposer says accompanies this selection |
| Unresolved | The relationship or source has not been established |
Do not assign a relationship merely because an item sounds optional. Ask what “alternate,” “upgrade,” “credit” or “included” means in the actual document. A price difference is not a description of the work being replaced.
Copy a condition before checking a selection
For each option, keep its source reference and record whether it is selected, not selected or undecided. Copy any stated condition alongside it, including which other item it concerns.
If Option P requires Option R according to the proposer, selecting P while leaving R unselected creates a question. It does not authorize adding R. Likewise, selecting two items from a stated choose-one group creates a conflict in the working brief; the worksheet does not decide which to discard.
A missing statement is not proof that all combinations are allowed. Record uncertain compatibility as unresolved and ask the proposer. Do not infer a technical dependency from a drawing, product name or this article.
Build the brief in three passes
Record the choices. Name the one base revision and the selected, unselected and undecided alternatives, with their actual source references.
Trace the stated effects. For a selected substitution, show the named original item as replaced in this working scenario and identify the substitute. Keep the original visible in the record; do not erase it from the proposal. An unknown replacement target remains unresolved.
List the questions. Identify a missing required-together selection, a choose-one conflict, an unexplained substitution, an undecided material item or a mismatch between document versions. Ask for one coherent revised scope and price where the chosen combination has not actually been offered.
A brief can have no conflict among the conditions copied and still be incomplete. This exercise does not discover every missing condition or verify the technical work.
Two fictional selections
A proposer identifies Finish P and Finish Q as alternatives for the same named work area and says to choose one. An owner marks both selected. The useful result is “choose-one conflict—clarify P or Q,” with the document reference. It is not a combined finish specification or permission to charge both.
In another fictional offer, an additional work item U is expressly conditional on item V. U is selected and V is undecided. Keep the proposal's condition and both states visible. Ask whether the proposer will supply a coherent combination and what its scope and price would be. Do not convert undecided into not required, add V automatically or use a price that assumed another selection.
A completely different base proposal needs its own record even if its title also says paving. This matters when a complete replacement offer and an addition to retained work appear in the same discussion.
Use this repeatable record
Base reference: proposal label, supplied revision, included-work references and unresolved identity.
For every option: item label; description and source; addition/substitution/whole alternative/relationship unresolved; original item replaced, if stated; selected/not selected/undecided; stated choose-one or required-together condition; source of that condition.
Result: chosen base and scenario; proposed additions and substitutions; original items replaced only in that scenario; options not chosen or undecided; copied conditions not reconciled; clarification requested and actual response.
Keep any supplied price with its exact version and combination. This worksheet does not calculate a new total, infer a credit or add a full alternative to a base amount. A different amount-comparison aid cannot settle an unresolved combination.
Ask for the actual combined offer
Return the selected-scope brief to the proposer without treating it as authorization. Ask whether that precise combination is offered and request the corresponding description, inclusions, exclusions and price basis. Retain the response with the original documents.
If the proposer changes an item or issues another revision, review the scenario against that document rather than carrying over an earlier condition automatically. The resurface-or-replace guide remains the place for the condition-led treatment discussion; selecting labels on a worksheet does not diagnose the pavement.
For a new paving enquiry, describe the project and the alternatives you need clarified. Confirm the responding business's actual scope. No tender administration, design, binding selection, price, booking or suitable construction is offered by this guide.