Free templates / Construction

RFI Template for Construction (Excel)

A free Excel request for information form and an RFI log for contractors: one question per RFI with its drawing and specification references, and a log that counts days open and flags overdue answers.

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Free, no sign-up. Opens in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice.

Mirage does this work from your own documents. See RFI and submittal automation

Who uses it, and when

Project engineers and superintendents on the contractor's side write RFIs; architects, engineers and owner's representatives answer them. The log is usually kept by the contractor's project engineer and reviewed in the weekly owner-architect-contractor meeting.

Subcontractors use the same form to send questions through the general contractor, which is why the form has a 'from' field separate from the contractor: the question's origin matters when its answer changes the price of a subcontract.

What is in the file

RFI form: RFI number, project, dates, to and from, subject, specification section, drawing, sheet and detail, cost and schedule impact, the question, a suggested solution, the response and who gave it.
RFI log: One row per RFI: references, submitted and due dates, ball in court, status, response date, days open and overdue (computed), cost and schedule impact, and the change order it led to.
Instructions: How to fill it, step by step.

Column by column

RFI number: Sequential and never reused. A void RFI keeps its number with the status Void, so the sequence has no gaps.
Subject: A few words that let anyone find the RFI in the log: 'Level 2 beam depth at grid C/4'.
Spec section and drawing / sheet: Exactly where the conflict or gap is. An RFI that says 'see drawings' gets a slower answer than one that cites A-301 detail 5 and 05 12 00.
Submitted and response due: The date sent and the date the answer is needed, from the contract's response period or from the schedule's need date, whichever is earlier.
Ball in court: Who has to act next: the architect, the structural engineer, the owner, or back to the contractor for clarification.
Status: Open, Answered, Closed or Void. Answered means a response arrived; Closed means the team has acted on it.
Response date, days open, overdue: The answer's date, then two computed columns: days between submission and answer (or today), and Yes when an open RFI is past its due date.
Cost and schedule impact: Yes, No or To be determined, as the contractor sees it when sending, updated once answered.
Linked change order: The change order number when the answer changed the scope, price or time.

How to use it

Write one question per RFI and say exactly what is unclear or in conflict.
Reference the drawing, sheet, detail and specification section concerned.
Propose a solution when you have one, and mark the cost and schedule impact as you see it.
Copy each RFI into the log; days open and overdue answers compute from the dates.
When an answer changes cost or time, record the change order it leads to.

Limits

Response times come from your contract or from what the parties agree at the start of the project; the log only counts days.
The template records an RFI; it does not decide whether an answer changes the contract. Your contract's change process does.

A worked example

RFI 014, 'Duct conflict with beam at grid C/4, level 2'. Spec section 23 31 13, drawings M-201 and S-202. Submitted 6 October, response due 13 October. Question: the 24 x 14 duct shown at 11 ft 6 in. clears the W18 beam by 2 in. only after insulation; confirm a reroute below the beam or a penetration. Suggested solution: drop the duct to 10 ft 8 in. between grids C and D. Cost impact: To be determined; schedule impact: No.

The engineer answers on 10 October accepting the reroute. Days open: 4. The contractor prices the extra fittings at 1,850 and the log records change order 007 against RFI 014.

Mistakes to avoid

Several questions in one RFI. Each gets answered at a different speed and the log can only close the RFI when the last answer arrives.
Asking a question the contract documents already answer. It costs the design team's time and the contractor's credibility.
No suggested solution when one is obvious. A proposed answer that only needs a yes is the fastest response there is.
Treating an RFI answer as a change order. If the answer changes cost or time, follow the contract's change process; the RFI alone does not adjust the contract.
Letting the log drift from the email thread. The log is the record; update it the day the answer arrives.

Questions

What is an RFI in construction?

A request for information: a formal written question, usually from the contractor to the architect or engineer, to clarify the drawings, specifications or other contract documents when they are unclear, incomplete or in conflict.

What should an RFI include?

A number, the date, the date a response is needed, a short subject, the specification section and the drawing, sheet and detail it concerns, the question itself, a suggested solution if there is one, and whether it affects cost or schedule.

What is the difference between an RFI and a submittal?

An RFI asks a question about the contract documents. A submittal sends shop drawings, product data or samples to the design team for review against those documents. A log usually tracks both.

How long should an RFI response take?

There is no universal deadline: the contract or the project's procedures set it, and the RFI states the date a response is needed. The log flags any open RFI past that date.

Can an RFI change the contract price?

The RFI answer itself does not change the contract. If the answer changes the scope, cost or time, it leads to a change order or a change directive under the contract.

Who should answer an RFI?

The party responsible for the document in question: the architect for architectural drawings and the general specification, the structural or MEP engineer for their disciplines, the owner for program and scope questions. The contract usually routes all RFIs through the architect, who forwards them to consultants; the log should show who holds the ball at each step, because that is where the days accumulate.

How many RFIs is normal on a project?

It depends on the size of the project and the completeness of the documents, and it varies too much to give a useful figure. What the log shows is more useful: the average days open, the share answered late, and the drawing sheets or specification sections that generate the most questions.

RFIs drafted and tracked for you

This template keeps an RFI log by hand. Mirage deploys AI agents that find the requirement across drawings and specifications, draft the RFI and keep the log current, each answer tied to its source document.

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