Adjustment of drawings to suit field conditions may be necessary during construction. Overruns and underruns must not exceed what percentage?

• A. 5%
• B. 1%
• C. 3%
• D. 10%

Answer: (A)

In construction, drawings are rarely perfect reflections of field conditions, so a small tolerance is allowed to accommodate unforeseen variations without constant rework. Five percent is the commonly accepted limit for overruns and underruns, meaning actual measurements or quantities can differ from the drawings by up to five percent. If deviations stay within this range, work proceeds with minimal administrative impact. When the variance exceeds five percent, it typically triggers formal change orders, price adjustments, or revised drawings to accurately reflect field conditions. The smaller percentages (one or three) would be too tight for typical field variability, while a ten percent tolerance would be too permissive and could mask substantial changes without proper approvals.