For Developers
Spec & Submittal Coordination
We work straight from the architect's flooring spec — turning product data sheets, submittals, and samples into clean approvals your design team and GC can sign off on without a scramble.
On a ground-up apartment or mixed-use build, the flooring is drawn long before anyone lays a tackless strip. The interior designer picks a plank, a finish, a transition detail; the architect writes it into a spec section; and then that language has to survive the trip from a PDF into a real building. The gap between what the spec says and what actually installs is where developers lose weeks — chasing a data sheet nobody submitted, or discovering a discontinued SKU after the mockup is already framed.
Alderwood is built to close that gap. We read the spec as written — the section numbers, the basis-of-design product, the substitution language, the moisture and warranty requirements — and we produce the submittal package that answers it. That means manufacturer cut sheets, physical samples pulled to the right run and dye lot, installation-method data, and the moisture and acclimation documentation an Idaho slab actually needs. Nothing gets a 'reviewed' stamp on our word alone; it gets there because the paper backs it up.
The developer's real problem is momentum. Approvals stall when a submittal comes back incomplete, when a value-engineering idea shows up with no equal-or-better proof, or when the flooring sub and the design team are reading two different revisions of the finish schedule. We treat keeping that review cycle moving as the job — not an afterthought to installation. Every package we send is aimed at a single-pass approval, and when the architect comes back with comments, we turn the resubmittal fast.
Because we're a service-area contractor working across Boise, Meridian, Nampa, and the rest of the Treasure Valley, we coordinate the same way whether your GC's trailer is in Eagle or Caldwell: through the design team's document channel, on the GC's submittal log, and against the current revision — not a marked-up copy from three ASIs ago.
Reading the spec, then answering it on paper
A flooring spec section is a set of requirements, not a shopping list. It names a basis-of-design product, but it also carries wear-layer minimums, moisture-vapor-emission limits, adhesive and underlayment language, and warranty terms that all have to be satisfied by whatever finally ships. We go through it line by line and build the submittal to match each requirement, so the architect isn't reverse-engineering our intent from a stack of brochures.
For a Treasure Valley slab-on-grade build, that answer includes the parts specs love to omit until they become a problem: moisture-testing method, acceptable RH or MVER thresholds, the adhesive rated for that reading, and acclimation and jobsite-condition requirements written for high-desert winter air. Putting those in the submittal up front is what earns a first-pass approval instead of a comment cycle.
When a product is engineered wood going over radiant or slab, we document the compatibility — thickness, construction, manufacturer approval for that assembly — rather than leaving the design team to assume it works.
- Spec section parsed requirement by requirement
- Manufacturer data sheets and cut sheets
- Physical samples to correct run and dye lot
- Moisture-test method and threshold documentation
- Adhesive, underlayment, and transition specs
- Warranty terms matched to spec language
Mockup units and substitution / VE requests
Most multifamily programs ride a mockup or model unit — the one place the design team sees the real floor in real light before the production floors go down. We schedule our portion of that mockup against the GC's timeline, install to the approved detail, and use it as the reference the rest of the building gets measured against. If the designer wants to adjust a transition or a threshold height after seeing it, that decision gets captured and folded back into the submittal record.
Value engineering is where coordination usually breaks. A cheaper plank shows up as a line item with no proof it meets the spec, the architect rejects it, and everyone loses a week. We handle substitution and VE requests the way the spec asks them to be handled: as an equal-or-better case, with side-by-side data showing wear layer, construction, warranty, and installation method against the basis-of-design product. The design team gets what it needs to say yes or no on the merits, quickly.
When a specified product is discontinued or on a long lead — common on fast-moving Treasure Valley schedules — we flag it early and bring a documented alternate before it lands on the critical path.
- Mockup / model-unit install to approved detail
- Substitutions framed as equal-or-better
- Side-by-side data vs. basis-of-design product
- Lead-time and discontinuation flags raised early
- Design decisions captured back into the record
Coordinating with the GC and design team
Submittals don't move through the mail — they move through the general contractor's submittal log and the design team's review process. We work inside that system: correct section numbering, current drawing revision, the GC's transmittal format, and the review path the project's contract sets. That keeps our packages from bouncing on a technicality and keeps the log honest about where flooring stands.
The other half of coordination is staying aligned when the documents change. New construction generates ASIs and finish-schedule revisions constantly, and a submittal built against an outdated schedule is worse than no submittal at all. We track against the live revision and reconcile our package when the design team issues a change, so the floor that gets approved is the floor the current drawings actually call for.
Throughout, communication runs through the form and the document channel the project already uses — send us the spec, the finish schedule, and the current plan set, and we'll route everything back the way your team expects to receive it.
How It Works
How spec-to-approval works
Spec and drawings intake
You send the flooring spec section, the finish schedule, and the current plan set. We read it against the building's assemblies — slab or framed, radiant or not — and list every requirement the submittal has to satisfy.
Submittal package assembled
We compile manufacturer data sheets, installation-method specs, moisture and acclimation documentation, and warranty terms into one package built to answer the spec directly, then pull physical samples to the right run.
Logged through the GC
The package goes onto the general contractor's submittal log in the correct format and section numbering, against the live drawing revision, so it enters the design team's review the way the contract expects.
Design-team review and resubmittal
The architect and interior designer review and return comments. We turn any resubmittal quickly and close open items so the section reaches an approved status in as few passes as possible.
Mockup and substitution resolution
We install the mockup or model-unit flooring to the approved detail and process any substitution or VE requests as documented equal-or-better cases, capturing final decisions back into the record.
Approved set released to install
Once the section is approved and reconciled against the current revision, the confirmed product, method, and details carry into the production floors with no ambiguity left for the field.
For Developers
More of the Program
Multifamily Flooring Packages
Draw Schedule & Progress Billing
Amenity & Common-Area Flooring
LVT Durability Specifications
Back to the for developers overview.
Good to Know
Frequently Asked Questions
We already have a specified flooring product. Do you just install it, or do you handle the submittal too?
Both. We take the specified basis-of-design product and build the full submittal against it — data sheets, samples, installation method, and the moisture and warranty documentation the spec requires — then run it through the GC's log to approval. If the product turns out to be discontinued or on a long lead, we flag it and bring a documented alternate before it hits your schedule.
How do you handle a value-engineering request on the flooring?
We treat it as an equal-or-better substitution, which is how most spec sections require it. That means a side-by-side comparison of wear layer, construction, installation method, and warranty against the specified product, packaged so your architect can approve or reject it on the data rather than a sales pitch. Bringing the proof up front is what keeps a VE idea from stalling the whole review cycle.
Our slab is on grade and winters here get very dry. Does that show up in the submittal?
Yes, and it should. For slab-on-grade in the Treasure Valley we document the moisture-testing method, the acceptable RH or vapor-emission threshold, and an adhesive rated for that reading, plus acclimation requirements written for low winter indoor humidity. Putting those specifics in the package up front is usually the difference between a first-pass approval and a round of comments.
Can you coordinate directly with our architect and interior designer, or does everything route through the GC?
We work through whatever channel the project sets, and on most builds that's the GC's submittal log with the design team as the reviewers. We match the section numbering, transmittal format, and current drawing revision your team uses, and we track finish-schedule changes so our package always reflects the live documents. Send us the spec and plan set through your form or document channel and we'll return everything the way your team expects.
Talk to Us About Spec & Submittal Coordination
Send the details through the contact form — we'll give you a straight read on fit. Idaho Registered Contractor (Idaho RCE-6681702), serving The Treasure Valley & Boise Metro.