Understanding an NBS Specification Document.
What is it?
NBS (National Building Specification) is a document used in the UK construction market to provide detailed information to all parties involved of what products and materials are to be used in the construction of the building. This includes everything from major items such as the roofing down to the small fixtures and fittings during final fit out.
The amount of detail included in a specification can vary from just simply stating that window blinds are required down to exactly what blinds, fabric, chain, bottom bar etc are required and exactly which areas in the building. The level of detail is generally down to the architect but can also be influenced by the client or owner of the property.
What is it for?
The purpose of the NBS document is to allow the architect and ultimately the client to maintain some control of the quality and type of products and materials that are used in the building. The NBS document forms part of the builders contracts and provides a guide for all parties involved during the procurement of products and materials.
How is this overall document formatted?
As you can imagine an NBS specification is a very large document. It can be up to 500+ pages.
This document format is usually very similar from project to project. The information is split into sections which are labelled with letters of the Alphabet followed by a number. Each letter is a different category of products and materials. Window Blinds are generally found under section N10 which is for “General Fixtures/Fittings & Furniture”.
Within each section the specifications are listed numerically, this is also normally uniform from one project to another. Window blinds usually start around number 240. So this is referred to as N10:240.
Example Specification.
Below is an example of a blinds specification with some of the key parts highlighted. You need to be looking out for the blinds type (i.e. Vertical Blinds) the material (i.e. solid PVC) and the operation (i.e. metal chain). Whilst a specification will sometimes mention specific manufacturers by name it doesn’t not mean the building contractor has to use that company. So long as the products can be proven to be “equal or approved” the building contractor is free to purchase the items from anyone.
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