Imagine finishing a project where the contractor had almost no questions. The owner called to say "this was the smoothest running project we've done" and offered you a second project before this one closed out.
You accomplished this without working late nights and had a great time playing with your kids on weekends instead. Construction admin is finally profitable.
Spesify delivers complete, coordinated specs according to your demanding schedules so your next project feels exactly like this.
$2 BILLION
30+ YEARS
WHO YOU'RE WORKING WITH
Vinson Hiraoka
AIA, CSI, CCP
Aloha! I've spent many years working across every phase of design, estimating, and spec writing in Hawaii, Guam, and Japan. Public and private sector projects ranging from $100K to $130M.
I started Spesify because Hawaii architecture firms deserve professional spec writing without a full-time hire. Every engagement comes directly through me. Principal level. No juniors. No handoffs.
Relationships with aloha. No aggravation policy. Your business success is my business success.
Ready to talk about your next project?
THE REAL COST OF DOING SPECS IN-HOUSE
Bad specs don't earn you praise. They send you RFIs and change orders.
Most Hawaii architecture firms don't have a dedicated spec writer. The principal or project architect ends up writing the specs at night or on weekends.
Under immovable deadline pressures, you squeak by using a 20 year old office master that has never been updated. Outdated references, missing sections, and standards that changed years ago. Nobody's had the time to fix it.
It's not a failure of effort, it's a structural problem. The firm is too small to justify a full-time spec writer and not generating enough work to keep one busy. So the specifications fall on the people who can least afford to spend their time on it.
You already know what good specs look like. You want them. You just do not have the time, the fee structure, or the updated templates to produce them consistently. This is the exact gap Spesify was built to close.
The Fee Problem
Architecture firms keep spec fees invisible to "stay competitive". No line item in the fee proposal. Just a few extra hours buried in drawings or project management. It feels like a smart way to win work, but it is actually a slow, invisible drain on the practice. The fee never covers the real effort and the specs suffer.
Weak specs can generate lots of RFIs and change orders. These burn through construction admin fees like an unstoppable lava flow. After this, the project closes our being unprofitable and the cycle repeats. Nobody wins a race to the bottom.
The Time Problem
Design drawings come first. Specs always get written last. Specs get whatever hours are left which means it's 8pm on a Sunday night before the Monday deadline. The principal opens a MasterFormat 95 master that hasn't been touched in 20 years. Products are obsolete and references are superseded. Nothing's coordinated with the drawings.
The only move is to copy from the last project and hope nothing critical is missed. And here's the part nobody says out loud. The principal often isn't much better trained at specs than the junior they were afraid to hand it to. Exhausted. Undertrained. Working without a net. That's the document that goes out for bid.
The Construction Problem
Hawaii's a small market and word travels fast. When a project drowns in RFIs and change orders, people notice.
Novice owners wonder what went wrong. Experienced owners already know. The architect doesn't understand how to control and minimize risk.
It starts with gaps in the drawings and specs. Every poorly written and uncoordinated section generates more questions, more disputes, more delays. That's time, money, and frustration that could have been avoided.
Each RFI can be 30 minutes or more of valuable attention. Some take days or weeks to resolve. None of that time was in the fee. The project becomes massively unprofitable and your reputation takes the hit.
The next job goes to someone else.
A SOLUTION FOR YOUR SPECIFICATION PROBLEMS
Get a complete, coordinated project manual.
Ready for bid. Delivered on time.
We understand your pain points. Here's what your specs can look like:
A Thorough Drawing Review
Before starting, your entire drawing set is reviewed to understand the scope of work and requirements for the entire project. After that, architectural drawings are zeroed in on. Every sheet, every detail.
Division 00 Guide Specs
If the owner does not have Division 00 procurement documents, Spesify can provide AIA MasterSpec guide specifications for customization.
Division 01 General Requirements
Division 01 sections edited for your specific project, delivery method, and owner requirements. These are generated from AIA MasterSpec guide specifications which are the leading industry standard.
Complete Architectural Specs
Each architectural spec section is based on AIA MasterSpec guide specs and customized for your project needs. If custom sections are required, we can create these following best practices.
Full Project Manual Compilation
Spesify collects Divisions 00 and 01, architectural sections, and all consultant sections. These are compiled into one unified project manual delivered to you in PDF format for your review.
Industry Standards
All specs are coordinated, current, and formatted to MasterFormat 2020. Hawaii State and City projects are formatted using MasterFormat 95, their current legacy standard.
Drawing Coordination and Alerts
Every spec section is reviewed with your architectural drawings. If something doesn't line up, you hear about it before the submittal deadline, not during construction. That's another set of eyes with years of experience added to your team.
Two Submittals with Revisions Included
Prefinal submittal at Design Development and final submittal at Construction Documents. Review comments from each phase are incorporated before the next submittal. No additional fees for standard revisions.
Cloud-based Review Workflow
All spec review comments are tracked through Autodesk Forma Build. Your team reviews, approves, and responds to each RFI comment in one place. No lost emails. No version confusion.
In-Person or Online Meeting Support
If your team needs to walk through the specs and discuss issues in-person or online, Spesify is available. Adding clarity, experience, and addressing risk management is at the core of services.
THE SPESIFY STANDARD
Every project manual Spesify delivers is written to current standards, coordinated with your drawings, and ready for bid at final submittal. If something is missed on our end, we'll fix it. No arguments. No additional fees. This is the standard every deliverable is held to.
TURNAROUND TIMES
Specs delivered on schedule, every time.
Two submittals are standard on every project. Prefinal specs at Design Development. Final specs at Construction Documents. Here's an idea of delivery times.
REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE
2 to 4
weeks total
Full spec set across two submittals. Each submittal delivered in one to two weeks. Revisions from the first phase incorporated before the final delivery.
NEW CONSTRUCTION
4 to 8
weeks total
Full spec set across two submittals. Each submittal delivered in two to four weeks depending on project size. Larger, more complex projects may take longer.
THE REAL REASONS FIRMS DON'T HIRE A SPEC WRITER AND WHY THEY'RE WRONG.
"I can't afford to add a spec consultant to my fee."
Spesify isn't an added cost. It's a replacement for a hidden one. Right now the spec fee is buried in your drawings or PM hours and it's never enough to do the job right. Pulling it out as a separate line item and handing it to Spesify means the work actually gets done properly for roughly the same money you're already spending. The difference is you get professional specs instead of a Sunday night scramble.
"I keep my fees low to stay competitive."
Keeping fees artificially low to win work is a self defeating strategy. You win the job and lose money delivering it. Pricing for the quality you're actually delivering is how you stop racing to the bottom and start building a practice that's actually profitable. Lead with value and excellence first.
"I'm already stretched thin. How does hiring someone help?"
That's exactly the trap. Specs get written last under deadline pressures. There's never enough time during the work week so it gets rushed on nights and weekends. Hiring Spesify doesn't add to your workload. It removes the part that's been stealing your evenings and weekends. One email and your specs are handled. Your time goes back to design, client relationships, and running your practice.
"I can write the specs myself. I've always done it that way."
Most principals can write specs. The question isn't whether you can. It's whether you should. You're the most expensive person in your firm. Every hour you spend writing specs at is an hour not spent on design, business development, or your family. That time has a real cost even when it doesn't show up on an invoice.
"Our specs have always been good enough."
"Good enough" gets tested during construction. Every RFI, every schedule delay, and every cost dispute is the project telling you something was missing or unclear in the documents. Hawaii's a small market. Contractors and owners talk. "Good enough" has a way of becoming your public reputation faster than you'd expect.
"Our specs have never caused us real problems."
Getting through construction isn't the same as running it well. If your projects are generating RFIs, change orders, and construction admin overruns, the specs are part of the reason whether they're labeled that way or not. The goal isn't just to finish. It's to finish profitably with your reputation and your client relationship intact.
GETTING STARTED IS EASY
Three simple steps and your specs are handled.
STEP 1
Contact Spesify.
Reach out to me using the web form below, email, phone call, or direct messaging on LinkedIn.
I'll respond to you within one business day or less.
STEP 2
Let's Get Acquainted.
I'll schedule a discovery meeting with you either in-person or online. Let's get to know each other, go over your company profile, project needs, and make sure Spesify is the right fit.
STEP 3