7.1 Contract Law, Scope & Completion Schedules
Key Takeaways
- Class B air-conditioning contractors remain capped at 25 tons cooling and 500,000 Btu heating in any one system; a signed change order cannot expand that F.S. 489.105 limit, and F.S. 489.128 makes the unlicensed extra work unenforceable by the contractor.
- AIA A201-2017 Article 7 changes the Work only by Change Order (signed by Owner, Contractor, and Architect), Construction Change Directive, or a minor change that does not adjust sum or time — a superintendent's oral extra is not a change.
- AIA A201-2017 §15.1.3 generally requires written claim notice within 21 days after the occurrence or after the claimant first recognizes the condition, whichever is later, including delay claims that protect contract time.
- Substantial completion is when the HVAC work is sufficiently complete for intended occupancy or use; liquidated damages typically run from that contractual date, not from punch-list closeout, unless the contract says otherwise.
- AIA A201-2017 §3.7.3: a contractor who performs work knowing it is contrary to applicable laws, including Florida Building Code Mechanical 2023 and local amendments, assumes responsibility and bears the attributable costs.
7.1 Contract Law, Scope & Completion Schedules
Business & Finance (B&F) Area B — Managing Administrative Duties is 26% of 120 questions. Item 9 of that area is manage contracts: contract law, contract scope, job completion schedules, lien laws, mediation and arbitration, local building code requirements, tort law, and risk management. This section is the live contract after award — what you promised to install, when it must be finished, and how Florida building codes sit inside that promise. Lien clocks and dispute forums get their own sections next. Chapter 5 already built offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality, F.S. 725.01, and the AIA A201-2017 change and claims toolkit. Here you administer those clauses on an HVAC job.
Why contract administration is a qualifying-agent duty
The primary qualifying agent is responsible for supervision of all field work and, unless a Financially Responsible Officer (FRO) is appointed, financial matters. Walking away from a signed scope, installing extra tonnage on a handshake, or missing substantial completion while liquidated damages run is not the project manager's private problem. F.S. 489.128 still makes a contract entered into in violation of Chapter 489 unenforceable by the unlicensed contractor. A Class B qualifier who signs a change order that pushes any one system past 25 tons cooling or 500,000 Btu heating is not just doing what the owner asked. That extra work is unlicensed contracting, and it is the part the contractor cannot enforce.
Scope of work is the contract, not the conversation
Contract scope is the work the contractor is bound to perform for the contract price. On an AIA-style HVAC subcontract it is the combination of the agreement (price, time, parties), the drawings and specifications, addenda acknowledged in the bid under AIA A701-2018, the Florida Building Code — Mechanical, 2023 (8th Edition FBC) and Energy Conservation, 2023, plus local amendments the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ) enforces, and written change orders after award.
Oral extras are the exam trap. If the owner says, while you are on the roof, add a 10-ton dedicated outdoor-air unit, that sentence is not a change order. AIA A201-2017 Article 7 uses three written tools: a Change Order signed by Owner, Contractor, and Architect that adjusts price and/or time; a Construction Change Directive (CCD) signed by Owner and Architect that directs the work while the price is still disputed; and a written Architect order for a minor change that does not adjust sum or time. HVAC contractors who proceed on a superintendent's text without an Article 7 instrument are volunteering labor and equipment.
Class B versus Class A is a scope limit, not a pricing note. F.S. 489.105 caps Class B at 25 tons cooling and 500,000 Btu heating in any one system. Class A is unlimited and includes boilers, unfired pressure vessels, and pneumatic control piping that Class B does not. A change order that converts a 20-ton rooftop to a 30-ton rooftop is legal work for Class A and illegal work for Class B even if every party signs it. The signed paper does not expand the license. Class B candidates still need the theory of larger systems on the exam; they may not contract to install them.
Local building code is inside the scope whether the specifications mention it or not. AIA A201-2017 §3.7 requires the contractor to secure permits, give notices, and comply with applicable laws. §3.7.3 is the clause the exam loves: if the contractor performs work knowing it is contrary to applicable laws, the contractor assumes responsibility and bears the attributable costs. You cannot contract out of FBC Mechanical 2023 condensate disposal, smoke-control, or kitchen-exhaust rules. A value-engineering substitution that drops a required secondary drain pan or float switch is a code violation first and a change-order debate second. Starting duct rough-in before the permit — and, on non-exempt private work, before a Notice of Commencement under F.S. 713.13 is recorded and posted — is how an HVAC qualifier buys a stop-work order, a failed first inspection, and a delay claim the owner will not pay.
Job completion schedules
Contract time is the number of calendar days, or a stated substantial-completion date, in which the HVAC scope must be finished. Substantial completion is the date the work is sufficiently complete that the owner can occupy or use it for its intended purpose: cooling is on, life-safety interfaces work, and remaining items are punch-list, not occupancy blockers. Final completion is punch-list done, as-builts and operation-and-maintenance manuals delivered, training complete, permit finals closed, and final payment including retainage due. Liquidated damages — a stated dollar amount per calendar day — typically run from the contractual substantial-completion date, not from final punch-list closeout, unless the contract says otherwise. They are a pre-agreed substitute for proving actual delay damages, not a penalty the court will rewrite because the contractor feels the number is high.
AIA A201-2017 Article 8 is Time. Delays that entitle an extension (owner-caused delay, concealed conditions, changes, and, depending on the clause, unusually severe weather) still require a claim. Article 15.1.3 generally requires written notice within 21 days after the occurrence or after the claimant first recognizes the condition, whichever is later. A delay log in the superintendent's truck is not notice. Missing the 21-day clock can convert a compensable delay into contractor float that you donated. Time is of the essence when the contract says so or when the nature of the work makes timely performance essential — a school that must open in August, a hospital operating room that cannot wait. Force-majeure or weather clauses do not excuse a contractor who was already behind, and they do not automatically add money, only time, unless the clause or a change order says so.
An integration clause means the signed documents are the entire agreement. Parol evidence (prior or contemporaneous oral talk) will not add a second condenser that never made it into the drawings. After award, modifications follow the contract's written-change rule, not a hallway conversation. Express warranties in the specifications (for example, a one-year correction period under A201 Article 12 plus manufacturer warranties on compressors) sit beside implied warranties of workmanlike performance; neither one is a license to skip inspections.
Worked Florida HVAC example
A Class B contractor has 60 calendar days from notice to proceed to replace two 12.5-ton split systems (25 tons total, at the Class B ceiling) in a county clinic. Liquidated damages are $500 per day after substantial completion. On day 20 the owner asks, in writing, to add a 10-ton dedicated server-room unit. That addition is a new system at 10 tons — still within Class B per system — but it is extra work: it needs a Change Order for price and time. If the contractor installs it without signed Article 7 paper, there is no contract right to extra money or extra days, and liquidated damages still run on the original 60-day clock. If the owner instead asks to replace the two 12.5-ton units with a single 40-ton rooftop, Class B must refuse. A Class A contractor can take that change, but still needs Article 7 paper and a 21-day delay claim if the larger unit's lead time blows the completion date. Permit revisions and a new mechanical inspection are part of that time claim, not afterthoughts.
| Milestone | What it means on an HVAC job | Typical contract effect |
|---|---|---|
| Substantial completion | System can serve intended occupancy; remaining work is punch-list | Contract time and LD clock typically stop; warranties may start; retainage still held |
| Final completion | Punch-list, closeout documents, training, permit finals | Final payment including retainage; contractor's final payment affidavit on private work |
| Change Order (A201 Art. 7) | Signed change to scope, sum, and/or time | Adjusts contract price and contract time |
| Construction Change Directive | Owner/Architect directs the change while price is open | Contractor must perform; price later |
| Permit / first inspection | AHJ approval under FBC Mechanical 2023 | Work cannot be hidden or occupied; NOC recorded and posted before first inspection |
After award, the qualifier's administration checklist is: match field work to drawings, specs, and license class; pull permits and post the Notice of Commencement before first inspection; document delays and extras in the Article 7 and Article 15 form the contract requires; protect the completion date or document why it moved; and do not perform knowing code violations. Chapter 8 will put the same dates on a critical-path schedule. This section is the legal meaning of those dates.
Florida HVAC scenario. A qualifying agent for a Class B company is halfway through a 20-ton package-unit replacement on an 1,800-square-foot office. The owner, watching a heat wave, asks the installer to swap it for a 30-ton so we never have another complaint. The correct administration is: stop, explain the Class B 25-ton statutory cap, offer a compliant 20- or 25-ton selection that meets the load calculation, and if the owner insists on 30 tons, decline that change. Signing a change order for 30 tons does not legalize the work, does not create a construction-lien right under F.S. 713.02(7), and exposes the qualifier to Construction Industry Licensing Board discipline. Completing the original 20-ton scope on time, with permits closed, is how you get paid and stay licensed.
A Class B certified HVAC contractor has a signed contract to replace a 20-ton rooftop unit. Mid-job the owner tenders a change order to substitute a single 30-ton unit on the same curb. What is the correct contract-administration response?
On day 10 of an AIA A201-2017 HVAC subcontract, the crew uncovers a concealed structural conflict that will delay substantial completion. What must the contractor do to preserve a time extension?
A clinic HVAC replacement states 60 calendar days to substantial completion and $500 per day liquidated damages. The units cool the building on day 62, but a punch-list damper balance and O&M manuals remain. Which statement is correct?