Good legal writing is simply good writing. Construction contracts written in legalese confuse rather than clarify performance expectations. “Gotcha clauses” buried in a contract leads parties to distrust one another. ConsensusDocs standard construction agreements are written in clear and concise language. This helps the parties understand, administer, and interpret the contract. One distinguishing feature in ConsensusDocs is the integration of the general terms and conditions into the agreement. This allows parties to complete an agreement with one document instead of two, which has many benefits.

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While traditional contracting or design-bid-build is still the most prevalent project delivery method in the United States construction market, the design-build project delivery method has risen in usage significantly over the past 20 years to become a well-established contracting vehicle by private and public owners alike for all types and sizes of construction projects. The ConsensusDocs design-build standard contract documents are some of the most used in the United States. A comparison of the ConsensusDocs design-build contracts as compared to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) can be found here.

March 15, 2022, 3:30 PM ET | 12:30 PM PT

Allston Marble graduated from the University of Nebraska-Kearney with a BS in Construction Management in 2008. Allston joined Linbeck Group in 2007 as an intern and was hired full time in 2008. At Linbeck, Allston has worked as an Intern, Engineer, Project Manager, Client Executive and now Vice President. In his current role, Allston works on various private, K-12, non-profit, cultural and higher education portfolios in Houston. Allston has been involved with the AGC since his time at Nebraska-Kearney and his local Houston AGC chapter since moving to Houston in 2008. Allston has served the AGC in various leadership roles over the years including chairing the Construction Futures Committee, Houston CLC and Houston AGC Scholarship Committee. He has also has served the AGC of America in various capacities over the years including the CLC Steering Committee, Climate Change Task Force and the Project Innovation and Delivery Forum where he currently serves as the Vice Chairman and will be Chairman in Spring 2022. Allston and his wife have 4 children and live in Houston, TX.

Update as of August 1st, 2023: The Canadian softwood lumber tariffs have been lowered to 7.99%. Click here to find the latest rates. Read below for the original story from February 17, 2022.