RFI (request for information)
RFIs exist because no construction set is complete. A dimension contradicts another, a detail never arrives, a finish is left unspecified, or a site condition differs from the survey. The contractor cannot decide alone: if they guess and guess wrong, the fix is on them. So they ask in writing, with a sequential number (RFI-001, RFI-002…), pointing to the drawing, work section or line item it refers to, and with a response deadline.
The answer is what gives the RFI its value. A "do it this way" over the phone is useless three months later; a written, dated answer from the designer is the proof that the extra work was requested. That evidence is what supports a change order, a price escalation or a time extension, and what gets reviewed when there is a dispute at the final account.
An unanswered RFI costs money too. While the question stays open, the work front stops or moves ahead at risk. That is why RFI control is measured with two numbers: how many are open and how many days overdue they are. A board with twenty overdue RFIs is a sign that the construction set arrived incomplete and the job is heading toward a claim.
An RFI is not the same as a change order or the site log. The RFI is the QUESTION; the change order is the financial consequence of the answer, with its cost and its days; the site log is the official chronological record of instructions and incidents. The three work together: you ask with an RFI, record what matters in the site log and bill it with the change order.
In most construction management platforms RFIs live in a separate document module, which forces you to capture them away from where the question came up. In Matterial the RFI is born from the conversation anchored to the drawing, the line item or the contract: it inherits that context, goes out with a number and a link so the outside party can answer without creating an account, and when it closes with an impact it drafts the change order on the right line item.
Example
RFI-014: "The wall on grid line 4 between A and C does not say whether it is exposed concrete or gets plaster." It goes to the designer with a 3-day deadline, anchored to drawing ARQ-07. The answer comes in 2 days: "exposed, with phenolic formwork". The change means $78,400 and 4 extra days, so the RFI closes by generating a change order on the masonry line item, which the client approves by link. Without that RFI, the wall would have been built the same way, but the contractor would have absorbed the $78,400.
Frequently asked questions
What does RFI mean in construction?
RFI stands for request for information. It is the formal question the contractor asks the designer, the owner's rep or the client about something the drawings do not define or define in a contradictory way.
Who issues an RFI and who answers it?
It is usually issued by the contractor or the site engineer and answered by the designer, the architect of record or the client's rep. On large jobs, subcontractors also issue RFIs to the general contractor.
What is the difference between an RFI and a change order?
The RFI is the documented question; the change order is the financial consequence of the answer, with its cost and its days. Not every RFI creates a change order: many close with a clarification and no impact. But almost no well-supported change order is born without an RFI first.
Does an RFI have legal weight?
It is not a regulated instrument, but it does work as evidence: it proves what was asked, when, to whom and what was answered. In a dispute over extra work, that written chain is what supports the claim.
How long should you give to answer an RFI?
It depends on the contract; in practice 3 to 10 business days are used depending on complexity. What matters is that the deadline is written on the RFI itself: without a due date, the question stays open indefinitely and the work front stops.