# General conditions

*Also called: general requirements, project overhead.*

**Definition.** General conditions are the costs of running a job that are not part of any single task — supervision, dumpsters, portable toilets, temporary protection, permits, site cleanup, insurance and mobilisation.

On small property jobs these are usually folded silently into the total. On larger ones they appear as their own line and can run 5–15% of the job.

They are a frequent hidden difference between bids. One contractor includes daily cleanup, protection of finished floors and a dumpster; another expects the owner to arrange disposal. Neither says so prominently.

Asking every bidder to state general conditions separately is one of the quickest ways to find out why two prices differ.

## Why it matters

General conditions are the least glamorous and most commonly mismatched part of a comparison. Discovering after award that debris removal was never in anybody's price is a small problem that arrives at a bad time.

## Related terms

- [Exclusion](https://quotrium.com/glossary/exclusion)
- [Bid leveling](https://quotrium.com/glossary/bid-leveling)
- [Mobilization](https://quotrium.com/glossary/mobilization)
- [Scope of work](https://quotrium.com/glossary/scope-of-work)

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Source: https://quotrium.com/glossary/general-conditions · Quotrium — Comparable quotes for property work