Excusable delay: the ten-day letter that saves the schedule

FAR 52.249-10 lists the causes that excuse delay — acts of God, epidemics, quarantine restrictions and more — but only if the contractor notifies the Contracting Officer in writing within 10 days from the beginning of the delay.

Not every late day is the contractor's fault — but the excuse expires fast. The federal Default clause for fixed-price construction, FAR 52.249-10, lists the excusable causes: acts of God or of the public enemy, acts of the Government in its sovereign or contractual capacity, acts of another contractor in the performance of a Government contract, fires, floods, epidemics, quarantine restrictions, strikes, freight embargoes, unusually severe weather, and delays of subcontractors or suppliers arising from those causes.

The ten-day gate

The clause sets the procedure that makes the excuse real: the Contractor, within 10 days from the beginning of any delay, notifies the Contracting Officer in writing of the causes of delay. The Contracting Officer then ascertains the facts and extent of delay — and if the findings warrant it, extends the completion time. The findings are final and conclusive on the parties, subject to appeal under the Disputes clause. Miss the notice window and an excusable delay reads as default — with liquidated damages running.

The notice writes itself when the record is daily

A defensible delay file shows the cause starting on a date: weather logs that name the storm, the owner's late answer on an RFI, the subcontractor's documented failure — the same evidence behind weather day tracking. When the record is kept as the job runs, the ten-day letter is a summary, not a reconstruction. That time-impact record, kept per job, is what an ERP for construction companies runs, implemented around the way each company works.