The storm cell passes by 10:30. The crew is back on the service conduit by 11. Three weeks later the GC's project manager looks at the T&M ticket and asks why he's paying for "6.0 hrs standby" on a day his own log calls "light rain."
Most of the time the charge was fair. What was missing was the explanation. This guide covers electrician weather delay standby hours documentation: what the foreman writes when the hold is called, what the office attaches within 48 hours, and how the standby line reads on the invoice so nobody has to take your word for it.
It works on paper, in a spreadsheet, or in any app. Nothing here requires buying anything.
What Counts as a Weather Standby Hour?
A weather standby hour is time the crew is on site, ready to work and paid, but can't do the scheduled work because of a weather condition, and hasn't been sent home or moved to other work. Once the crew is released or reassigned, the clock on standby stops.That definition matters because a single weather day usually holds three or four different kinds of time. They get treated differently in the contract, on payroll and on the invoice.
| Type of time | What it looks like on site | How it's usually treated |
|---|
| Productive | Crew working the scheduled scope | Normal contract or T&M billing |
| Standby | Crew on site, tools staged, waiting out a lightning hold or wind hold | Billable only if the contract or T&M terms allow it |
| Redeployed | Crew moved to interior rough-in, panel terminations, gang-box cleanup | Productive time on a different scope. Record it as that scope, not as standby |
| Demobilized / sent home | Crew released for the day | No standby after release. Show-up pay may apply (see below) |
If standby, redeployed and productive time all land in one block labeled "8 hrs," the record can't be defended. Keep them in separate blocks.
Whether you owe the crew show-up pay when weather sends them home is a separate question, and it depends on state law and your agreement. That's covered in reporting time and show-up pay for electricians. General standby billing mechanics, including non-weather standby, are in electrician standby time billing.
Weather Gets You Time, Not Money, Unless the Contract Says Otherwise
Under most construction contracts, weather is an excusable delay: you get more days on the schedule, not more dollars. Getting paid for standby hours on a fixed-price job usually takes a specific contract clause. On T&M work, it takes T&M terms that cover standby.| Excusable (time) | Compensable (money) |
|---|
| What you get | Schedule extension; protection from liquidated damages or back charges for lateness | Payment for the idle labor, equipment and extended overhead |
| Typical weather treatment | Yes, when the weather qualifies and notice was given | Rarely on lump-sum work unless a clause provides it |
| Common exceptions | None. Missing the notice deadline can forfeit it | T&M work with standby terms; GC told the crew to stand by instead of releasing them; the delay was really another trade or an un-dried-in building |
| What proves it | Daily log + weather record + notice + schedule impact | All of that + per-worker standby hours with times and the name of the person who called the hold |
The last row is the practical point. The documentation for money is a superset of the documentation for time. If you write the standby record as though you're going to bill it, you've also covered the time extension.
One common case: the GC's superintendent tells your crew to "hang tight, we'll know in an hour." That is a direction to stand by, not a weather event you chose to wait out. Write down who said it and when. Idle time the GC directs can be treated differently from idle time the weather causes, depending on the subcontract.
What Does "Abnormal Weather" Mean Under AIA A201?
AIA A201-2017, §15.1.6.2, requires a weather-based claim for more time to be backed by data showing the weather was abnormal for that period, could not reasonably have been anticipated, and adversely affected the scheduled construction. All three parts have to be shown. Rain alone doesn't qualify.How each part is usually met:
- Abnormal for the period: compare that day's actual weather to historical norms for that location and month. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) publishes both the daily observations and the climate normals.
- Not reasonably anticipated: many contracts include a set number of weather days, or a table of expected rain days by month. Only days beyond that allowance count. Read the schedule specs before the first rain.
- Adverse effect on scheduled work: this part is on you. The weather record doesn't show your work stopped. Your daily log does: which scope was scheduled, why it couldn't proceed, and whether that scope was on the critical path.
The general notice-as-condition-precedent mechanics, where a late notice can end the claim no matter how good the facts are, are covered in construction delay labor claim documentation for electrical contractors. Weather is where that rule most often catches subs, because the event seems too routine to write up.
Electrical Stand-Down Triggers: Not Just Rain
For an electrical crew, the conditions that stop work are lightning, heat, high wind, wet locations near energized or exposed work, and frozen or saturated ground. Each has its own logic, and the record should name the specific trigger rather than just "weather."| Condition | Typical stop rule or reference | Electrical work it usually stops | Work that often continues |
|---|
| Lightning | National Weather Service guidance: get indoors when thunder is heard; wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming | Rooftop conduit, service entrance, temp power, site lighting poles, anything on a lift | Interior rough-in in a dried-in building |
| Heat | Company heat-illness plan; state heat rules where they apply (California, Washington, Oregon and others have them) | Rooftop and attic work, exterior gear in direct sun | Conditioned interior spaces |
| High wind | Manufacturer's rated wind limit for the aerial lift or MEWP (many are rated for 28 mph); crane and hoist limits | Lift work, pole lines, exterior fixtures, wire pulls on elevated runs | Ground-level and interior work |
| Rain / wet location | NFPA 70E and your energized-work procedures; GFCI and cord condition; wet-location judgment | Energized or temp-power tie-ins, open gear, exterior terminations | Covered or dried-in areas |
| Frozen or saturated ground | OSHA Subpart P excavation rules; competent-person soil evaluation | Underground conduit, duct bank, grounding, trenching for site feeders | Anything not in the trench |
These are reference points, not legal advice. Your own safety program and the site's rules control. The documentation point is that "lightning within range, rooftop conduit halted" can be checked against a record. "Weather" can't.
What the Foreman Writes the Hour It Happens
At the moment the hold is called, the foreman writes five facts: the time, the condition, who was on site, what they did instead, and who called the hold. It takes about a minute, and it's the part nobody can reconstruct later.| Field | Write this | Not this |
|---|
| 1. Time | Start and end to the minute: 10:05a–11:40a | "Morning" |
| 2. Condition | "Thunder heard 10:02a, lightning visible to west" | "Storms" |
| 3. Who was on site | Names or count + classification: "4 — J. Ruiz (JW), T. Hale (JW), 2 apprentices" | "Crew" |
| 4. What stopped / what they did instead | "Rooftop RTU feeders halted. Crew staged in trailer. Released 11:40a to 2nd-floor rough-in" | "Standby" |
| 5. Who called it | "Hold called by GC super D. Marsh 10:05a" or "Our foreman per company lightning rule" | Blank |
Here is the difference on the ticket:
Disputable:Tue — 4 guys x 2.5 hrs standby
Self-explaining: Tue 10:05a–11:40a — 4 electricians on standby. Thunder 10:02a, GC super D. Marsh called roof hold. RTU feeder run halted. 11:40a–3:30p redeployed to 2nd-floor east rough-in.
The second entry answers the questions the PM would ask before he asks them. Most standby disputes come down to "were they really stuck?" A timed record with a named person answers that on the page.
The hard part is getting it written at all. The crew is wet and annoyed, and a form is the last thing anyone wants to deal with. Keep it to the five fields, and let a photo of the sky or a text to the office count as the time stamp. A foreman who knows the record protects the crew's hours from being chiseled later usually doesn't need reminding twice.
For the per-worker hours, split the day into separate blocks: one clock-out when standby starts, a new entry when the crew moves to other work. That works on a paper timesheet, a spreadsheet or a phone app. FieldTimesheet, for example, asks "what did you work on?" at each clock-out, so each block carries its own note. It doesn't pull weather data or categorize time for you. The five fields are still written by hand.
What the Office Attaches Within 48 Hours
The office turns the foreman's note into a claim package: a weather record for the site, a written notice letter, and a short statement of schedule impact. Do it the same day or the next morning, well inside a 48–72 hour notice window.1. The weather record
- Pull the daily and hourly observations for the nearest reporting station from NOAA NCEI's Climate Data Online (Local Climatological Data covers most airport stations). This data is free.
- Note the station name and its distance from the site. A station 20 miles away can be challenged. Say so yourself and add a second source.
- For lightning, save a screenshot of the radar or lightning-strike map with its time stamp at the moment of the hold. Hourly station data can miss a cell that passed over the site.
- For the abnormal-weather test, pull the NOAA climate normals for that month so the comparison is ready if a claim follows.
2. The notice letter
Send it the way the contract's notice article requires (email, certified mail, a project management platform), and keep proof of delivery.
3. Schedule impact
Two or three sentences: which activity was scheduled, whether it's on the critical path, and whether the crew redeployed to other work. The redeployment matters. It shows you mitigated, and it keeps the claim to the hours that were actually lost.
Attach, don't reconstruct
Add a photo of the site conditions if you have one, the GC's daily report for that date if you can get it, and the timesheet entries. Clock-in and clock-out location points from a time app can corroborate "on site." They don't prove anything about the weather, so don't use them for that.
A Weather Delay Notice Letter You Can Copy
A notice letter should state the date, the condition, the work affected, the crew affected, and the reservation of rights. It should not wait for final numbers. Send it now and quantify later.Re: Notice of Weather Delay — [Project name], [Subcontract no.]>
Per Article [__] of our subcontract, this is written notice of a weather-related delay on [date].>
At [time], [condition — e.g., thunder and lightning within the area] caused a work stoppage called by [name, title]. Affected work: [scope — e.g., rooftop RTU feeders, Area C]. Crew affected: [number and classification]. Standby from [time] to [time]; crew redeployed to [scope] at [time].>
Weather data from [NOAA station name, distance from site] is attached, along with our daily report and timesheet records for the date.>
We are evaluating the schedule and cost impact and reserve the right to request a time extension and any compensation available under the subcontract. We will provide quantification within [__] days.>
[Name, company, contact]
Change the reservation language to fit your subcontract and your attorney's advice. The point is that the letter goes out while the facts are fresh, and it's built from the foreman's note instead of from memory.
Worked Example: One Weather Day Split Three Ways
A single lightning day, recorded as three blocks, gives the GC a record he can check line by line. The numbers below are example arithmetic only. Run it with your own crew and rates.Example: 4 electricians on site at 7:00a, lightning hold at 10:05a, released to interior work at 11:40a, day ends 3:30p. The example T&M bill rate is $95/hr.
| Block | Time | Crew | Hours each | Crew-hours | Note on the record |
|---|
| Productive | 7:00a–10:05a | 4 | 3.08 | 12.33 | Pulled and terminated RTU-1 and RTU-2 feeders, roof Area C |
| Standby | 10:05a–11:40a | 4 | 1.58 | 6.33 | Thunder 10:02a; GC super D. Marsh called roof hold; crew staged in trailer |
| Redeployed | 11:40a–3:30p | 4 | 3.83 | 15.33 | 2nd-floor east rough-in, boxes and home runs, rooms 204–212 |
| Total | 8.50 | 34.00 | Crew-hours add up to 4 × 8.50 |
Example arithmetic for the standby line: 4 electricians × 1.5833 hrs = 6.33 crew-hours × $95/hr example bill rate = about $602 (dollars rounded to the nearest dollar). That line is billable only if your T&M terms or the contract cover standby.
The redeployed block isn't standby. It bills, or counts toward progress, as normal work on the rough-in scope. Listing it separately shows the GC the crew didn't sit all day, and that tends to be what gets the standby block approved.
How to Put Weather Standby Hours on a T&M Invoice
Show standby as its own line with the date, time window, crew count, condition, who called the hold and the rate, with the weather record and daily report attached as backup. Don't fold it into the day's productive hours.A few rules that prevent most arguments:
- Use the agreed bill rate for standby. If the T&M agreement sets a reduced standby rate, use it and name it. If it says nothing, agree on how standby will be billed before the season, not after the first storm.
- Never put the cost rate on customer-facing backup. The customer sees bill rate × hours. What you pay the crew, labor burden and margin stay on your internal job-cost report.
- Put the reason on the invoice line, not only in an attachment. "Standby 10:05a–11:40a, lightning hold called by GC super" gets read. A separate PDF often doesn't.
- Cross-reference the notice letter by date so the invoice and the notice tell the same story.
The Weather-Day Routine, Start to Finish
Print this and put it in the gang box and on the office wall. It works on paper.| When | Who | What |
|---|
| Preconstruction | Office | Read the subcontract notice article; write down the notice deadline, the weather-day allowance and the standby terms. Settle the standby rate on T&M work. |
| The minute the hold is called | Foreman | Write the five fields: time, condition, who was on site, what stopped and what they did instead, who called it. Take one photo. |
| When work resumes or crew moves | Each worker / foreman | Close the standby block and start a new time entry with its own note. |
| End of day | Foreman | Daily report lists weather, crew on site, work performed, work not performed and why, idle equipment. |
| Same day or next morning | Office | Pull NOAA station data and radar screenshot; send the notice letter; note the schedule impact. |
| Billing cycle | Office | Standby as its own invoice line at the agreed bill rate, with weather record and daily report attached. |
| Month end | Office | Count weather days against the contract allowance; pull NOAA normals if you're over. |
The free T&M Billing Backup Kit includes a daily field report and a labor backup sheet with the columns above. Use it as is or copy the fields into your own forms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an electrical contractor bill the customer for weather standby time?
Only if the contract or T&M terms allow it. On most lump-sum work, weather is excusable but not compensable, so you get time, not money. On T&M work, standby is billable when the agreement covers it, or when the GC directed the crew to stand by instead of releasing them. Either way, the per-worker times and the note are what get the line paid.
What rate should weather standby be billed at?
Whatever rate your T&M agreement sets. Some agreements use the full bill rate and some set a reduced standby rate. If yours is silent, settle it in writing before the season starts. Customer-facing backup should show only the bill rate, never the cost rate or margin.
What if part of the work could have continued indoors?
Then move the crew and record the move. Owners and GCs commonly reject weather claims because interior work was available. A record showing the crew was redeployed at 11:40a to 2nd-floor rough-in answers that objection. It also limits the standby claim to the hours that were actually lost.
How is GC-caused idle time different from weather-caused idle time?
Weather is usually an excusable delay with no money attached. Idle time the GC causes, such as a building not dried in, another trade in your area, or the superintendent telling the crew to wait, can be compensable depending on the subcontract. Write down the actual cause and who gave the instruction, because that decides which clause applies.
How fast do I have to give notice of a weather delay?
Whatever your subcontract's notice article says. Many subcontracts require written notice within 48 to 72 hours, shorter than the 21-day claim window in AIA A201-2017 between owner and GC. A late notice can forfeit the time extension even when the weather was real, so send it before you have final numbers.
Where do I get official weather records for a job site?
NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) publishes free daily and hourly observations through Climate Data Online, plus monthly climate normals for the abnormal-weather comparison. Use the nearest reporting station, note its distance from the site, and add a time-stamped radar or lightning-map screenshot for short events like a passing storm cell.
When should electricians stop work for lightning?
National Weather Service guidance is to get indoors when thunder is heard and to wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before going back out. Rooftop, lift, service-entrance and temp-power work usually stop first. Your company safety program and the site's rules control, and the hold time and who called it go on the record.
Do I owe the crew show-up pay when weather sends them home?
It depends on your state and any labor agreement. That's covered separately in reporting time and show-up pay for electricians. Whatever you pay the crew is separate from what the customer is billed. Keep the two apart on the record.