Preparation counts only if it is written
Substrate preparation is part of a tile proposal only when the document names the existing assembly and the work that happens before tile is set, such as fastening loose panels, flattening high and low spots, or replacing a damaged layer. The words "install tile" do not include that work. If the sentence is missing, the proposal is written for a surface that is already ready to receive tile.
Apply a sentence test
Read the proposal once and highlight every verb that happens before the tile is placed in adhesive. Fasten, patch, grind, float, replace, and remove are preparation verbs when they name a layer. "Install" is not, unless the same sentence says what is being corrected. A page with no highlighted verb is a set-tile proposal. Treat it that way when you compare it with a page that lists a new backer or a floor patch.
The assembly has to be named
Preparation is meaningless until the proposal says what it is preparing. Concrete, a wood-framed floor, an existing tile layer, and a wall board do not take the same correction. "Prep as needed" names neither the assembly nor the operation. Ask for the operation: which layer is fastened, which high spots are taken down, which board is replaced, and which areas are left alone.
A missing line stays outside
When the preparation sentence is absent, keep it outside the proposal. Finding a soft panel or a ridge later is a new scope. It is not a clarification of a sentence that was never written. Add the sentence in a revision before the work starts, so both sides are describing the same starting surface.
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