Plans tell you where rooms are. The finish schedule tells you what goes in them — and it overrides whatever the floor plan seems to show. Estimators who measure before reading the schedule end up quantifying the wrong materials beautifully.
Start every takeoff by building a material legend from the finish schedule and spec sections, then reconcile it against the finish plan. Conflicts between the two are common, and each one is a scope question worth asking before bid day — not a change order after.
Addenda deserve the same discipline. A single addendum swapping VCT for LVT across one floor can move a bid by five figures. Log every addendum against your legend before finalizing quantities.
Finally, read the floor prep and moisture mitigation sections even when they seem boring. Section 09 05 61 requirements routinely change who carries testing, mitigation and self-leveling — and that is margin you either priced or gave away.