|
Home > Departments > Presentations > Public Library Construction > 10. Bid Documents
- Bid documents are the package of materials necessary for contractors to make careful estimates of the cost of a project. They have two primary components: drawings and project manuals.
- The drawings (blueprints) show the structural, plumbing, mechanical, and electrical components of the project.
- The project manual is an accompanying narrative text that includes all the specific requirements of the project, including types and qualities of all components.
- Most bid documents include a few "add alternates" in addition to the "base bid." Add alternates are additional items or features that you would like to have included in the project if the base bids are sufficiently low. By asking for prices on these items as part of the bid process, you will obtain better prices than you would by negotiating prices later with your contractor.
- Accurate and complete bid documents are of critical importance. The nature of the low-bid process required for most government work means that contractors will base their prices on the very least that the documents allow them to do. If critical items are omitted from the documents, you won't get them in your library. They will then have to be supplied through change orders, and they will cost much more than they would if they had been properly listed in the bid documents. Bid documents are a job for professionals; do not try this at home.
- Bid documents are complex and detailed, but do your best to review them to be sure that they include what your want.
- Having your consultant review your bid documents is an extremely good idea. Almost any error or omission detected—even the most minor—will cost vastly more to correct than you will pay your consultant for a full, final review. (To give your consultant adequate time to review the documents, and to leave time for corrections and questions, send him the 90 percent set rather than the final version.)
|
