"Securing A Bid In A Busy Economy"

Today's booming economy presents the potential contracting client with a dilemma: How to secure a competitive bid from general contractors who are often overwhelmed with new business. Before searching for a general contractor or construction management firm, a client should gather some information crucial to the completion of a project. Here are some helpful tips to guide you through the entire process:

- Have the architect's design for your intended new space or renovation in hand, and in choosing that architect think about the following.

- Consider both the qualifications of a potential design firm and your expectations for the finished space.

- Have a sense of what level of design or aesthetic outcome your firm is looking for as well as how this will impact the budget you may have envisioned for the project. It is important that a client have realistic expectations of the design firm that they choose. Find ways to narrow your search. Ask for references from the architects you are considering, look at who else they have worked for. Are there any common elements between their past clients and the type of company you are? Make sure that they are qualified to design the kind of space you want.

-Also, design fees can vary widely from one firm to another. Choose the firm that best fits the list of criteria that you have established through research, which will lead to the successful completion of your design and construction project.

As the architects design begins to take shape pinpoint a realistic time frame for the bid process and construction schedule of the project.

Consult with the architect to determine an appropriate time table for completion of your construction project. After a project schedule has been established you can contact a list of qualified general contractors. In order to get a good range of bids, plan on contacting 3-4 potential contractors. Talk to business associates who may have recently undergone renovations or new construction to their facility. Would they recommend their contractor? Securing recommendations from colleagues and other professionals (architects, builders, real estate brokers) will help you further focus your search for the right contractor. Consider contacting a trade organization such as the Associated Builders and Contractors or Associated General Contractors. They can provide you with invaluable information concerning a potential general contracting or construction management firm.

Once you have discussed your plans with several qualified general contractors or construction managers allow enough time for them to respond with a detailed bid. Joe Roach suggests that a bid response should take 2 weeks on average. To ensure that the bid process does not become delayed, try and avoid presenting additional design options during the bidding process. If changes occur, wait and negotiate the pricing of the design changes with the selected construction firm. At the same time continue securing the necessary approvals from the decision makers at your firm and community, if required, for the design, budget and schedule of your project. Allowing all these project elements to flow simultaneously will avoid unnecessary delays to the construction schedule and ultimate completion date.

A thorough general contractor or construction manager needs to investigate every detail of the potential construction project. For instance, specified materials need to be located and priced, an evaluation of the site ("walk-through") by the contractor should occur when the bid is released and bids from subcontractors must be obtained and included in the final bid response. Keep in mind, your goal should be to obtain a number of thoroughly researched and properly documented bids. In this way, you can be confident that you have made an educated and informed decision when choosing a general contractor or construction management firm.

<< back to news