FHB Logo Facebook LinkedIn Email Pinterest Twitter Instagram Plus Icon Close Icon Navigation Search Icon Navigation Search Icon Arrow Down Icon Video Guide Icon Article Guide Icon Modal Close Icon Guide Search Icon Skip to content
Subscribe
Log In
  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Videos
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House
  • Podcast
Log In

Discussion Forum

Discussion Forum

Bid package….

Jackaroo | Posted in General Discussion on October 6, 2004 06:46am

We are going to build a home and have selected 4-5 contractors to bid our project. I have plans to give all the contractors, what else should I include as part of the package? We will have an instruction letter detailing some of our wishes….WHAT ELSE GUYS??

 

Thanks

Reply

Replies

  1. Piffin | Oct 06, 2004 07:50am | #1

    expected scedule?

    notes, specs, and detail drawings?

    Who is responsible for power, water, permits, landscaping, furniture, curtains, appliances?

    Have you even chosen appliances yet?

    I'm not sure what you mean by plans...some are detailed and some folks consider a scetch on a napkin a set of plans.

    Have you asked these five builders if they are interested in bidding yet? How did they make your short list?

     

     

    Welcome to the
    Taunton University of
    Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
     where ...
    Excellence is its own reward!

  2. gdavis62 | Oct 06, 2004 02:43pm | #2

    Have you discussed your project with any of these contractors?  Do they all have an interest in bidding it?

    Do GCs in your area competitively bid residential projects, at lump sum pricing?

    For someone to do it right, your package of drawings would need to include all the following, and the drawings would have to be site-specific, i.e., house designed to work on your lot, engineered to your local conditions of soil bearing, roof loading, local building codes, etc:

    Site plan, showing clearing area, grading, final elevations, driveway, paving, house location, utility trenching, etc.

    Foundation plan, sections, and details

    Structural plans for each floor system, and roofs

    Fully dimensioned floor plans

    Fully annotated elevations, calling out all exterior details and materials

    Complete schedules for all exterior doors and windows, and interior doors

    Hardware schedules

    All required wall sections and details

    House sections as required to depict structural relationships, floor heights, etc.

    Stair sections and details

    Interior elevations showing all cabinetry and built ins

    Interior elevations to show any special trim schemes

    Details of typical trim arrangements

    Lighting and electrical plans, including fixture schedule

    Room finish schedule

    Some kind of mechanical plan, showing equipment location, chase locations, vent runs, fans, etc.

    And that is the drawings requirements.  Here is what the specifications should include, at a minimum:

    Foundation requirements

    Material specs for framing, fastening, any special seismic situations, etc.

    Plumbing specs, and a schedule of all plumbingware

    HVAC requirements

    Thermal and moisture protection (insulation, sealing, vapor barriers, flashing, etc.)

    Specs for flooring, roofing, wallboard, wall finish, painting, caulking, etc., etc.

    If you have all this and have qualified your bidders as being interested, competent, and qualified, you are probably OK.

    But if what you have is a set of plans purchased out of a book or from a website, you still have a lot of work to do either yourself, or with a good local architect or qualified residential designer, and maybe a landscape architect.

    The typical purchased planset will leave all builders just scratching their heads.  They will either have to put a lot of extra work into the bid, asking questions of you in order to develop all the info that would be in a package as described above, or else they will take the more typical approach, which would be to eyeball it, square foot it, tell you an approximate figure, and insist that you work with them on a cost-plus basis.

Log in or create an account to post a comment.

Sign up Log in

Become a member and get full access to FineHomebuilding.com

Video Shorts

Categories

  • Business
  • Code Questions
  • Construction Techniques
  • Energy, Heating & Insulation
  • General Discussion
  • Help/Work Wanted
  • Photo Gallery
  • Reader Classified
  • Tools for Home Building

Discussion Forum

Recent Posts and Replies

  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
  • |
View More Create Post

Up Next

Video Shorts

Featured Story

Kimberley Robles, Decorative Concrete

In this interview, Kimberley talks about the importance of proper training, current concrete trends in the Bay Area, and the history of racist housing policy in San Francisco.

Featured Video

Video: Build a Fireplace, Brick by Brick

Get an overview of the process of creating a traditional-style fireplace that burns well and meets current building codes from experienced mason Mike Mehaffey.

Related Stories

  • Podcast 549: Energy Upgrades, Chimney Inspections, and Questions About a Home You Might Buy
  • Podcast 549: Members-only Aftershow—Patios vs. Decks
  • Podcast 548: PRO TALK With Design/Build Operations Manager Jessica Bishop-Smyser
  • Strategies for Venting a Roof Valley

Highlights

Fine Homebuilding All Access
Fine Homebuilding Podcast
Tool Tech
Plus, get an extra 20% off with code GIFT20

"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

BOOKS, DVDs, & MERCH

Shop the Store
  • 2023 Tool Guide
    Buy Now
  • Code Check Building 4th Edition
    Buy Now
  • 2022 Fine Homebuilding Archive
    Buy Now
  • Pretty Good House
    Buy Now
  • Shop the Store

Fine Homebuilding Magazine

  • Issue 314 - April/May 2023
    • 7 Options for Countertops
    • Tool Test: Wood-Boring Bits
    • Critical Details for Ductless Heat Pumps
  • Issue 313 - Feb/March 2023
    • Practical System for a Seismic Retrofit
    • Fine Homebuilding Issue #313 Online Highlights
    • Practical System for a Seismic Retrofit
  • Issue 312 - Dec 2022/Jan 2023
    • Tool Test: Cordless Tablesaws
    • Gray-Water System for a Sustainable Home
    • Insulate a Cape Roof to Avoid Ice Dams
  • Issue 311 - November 2022
    • 7 Steps to a Perfect Exterior Paint Job
    • Options for Smarter Home-Energy Tracking
    • The Fine Homebuilding Interview: James Metoyer
  • Issue 310 - October 2022
    • Choosing a Tile-Leveling System
    • Choosing Between HRVs and ERVs
    • Custom Built-in Cabinets Made Easy

Fine Homebuilding

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Membership & Magazine

  • Online Archive
  • Start Free Trial
  • Magazine Subscription
  • Magazine Renewal
  • Gift a Subscription
  • Customer Support
  • Privacy Preferences

Taunton Network

  • Green Building Advisor
  • Fine Woodworking
  • Fine Gardening
  • Threads
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Careers
  • Copyright
  • Terms of Use
  • Site Map
  • Do not sell or share my information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility
  • California Privacy Rights

© 2023 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved.

X
X
This is a dialog window which overlays the main content of the page. The modal window is a 'site map' of the most critical areas of the site. Pressing the Escape (ESC) button will close the modal and bring you back to where you were on the page.

Main Menu

  • How-To
  • Design
  • Tools & Materials
  • Video
  • Blogs
  • Forum
  • Reader Projects
  • Magazine
  • Members
  • FHB House

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Podcasts

  • FHB Podcast
  • ProTalk

Webinars

  • Upcoming and On-Demand

Popular Topics

  • Kitchens
  • Business
  • Bedrooms
  • Roofs
  • Architecture and Design
  • Green Building
  • Decks
  • Framing
  • Safety
  • Remodeling
  • Bathrooms
  • Windows
  • Tilework
  • Ceilings
  • HVAC

Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Magazine Index
  • Subscribe
  • Online Archive
  • Author Guidelines

All Access

  • Member Home
  • Start Free Trial
  • Gift Membership

Shop the Store

  • Books
  • DVDs
  • Taunton Workshops

More

  • FHB Ambassadors
  • Reader Projects
  • Podcast
  • FHB House
  • Customer Support

Account

  • Log In
  • Join

Newsletter

Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox

Signing you up...

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
See all newsletters
See all newsletters

Follow

  • twitter
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest

Join All Access

Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.

Start Your Free Trial

Subscribe

FHB Magazine

Start your subscription today and save up to 70%

Subscribe

We hope you’ve enjoyed your free articles. To keep reading, become a member today.

Get complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.

Start your FREE trial

Already a member? Log in