I am about to put my plans out to bid with several builders and was wondering if there is a good form available for this process and some place I can get a complete list of specifications. As you can tell I am new at this….
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You supply the specs to the contractors, the architect should provide them with the plans. If not, it is up to you to put together a complete list. Lotta leg work, but worth every bit of hassle up front, to save problems and misunderstandings later. The more complete your spec list, the more you can be assured of an "apples to apples" comparison of bids.
Tell us about the plans.
Are they, or do they show:
Site specific? (locate the house on your building site, with grades)
Foundation, all dimensions and structural details?
Structural elements of framing? (sizes and locations of all members)
Callouts for sheathing types, subfloor materials?
Exterior finish specs? (shingles, siding, trim)
Exterior window and door schedule, with mfgrs., "or equal"?
Interior room finish schedule?
Interior trim schemes details?
All cabinetry and built-ins specs?
Interior door and hardware schedule?
Lighting and electrical plan?
Lighting fixture schedule?
Plumbingware schedule?
Major appliances schedule?
Countertop specifications?
The lists go on and on. But it is best now, as stated in the earlier post, to go to work and write it all down. When you think you are finished, you probably won't be. Keep working on it, until everything required to do the job is either on drawings or specs.
Thanks Gene, some of the stuff you listed is on the plans but I can see there is a lot more I need to get. Your list is very helpful.
The whole point is that ujnless your plans are specific in every detail, any "bids" will be worthless, because every contractor will be pricing in different assumed vaariables. You will not be able to compare prices.Now then - tell why you might want to "bid" out a residential project like this. Before you do - you might want to use the seaarch button and find other discussions in the business folder on bidding. you may find it enlightening.
Why?
Most better contractors do not participate in a bid process. I know from the beginning that my time preparing abid is wasted. I do top quality work and a customer who askes me to bid against others is telling me that they are not looking for that, but are looking instead for the lowest price they can find. There are other ways to qualify your builder, but you need to determine first what your goal is.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
But Pat referred to "several builders" in his post that began this thread.
He may have already qualified those builders as competent and interested in participating.
There are many markets where the better contractors routinely bid work.
For an owner that has either paid an architect to develop a complete set of plans and specifications, or has done the legwork to come up with his own, it seems to me that the bid process can work just fine.
An example is the original version, the "prototype," of the house I'll start this May. For that one, Minnesota owners took their Minnesota architect to their newly purchased site in Vermont, with the site-specific plans and specs she had done for them. Archy interviewed local builders to qualify interested bidders, managed the RFQ, advised on the award, the job got done just fine, and everyone was happy. Lump sum firm price contract, per plans and specs.
The only change order was for the addition of gutters, not in the bid set of drawings.
Somehow - I doubt that these plans were done by an architiect. If he had an archy, he would have someone guiding him through this and he would not need to ask the question here
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You're right. He is going to struggle. But that is why we are all here, right? To help him get through this vale of tears.
My point was that there are actually some good builders out there who are engaged in competitive bidding, and that, for the most part, work bid at fixed pricing, per a good set of plans and specs, generally comes out just fine.
I've some friends here that can tell horror stories about jobs gone bad, that were done design-build on cost-plus terms.
There are goodies and baddies on both sides of the terms fence.
Thank you for your insight. I have two quality builders that both have very good references. Both have asked me to be very specific even beyond what is on the plans. How else do I determine which to use if not by considering price?
Thank you for your insight. I have two quality builders that both have very good references. Both have asked me to be very specific even beyond what is on the plans. How else do I determine which to use if not by considering price?
Your in a good position. Pay one of them to help you develop a spec sheet and drawings and then let them both bid on it. If you are fair, they will also treat you fair. In the end, you'll get the best house for a fair price.
blueJust because you can, doesn't mean you should!
Warning! Be cautious when taking any framing advice from me. There are some in here who think I'm a hackmeister...they might be right! Of course, they might be wrong too!
Sounds like you have already started down the right road and if the builders are aasking for specs to bid on, after you prequalified them by reputation and rapport, then you are on the right path.Too often we hear of someone who has a preconceived idea that they should do this process like bidding out a fourteen story commercial building...In areas where you cannot be specific yet, such as lifght fixtures exact model number, the builder can build in an "allowance" in the bid.
You do need to be carefull of things like that too though, if his average price per fixtrue is $30 while your taste is more like $350/per.
or on kitchen cabinets, if he leaves an allowance of only ten thousand, when you want granite tops. That will eat up the whole cabinet allowance in the top 1-1/2" of them...
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Keep in mind that "plans" are quite different from "spec books".
The last house we did had a spec book that was in a 5" binder! Of course, that supplemented the standard plans.
You may want to get with your architect to complete the spec book. If you don't want to pay the exorbitant fees that some archies (and engineers) charge for a spec book... ask him for a worksheet to guide you... and then pay him to review the specs that you put together. It WILL be worth it.
The more detailed view you can give a bidding contractor, the better. If you do not provide this in advance... chances are very high that you will get wide varying bids and a lot of headaches when you realize the contractor you chose (because of his low bid) has allowances for hamburger when you wanted prime-rib.
Thanks
Why does the title of this thread keep running through my mind to the tune of "burning down the house" ???
Whyyyy I aughta......
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Dont get caught up in the evolving plan as the bid process unfolds. What I mean is the first builder might say if we make this little change here we can save so much... next guy says and if we do this we can move this window... next guy says why dont we blah blah blah....and so on.
Before you know it you have 4 builders bidding 4 different projects. Stay specific to the original plan or you will never compare apples to apples. You can make those changes after you choose a builder.
Pat, I don't know what to say but you have no idea what you are about to get yourself into. Forget the tender process find the very best, competent, trusted builder you can find, pay that price and still expect many sleepless nights.
I do not know why people all of a sudden jump up in life and decide to become their own home builder. Books upon books can be written of the problems with this.
In fact you should start a thread for us all to see, "Home builder house of horrors".
Thanks David, i am not going to be my won general on this project. I have two good builders I am considering and both have asked to to be as specific as possible with my specs. So i was looking for a form of format and some guiidelines.