First bid on prevailing wage job

well lost the next one, weird, I saw who I was bidding against, and I know I under bid him on all the rest-remodels we bid against. But he was 800 cheaper and did not do any Amp logging, I know he did not do a load calc either by hand.
 
No specs they say we want this here.
He probably doing no permits cause for some reason they’re a big transformer sitting right in front of two panels. I was going to tap off the tram and put panel next to it for clearance but that probably what sunk me.
It’s the same local guy that does not tell people that bids cost money Untill he already submitted. Guys shifty, but man he has got a lot of money lol
 
So I picked up plans today for the huge project they are requesting bids for.
One page! No specs of units just provide 20 amp at 208/240 3/0. With sharpy marks were unit sits. I looked at it and was shocked. I told him I need to see nameplate or Model of unit.
To Properly size this, he then says well plans are wrong we’re going with another system I’ll let you know!!!!
Omg I was glad i picked them up 2 days late I may have waisted my time.

I am going to tell them without a detailed list of what you want and were you want with what material you want to supply these units I am not going to waist my time bidding.

If I pipe everything to provide some future proofing and they just run Mc or even nmb everywhere I would never be able to do compete with that. I could do bare minimum but I hate doing that then it looks bad on you down the road when they ask why that line is useless when they get a new larger unit.

Kinda a joke I’ll post the page laughable for a school project in the 500k price for units alone
 
AC\DC said:
So I picked up plans today for the huge project they are requesting bids for.
One page! No specs of units just provide 20 amp at 208/240 3/0. With sharpy marks were unit sits. I looked at it and was shocked. I told him I need to see nameplate or Model of unit.
To Properly size this, he then says well plans are wrong we’re going with another system I’ll let you know!!!!
Omg I was glad i picked them up 2 days late I may have waisted my time.

I am going to tell them without a detailed list of what you want and were you want with what material you want to supply these units I am not going to waist my time bidding.

If I pipe everything to provide some future proofing and they just run Mc or even nmb everywhere I would never be able to do compete with that. I could do bare minimum but I hate doing that then it looks bad on you down the road when they ask why that line is useless when they get a new larger unit.

Kinda a joke I’ll post the page laughable for a school project in the 500k price for units alone
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Sounds like change order game stuff. NM and school shouldn't go together if more than 100 people allowed in the building though. Silly they don't have proper specs I almost wonder how they can get a permit. WA requires plan review unless lowering load for energy efficient design retrofits under a certain size.
 
letgomywago said:
Sounds like change order game stuff. NM and school shouldn't go together if more than 100 people allowed in the building though. Silly they don't have proper specs I almost wonder how they can get a permit. WA requires plan review unless lowering load for energy efficient design retrofits under a certain size.
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ya, NMB is in the school- I would not put it past some guys around here to add more, This should require plan review, there not even getting ride of old heating system this is all back up. Increase in load is going to be dramatic I think plans show 35 units.
 
Sounds vaguely familiar.

In the old days gc's would do a drive by bid. Double or triple their guess because the State was such a pita to work for paperwork wise, then win stuff they did not want. Heard that more than once.

For their subs they would shop them to death, then go back to their regular guys regularly. Never changed.

If you get a new gc who wants to break into that market and get some regular winning low bids ... mmm ... even those guys go out the hard way.

I bid a Process Cooler for MSB on the UConn campus. Had a primary Voltage loop switch and page after page of new panels but not one feeder on the drawing to the panels. Just a wall with a wall box but nothing coming in or out. How do you bid that. Probably lucky they did not use my bid.

MSB when it was built was drawn for 8 floors but they only got to floor 6 and stopped there. Building had rain gutters inside the building above the drop ceiling.

In the 1980's MSB had a computer lab and if you wheeled the 1980's PC to the wall, the magnetic fields would pull the picture off the screen. I saw that and told them I knew what caused that and would fix it, going nowhere with that. I was student labor in the 1930's DC lab at the time. Literally the PC was on a wheeled cart, with an old school paper note taped to the screen, "do not wheel over to the wall".

In the 1990's when I bid their work, the new building right between MSB and Eng II where I had won the high speed combustion lab, that building only went up as high as the steelwork for the staircases, that was all that went up, then stayed in litigation, oh idk, probably longer than I can breathe.

They spent another 1 billion for another 10 years, after their 10 year 2000 project, to get what they thought they were going to get on the first try. Then they kept building and became, everyone says, overbuilt. Total scam school back then and worse today. Can probably name two or three EC subs from that time who are well gone and out the hard way.
 
If you are not utilizing the fringe to put into employee benefits or one of the DOL approved "buckets" your bid will be higher than those that are by 3-5%. If you are really looking to win these bids it is a necessity.
 
I also firmly believe the people responsible for reviewing the bids are never held responsible for bad contracts they allowed. It is always a group or counsel vote and therefore nobody is blamed when they go sideway.

My favorite one, to this day, was a city contract to provide low income housing with free internet that was bid by a IT company and awarded to them without them having any way to build in the public ROW. They didn't know how to install poles, or battery equipment, or even purchase a DIA service from a level 2 or higher provider. Years later, they are still fumbling around trying to figure it out. They wanted to run wifi repeaters from city hall....
 
I know this is an old post but, here in NC, me being the owner, since i perform physical work on the project i'm required to submit a CP report and pay myself the prevailing wage as a minimum.
 
My old boss would do a 'public records request' on and public works jobs he did not get, he would get a copy of every change order, invoice etc that the city had related to the electrical. I am not sure what details you can get anymore that was 30 years ago. If I recall he did have to pay, but he thought it was worth it.
 
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