ADDENDUM TO INVITATION FOR BID
IFB: IFB.08.53.DC.B
TITLE: Interior Renovations at Kelly House and 20 Warren Place Apts
DATE: May 16, 2008
ADDENDUM # 1
The above numbered Invitation for Bid is amended as set forth below. The Hour and Date specified for receipt of
bids [ ] remains:
or [ X ] is extended to: Friday, May 23, 2008 @ 2:00PM ET
Amended Bid Schedule is attached [ ].
Bid Schedule has not been amended [X ].
Offerors must acknowledge receipt of this addendum prior to the hour and date specified in the Invitation For Bid, or as amended, by one of the following methods: 1) Sign and return a copy of this Addendum, or 2) Reference and acknowledge this Addendum on the offer submitted. Failure to acknowledge addendum may result in rejection of your offer.
If by virtue of this addendum you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by submitting an amended bidding schedule or by letter, provided such letter makes reference to this solicitation and this addendum and is received prior to the closing date and hour specified.
CHANGES/ADDITIONS:
On page 15, under Lot 2 – 20 Warren Place, under A. General Scope of Work delete the following words, stairwells, and corridors.
Under B. Surface repair/Painting Specifications, painting notes (1st note)
Delete - and all interior public areas: corridors, stairwells, lobby, offices, public restroom, and laundry room. (note 5) delete - Clean all old/new paint, tape, etc from aluminum door/window assemblies in lobby and offices.
On page 16, under interior paint colors for 20 Warren Place delete note 4 – Corridor/Stairwell Trim and doors.
Questions received are addressed below:
Question:
What is to be done with the openings under the stairs at Kelly, specifically in 101 it was exposed.
Answer:Any opening such as the one exposed should have the back panel of the alcove replaced with a ¾” sheet of paint-grade plywood with seams caulked and panel primed and painted to match adjacent trim.
Question: What about the raw popcorn on the ceilings at Kelly? You said no spraying allowed but if raw popcorn is rolled about ¼ of it will come off.
Answer:Spray application is acceptable for textured ceiling surfaces provided that all surrounding surfaces, furnishings, appliances, cabinetry, etc are protected.
Question: Please clarify regarding what is to be painted on the metal exterior at Kelly? (all of the railings, stairwells, etc?) Also what about the type of sander being allowed for the sanding of the metal at Kelly (Jason I wasn’t sure what type of sander that guy was talking about?
Answer: The add-alternate for exterior trim paint at Kelly House does include all metal surfaces currently painted white including (but not limited to) columns, railings, eaves and stairwell components. All doors and door trim is to be painted as well as part of the add-alternate. Belt sanders and random orbital sanders are permitted on metal surfaces but not on wood surfaces.
Question: Is the wiremold to be painted?
Answer: Yes please, to match wall color.
Question: Exhaust Fans – contractor provided? Please clarify about the 10%
Answer: The exhaust fans are to be contractor provided and they should match existing as closely as possible. I wanted this to be the responsibility of the contractor so they could find a suitable product that does not require new ductwork or cutting/patching of sheetrock. It is acceptable to simply replace fan motors and not the housings. We just want everything to work giving the bathroom proper ventilation. The 10% replacement number assumes that they will need to replace approximately 10% of the fans in the buildings. Since most bathroom fans are silent, students usually don’t notice that they are broken. Therefore, we don’t find out until an inspection or the manifestation of a bigger problem such as mildew. This statement should apply to Kelly House and Warren Place. I included the 10% number so contractors can address this somehow in their bids. Without physically testing each fan before submitting a bid, it’s hard for them to insert an apples-to-apples number.
Lot 2 – 20 Warren Place
Question: What public areas of Warren are included? Are stairwells included?
Answer:Actually, that is a copy/paste typo. The scope of 20 Warren should only include the confines of the apartments. No public areas, corridors, stairs, laundry, etc should be included. They were freshened last year and can be touched up by our maintenance staff without a stringent deadline. Those public areas SHOULD be included at Kelly House however.
Question: Will the Owner provided material be delivered to the jobsite? If not please provide the exact street address where the items are to be picked up. Will they be loaded by others, or will the contractor load, transport, and unload?
Answer: Owner-provided material will be delivered to the jobsite and unloaded by product vendor and/or CofC personnel into one centralized location. The contractor will be responsible for distribution of products to individual apartments.
Question: Are scaled drawings available? Those provided with the solicitation are too small a format to effectively be used for dimensional information.
Answer: Scaled drawings are available in electronic form in AutoCAD or .pdf formats. I can e-mail you the .pdf versions for distribution, but the AutoCAD versions will only open for companies that have AutoCAD.
Question: Please provide a list of locations and sizes for the "patch Panels" in the sheetrock walls to be repaired.
Answer:A detailed list is not available. It is the responsibility of the contractor to make assessments and corrections.
Question: All surfaces are to be de-glossed per the instructions, but we are prohibited from either spraying or using any means of power sanding. How is this work to be preformed?
Answer: Mechanical sanders such as belt and random orbital sanders will be allowed, but specifically, no disc sanders are to be used. Gouging from disc sanders can create more damage than what is being repaired.
Question: No Manufacturers' instructions for the floor covering were attached at the end of the solicitation document as stated.
Answer: Will submit ASAP
Question: Please clarify what recycling is "encouraged" and what recycling is "required".
Answer: All recycling is encouraged, but none is required.
Question: Please confirm that our only responsibility with regard to electrical abnormalities or code violations is to report them to the owner.
Answer: Yes, that is confirmed. However, it is requested that a fee proposal to correct these abnormalities accompanies the Contractor’s report.
Question: Please provide existing electrical plans for all spaces.
Answer: We can comply with that request by sending the .pdf versions of the electrical plans.
Question: Please provide cut sheets of all Owner provide electrical fixtures.
Answer: We can comply (attached to this amendment).
Question:Please provide detailed technical information on the characteristics of the bathroom exhaust fans and stove ventilation hoods to be replaced.
Answer: The most technical information we can provide is to match existing units as closely as possible in quality, appearance and specification.
Question: Please provide details of the existing bedroom door installation.
Answer: We can provide the original detail sheet from the building drawings, but since this building was purchased by the College long after it was originally constructed, we have no further information.
Question: Please provide detailed information regarding the bedroom door hardware to be installed (both contractor and owner provided).
Answer: We can acquire the door lockset hardware information from our Locksmith. Hinge weight and specifications should be compliant with door manufacturer’s instructions and recommendations.
Question:Where do the contractors personnel go to be issued the required photo ID? What information does the College require to verify and individual's identity in order to issue the ID cards?
Answer: It is the responsibility of the contractor to provide the photo ID’s as well as the authentication of their staff’s citizenship, work status and professional licensing/credentials. Many of our contractors have been successful with getting passport photos made at Kinko’s or taking employee photos with a digital camera and then making their own badges.
Question: The Solicitation states that the College shall have use of all buildings during College working hours. Does this mean that all of the contractor's work is to be performed after hours? What use of these buildings does the College foresee during the construction work?
Answer: The College will not be using the buildings in question at any time during the summer for living or office purposes, but will have use of them in the capacity of checking work progress and gaining access at any given time to respond to emergencies. The Contractor will have free reign to perform all work during regular business hours and may choose at their discretion to work after hours upon notification of Owner.
Question:How many copies of our response to the solicitations (bids) are required?
Answer: Please refer to the cover page of the solicitation, One (1) Original.
Question:Can specific quantity of tub/shower valve replacements be established for bidding purposes? Who supplies the replacement rub/shower valve - the contractor or the College?
Answer: Assume only 5% would require replacement and those should be the responsibility of the Contractor to match existing.
Question: Who is responsible for securing the water to the buildings? What outage procedures will we have to follow?
Answer: CofC Maintenance staff shall show awarded contractor where shutoff valves are located, but contractor will then be responsible for shut-offs and restorations as required. At the end of the job, we expect to see water operating and all fixtures tested with no leaks. Since the buildings will not be occupied, the Contractor may turn water on/off whenever needed without advance notification.
Question: Where can dumpsters be located?
Answer: Kelly House dumpster can be set in place of our current dumpster (which we can have temporarily removed). 20 Warren’s dumpster may be placed in the parking lot, but the exact location will need to be verified by Owner and CofC Parking Services.
Question:At Kelly house - the statement in the scope of work on page 9 states that "Lobby soffit will require sheetrock replacement." Does this mean that all of the sheetrock on the face and underside of the soffit is to be replaced?
Answer: Yes. Existing sheetrock has been patched/repaired so many times that we now require it to be replaced altogether.
Question:Where the bathroom exhaust fans or the kitchen range hoods are to be replaced, is the new fan/hood to be supplied by the Owner or by the contractor?
Answer: Those shall be supplied by the Contractor.
Question: At 20 Warren Place in the public corridors, please confirm which light fixtures are to be removed and reinstalled to accommodate the painting.
Answer: No work is to be performed in the public corridors of 20 Warren.
Question: Please confirm the scope of work to be covered by Alternate #2 for Kelly House. Does this Alternate include the painting of the structural steel support beams and columns for the porches? Does it include the metal stair structures complete including handrails, pickets, balusters, metal decking, stairs stringers, stair pans, etc?
Answer: Yes to both questions.
Question: What is the extent of the paint preparation where the existing beams are rusted and the rust extends under the adjacent vinyl soffit? If the soffit is not removed and the corrosion treated, the rust will spread back to the visible surfaces.
Answer: In those areas, the vinyl soffitt should be carefully removed, metal surfaces treated/prepped/primed/painted and vinyl soffitts reinstalled.
Question: There is no specification for final cleaning. Based on the lack of information, the spaces will be left in a "broom clean" condition. Please confirm that this is the intent of the Solicitation.
Answer: Yes, broom clean is acceptable with all surfaces wiped down and hard surfaces damp mopped. CofC custodial staff will then deep clean and strip/seal/wax all existing VCT common room floors.
Question: The painting notes indicate that Spraying is not allowed. All paint is to be applied using rollers and brushes. Please note that the existing ceilings are popcorn texture finished and have never been painted in the majority of spaces. A significant but undeterminable amount of this existing texture will fall off of the ceiling when it reacts with the moisture of the new paint and the drag of the rollers. This will result in the ceiling texture having to be touched up and then repainted. The repainting will loosen more of the existing texture which will require additional texture touchup, and so on. Given the aggressive schedule for this project, we would like the restriction on the method of paint application to be removed. Spray application of the paint should be allowed for both the walls and the ceilings. The walls only should be back rolled.
Answer: Since ceilings are the same color of walls and the consistency of paint is usually thinned for spray applications, we will allow spray method to be used ONLY if minimum coverage is increased to one coat of primer and THREE coats of finish. The millage (thickness) of the spray method MUST equal the rolled application thickness of 1 coat of primer + 2 coats of finish.
Question: Alternate #1 – Are the new doors to be painted? If so is a factory pre-finished door acceptable?
Answer: New doors are to be painted and factory finish is acceptable provided that the finish matches the color/sheen specified on the finish schedule as well as the color/sheen on existing doors to remain.
Question: Alternate #1 – As the new doors are to be premachined, please confirm the backset of the Owner provided door lockset.
Answer: This will be provided.Bidders are welcome to check out a sample lockset if desired for verification.
Question: Alternate #1 - Again - We will need details of the existing construction in order to effectively estimate the cost of the required reinforcement of the existing door jambs.
Answer: The drawings I forwarded (will be sent by email to everyone who provided an email address or requests these be sent by email) are all I have. They are welcome to come to site and take one sample assembly apart for study as long as they reassemble it on the same day.
Question: Alternate #1 - Is replacement of the entire door assembly including both the frame and the jamb an acceptable alternate? In this case we will not require details of the existing construction except that we will need to know the thickness of the existing walls and their construction (metal or wood studs, thickness of the drywall)
Answer: Pre-hung door/jamb/frame package is an acceptable alternate, but the bid submittal must clearly state the inclusion of frames/jambs.
Question: Alternate #2 – Can median blasting or power sanding/grinding methods be used to prepare the steel surfaces for painting?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Workmanship – On page 13, the statement that all work is to be of the “highest industry standard” is not compatible with the project schedule. In order to meet the stated completion date, high production methods and means will need to be employed. Those methods are required when the amount of work and the time frame allowed require a rate of production in excess of industry standards. To summarize – you can go fast or you can have “pretty”. You can not have both. This clause should be removed.
Answer: The clause will not be removed.The College understands that this is a 14-15 year old building and that all blemishes and surface abnormalities cannot be eliminated from sheetrock, existing doors or trim. We do expect the best, smoothest job possible, considering the existing conditions of the buildings. The awarded contractor may do a “mock-up room” at the start of the project showing their proposed prep/paint standards, so all parties can meet and agree on their vision of the finished product.
Question: On page 14 under Additional Instruction, we are told to expect the presence of other contracted disciplines during the course of our work. Please define the nature of the other work including no less than
Scope of work
Crew Sizes and durations
Mobilization and completion dates
Answer: Installers of sofa cushions will be on site beginning July 15 and will stay for approximately 2 weeks. Installers of window blinds and room number signs will be on site on August 1 and will be there for about 1 week. Crew sizes are not known.
Question: In a following note the college makes us responsible for the safety of our own personnel, members of the College community, and the general public. Please note that if other crews are to be working in our construction area, they will be subject to our safety standards and procedures. They will be expected to abide by all OSHA construction industry standards and attend all weekly safety meetings. If they are found in violation of OSHA standards or company safety policy, they will be removed from the jobsite.