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Frequently Asked Questions

This week’s blog post is authored by Neil Tuck, Federal Sales Manager. Neil will tackle intricate questions that he is frequently asked by both facility owners and contractors.

Q:    Just wanted to get some clarification on something. In the construction related costs section of the price book it says:

  • "Removing and returning Owner's furniture and furnishings (chairs, tables, pictures, etc. but excluding modular furniture, wall or ceiling attached or fastened devices or furnishings, safes or other furniture requiring disassembly)."

The contractor is assessing that this is for moving the furniture away from the walls into the center of the room and if they need to move it to the room across the hall then it would be an additional cost to the government.

As I see it the following should apply:

  • 01 66 19 00-0004 Moving Furniture (01 66 19)
    • Note: To be used when contractor is required to move furniture. Not to be used when the amount of furniture is less than 55% of the total floor space. Moving of furniture which occupies less than 55% of the total floor space is considered as part of the coefficient adjustment factor.
  • 01 66 19 00-0005 SF Remove, Transport, Return and Reinstall Office Furniture 
    • Note: Includes general, desks, tables, file cabinets (full), chairs, storage boxes, bookshelves, office equipment and computers (per SF of office area). Not to be used when amount of furniture is less than 55% of total floor space.

This building is a child care facility with tables and chair and bookshelves.

A:    Moving furniture in and out of the classroom or to the center of the room to be covered is the responsibility of the contractor and is included in the bid coefficient. In this case, the contractor would move the teacher's desks, student's desks and/or freestanding closets, etc, every night at the start of work and move them back when they finished so that the classroom would be set up for the next day.

Exceptions:

  • Anything mounted on the walls, floors, or ceilings. The contractor is entitled to extra labor or demo for removing/re-installing something mounted like a shelf or a fan.
  • A safe or anything exceptionally heavy.
  • Cubicles. A modular desk that is freestanding and does not require disassembly to move is not included in the “excluding modular furniture" statement. Excluding modular furniture refers to something like a cubical that requires disassembly in order to move it.
  • If they need to move something more than 125', then they are entitled to a moving materials line item.
  • If the room has an excessive amount of materials that need to be moved and it would create an unreasonable burden on the contractor. The 55% of total floor space is a rule of thumb; if, for instance, 30% of the space is floor to ceiling with bookshelves containing books, then you should pay the contractor to move them. But if the contractor has to move one 4' bookshelf and a few desks, then it is covered in his bid coefficient.

Your application of the big note is absolutely correct. The item that they have chosen specifically says " Not to be used when amount of furniture is less than 55% of total floor space."

Q:    The facility owner called me for some various roof leaks and needs me to make the necessary repairs ASAP. As an addition to the scope of work, they would like me to asses various roofs across the campus to determine if they needs repair or replacement. How do I price that in my JOC proposal?

A:    In section 1, there is some testing items in 01 45 23. With regards to the section 01 45 23 00-0179 (Roof Investigation And Moisture Survey Using Infrared Thermography), please keep in mind that this applies only if you are using an Infrared Thermography device, and that the minimum charge applies up to the point where the SF charge would be greater. They are not to be used in conjunction.

In other books we have some assessment items for built-up asphalt roofing in 07 51 13.

If the items mentioned above from section 1 do not fit for the scope of work, then the recommended approach is to use an investigating engineer (01 22 20 00-0042 HR Investigating Engineer Or Specialty Consultant) labor charge to capture the costs for a roof assessment. I would suggest adding Material Testing to his scope of work so that the government will also have realistic expectations as to the cost of replacing the roof, including any removal of ACM.

Hopefully the information provided gives you the information that you need to make an informed decision.