Big Landscaping bid advice

[harold56]

got a proposal for bid on three city parks improvement totaling around $280000. Consists of removing old play grounds, installing new ones, installing irrigation, and pooring new walk ways in concrete. Any andvice would be great.

[sbvfd592]

umm bit it just like any other job. how must labor costs profit marg

[Petr51488]

Labor+Materials+Overhead=Price you should charge.

[harold56]

pricing is not so much the issue. I'm used to that. however its the other stuff like leagal issues, getting bonded, and so on. anyone ever had any negative experiences on big jobs i can learn from. thanks much

[harold56]

wow even when i type your can tell i'm from texas.... lets try *legal*

[AintNoFun]

if you've never been bonded before im pretty sure they are going to make you put up some assets for that amount. plus if they require a maintenance bond they are getting tougher to get written up here now... also check out your local prevailing rate laws...

[Firefly Prof. Lighting]

Having spent the last 15 years with a very large landscape firm, I can tell you to be prepared for a couple of things. They may require a performance bond which would cost you a small fortune, and know that if it is a city or county agency putting this out to bid, you will probably not see your money for at least 90 days after you complete it. It is just the way they like to stack the odds in their favor. If you are not a large company with a lot of reserves, I would probably walk away from this one and stick with jobs in your comfort zone. A 5-10K job going wrong wont bankrupt your company, but a 280,000k job will bury you fast. Just my .02

[TPnTX]

[They may require a performance bond which would cost you a small fortune]


Sad but true. My town is growing fast. Last year 150%. There is a lot of work being done.

I had the inside track on a community park project. Sounds alot like the one you talking about. They did not require a bond. In the end after all three bids were in the city council voted down the project.

Next up was a sports complex project. Landscape, steel fence, irrigation. All in my scope. This time however everything was structured through a consulting firm and performance bond was required before you got the bid. Crazy. Even fairly good sized companies pass on this stuff.
You could also put a ??% deposit down in lue of a bond. Again crazy.

I haven't given up though. Our town was awarded membership to the "Texas Main Street Program" by the Tx Historical Commission. We will recieve major state and federal funding to revitalize the downtown area. Only a few cities are chosen.

Anyway I was appointed to the board. I'll work along side the Mayor, Mayor Pro tem, Director of economic development and several other key individuals in town. It's really a big deal for me and I plan to capitalize on it including learning more about municipality projects.

I'll be sure to share what I learn.