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Construction Bid Opportunities

Knowing about and taking advantage of construction bid opportunities can help differentiate a contractor from their competition. There are many ways to find out about construction bid opportunities, from monitoring the Internet to simple word of mouth.

In order to gain as much attention as possible, property owners try to advertise their construction bid opportunities in as many ways as they can. One way this is done is to send out invitations to companies they've worked with before; they can also announce their construction bid opportunities in industry magazines and other publications. More recently, construction bid opportunities are frequently found on industry-related Web sites, as well as the company's site itself.

Federal, state and local authorities are required by law to post their jobs for an extended period of time in local newspapers, while many also post the jobs in industry publications. They also post their projects on their Web sites, giving multiple opportunities for potential builders to find and bid on their projects.

Construction bid opportunities can be directed at contractors known for specializing in certain construction methods. In the traditional bid process, the bids cover the amount it would cost a general contractor to build a project, pay its employees and make a small percentage of profit. The estimate covers the cost of items like concrete for the foundation, cables for electrical wiring, flooring, plumbing, carpentry and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning).

The design-build process is more involved. In this process, an architect and general contractor combine as a team and present a building or project design and construction contractor services in one proposal. The design-build process is used by those who believe an architect-contactor team with a past history of working together would be more efficient and, as a result, cheaper than an architect and contractor

The construction manager at-risk (CM at-risk) project falls in between the two. The architect is hired separately from the general contractor, but the contractor is involved in the project from the pre-construction process all the way through completion. The estimate comes in the form of a guaranteed maximum price, which covers all services rendered from pre-construction through the building process.

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