PROPER BID PREPARATION HELPS AVOID COSTLY MISCUES FOR MANAGERS & CONTRACTORS.

A property manager / owner preparing for acceptance of a bid and a contractor developing a proposal should be preparing for their respective endeavors in very similar ways. Each of the parties must understand the steps involved in bidding asphalt work and what significant work items to consider based on the scope of work.

The following are certain site considerations that must be evaluated prior to submitting a proposal for a few of the more prominent asphalt bid categories.

SEALCOATING

*Inspect the lot for Cracksealing. If not addressed, cracks will become more evident after sealcoating if not filled prior. Cracks also will allow water penetration into the sub-base of the pavement structure.

*Check for failure areas. Sealcoating helps to prevent failure from occurring; it does not correct failure areas.

*The age and overall condition of the lot should be considered prior to sealing. For example, if the lot is 15 years old and in need of an overlay in one or two years, funding may be better spent on an initial phase of an overlay.

REPAIRS

*Try to determine the cause of the failure. Was the failure simply from age and decay from the surface, or is there an underlying problem with the subgrade failure? Are there drainage issues to consider?

*There should be significant, undamaged asphalt between repair areas. Leaving an unaddressed asphalt area one to six feet wide between repair patches is inviting trouble as the weight of the excavation equipment, paver and asphalt trucks during the repair process could lead to failure of such a small area.

*Occasionally the depth of the existing asphalt can be deceiving. What may be proposed as a four inch depth repair may actually be six inches after excavation. On larger repair jobs, it is advisable to pull core samples to verify the depth of the asphalt.

OVERLAYS

*Review the lot for failure areas requiring repair.

*Is surface drainage currently a problem? Will the addition of 1.5 to 2 inches of asphalt possibly contribute to a drainage issue? Are there any areas that require edge or profile milling to alleviate possible water problems?

These are only some of the more significant issues to consider when bidding on a sealcoating, repair, or overlay project. Each of the tasks require a detailed site inspection, and many times alternative work scopes can be developed after reviewing the site.