Contracts, Project Delivery, and Construction Administration in California Practice
Delivery methods
Design-bid-build remains the default public model: complete drawings, advertised bid, award to the lowest responsible bidder. Alternatives include design-build (single entity, authorized for many public agencies by statute), construction manager at risk (holds trade contracts and guarantees a price), and multiple-prime contracting. Lease-leaseback and job order contracting carry their own statutory limits. Private parties may structure delivery however they agree.
Public works rules
Prevailing wages with certified payroll reporting to the DIR; bidder security, typically 10 percent; 100 percent performance and payment bonds; the Subletting and Subcontracting Fair Practices Act requiring listed subcontractors; retention of about 5 percent; and prompt payment statutes. Lien and stop notice deadlines are strict: a 20-day preliminary notice, and a direct contractor generally has 90 days after completion to record a lien.
Construction administration
The architect issues information, reviews submittals, certifies payment, and observes the work; the contractor controls means, methods, sequence, and jobsite safety. A change order is signed by all parties; a construction change directive orders work before price is agreed. Substantial completion starts warranties and the punch list; final completion releases retention.
Traps
Believing the architect supervises the work or warrants the contractor's performance; treating a periodic site visit as an inspection; confusing an architect's supplemental instruction with a change order; forgetting design-build shifts design-error risk to the design-builder.
Rule of thumb
The standard of care is what a reasonably prudent architect practicing in the same community would do under similar circumstances - not perfection, and not a warranty.