Bidding Practices
The Bidding Practices domain tests whether you can convert drawings, specifications, and addenda into a complete, defensible masonry bid. Questions focus on scope definition, quantity takeoff, pricing structure, bid qualifications, and bid-day discipline.
Define scope before pricing
- Read Division 04 Masonry together with adjacent sections that create interfaces: concrete, steel, waterproofing, sealants, and roofing.
- Take off by assembly, not just units: CMU or brick, mortar, grout, reinforcement, ties, flashing, weep vents, lintels, sealants, accessories, and scaffolding.
- Use net wall area and deduct openings, but retain a project-specific waste factor for cuts around openings and corners.
- Separate direct costs, overhead, profit, bonds, insurance, and contingency. Carry unit prices and alternates separately so the owner can compare bids fairly.
Qualify the bid
- State inclusions, exclusions, assumptions, material quote validity, and any escalation clause.
- Acknowledge each addendum by number. A bid that ignores an addendum may be nonresponsive.
- Confirm bond, prevailing-wage, retainage, and payment terms before the deadline.
Worked example
A wall measures 12,000 sf with 1,200 sf of openings. Net area is 10,800 sf. At 1.125 8-in. CMU per sf, the count is 12,150 units. Adding 5% waste gives 12,758 units. At $1.90 per unit, material is $24,240. If labor is carried at $2.25 per unit, labor is $28,706, for $52,946 direct cost. Adding 12% overhead and profit gives about $59,300 before bonds and tax. The reasoning: openings reduce net wall area, but waste still applies because cuts are generated around them. Pricing gross wall area and then adding waste double-counts the wall.
Traps that cost marks
Using gross area without deductions; omitting flashing, weeps, lintels, or scaffold; missing an addendum; front-end loading an unbalanced bid; and treating a verbal supplier quote as firm.
Key points
- Take off by assembly, not by block count alone.
- Deduct openings, then apply waste to the net quantity.
- Document qualifications, exclusions, and addenda.
- Keep unit prices and alternates transparent.
- Bid shopping and unverified verbal quotes create commercial risk.