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For general contractors & estimators
Bid invitations
What a bid from BD Excavation contains, how soils risk is handled, and the fastest way to get us on your list.
What you get back
A number you
can actually compare.
A sitework bid is only useful if it can be laid against the civil set and against the other bids. Every BD Excavation proposal is built so it can be.
- Scope grouped by service
- Not by operation — so it reads against your scope sheet
- Complete installed prices
- Every line includes labor, equipment, material and the work to install it
- Written exclusions
- Stated on the face of the proposal, not buried in terms
- Soils carved out
- Geotechnical work priced as unit rates on actual field quantity
- Alternates separated
- Accept or drop without re-pricing the base
- Clarifications listed
- Drawing conflicts raised before award, not after mobilization
Scope boundary
Excluded on every proposal.
Naming these up front is how a project team avoids a gap between trades at buyout.
- Asphalt paving — surface, intermediate and binder course
- Concrete flatwork, curb, gutter and sidewalk placement
- ADA ramp construction, striping and pavement markings
- Landscaping, seeding, irrigation and site amenities
- Building construction and foundation concrete
- Post indicator valves and interior building valves
- Hazardous material survey and abatement
- Traffic control beyond the site entrance
• Soils
The risk nobody
wants to price.
Unsuitable soil, a high water table and an undercut that was not in the borings are where sitework bids go wrong. Rather than pad the base bid or absorb it silently, that scope is named, excluded and carried as unit-rate work measured in the field under the geotechnical engineer's direction — so the Owner pays for what is actually there and no more.
Questions from estimators
Before you send the invitation.
How do you present a bid?
One page of scope, one page of price. Every line is a complete installed price, grouped by service rather than by operation, with inclusions and exclusions written out and alternates separated so they can be accepted or dropped cleanly.
How do you handle soils risk?
Undercut, stabilization stone, engineered fill and dewatering are excluded from the base bid and carried as unit-rate work billed on actual field quantity under the geotechnical engineer's direction. Work stops, the Contractor is notified, and it proceeds as a signed change order. Nothing soils-driven is buried in a lump sum.
Will you carry allowances for scope that is not drawn yet?
Yes, clearly identified as allowances on the face of the proposal, with the missing documents listed. An allowance that is not labelled an allowance is a trap for both sides.
Can you hold a number through a long bid cycle?
Material pricing on aggregate and pipe is the exposure. Tell us the expected award and start dates with the invitation and the proposal will state the period the price is held for.
Do you provide certificates, bonding and safety documentation?
Certificates of insurance are issued on request, bonding is available where the project requires it, and prequalification packages are completed on request. Send the requirements with the invitation.
What is the fastest way to get us a bid invitation?
Email the civil set, geotechnical report, bid form and addenda to dirt@bdxcavation.com, or add that address to your BuildingConnected, iSqFt or Blue Book distribution. Plan links are fine — no need to send files.
