Course outline
Existing conditions, hazardous materials and work by others
Renovation flooring bids carry risks new construction doesn't: what's under the existing floor, whether it contains hazardous material, and who moves furniture, disconnects equipment and protects finished work. State exactly what removal your price includes, exclude hazardous material testing and abatement unless you're licensed and priced for it, and list work by others by name so every boundary between trades has an owner.
By Michael Reddy, IntelBid
After this lesson you can
- Define the existing-floor removal your price includes
- Exclude hazardous material work and plan for a stop-work condition
- Assign furniture, equipment, protection and building conditions in writing
How do you qualify existing floor removal?
- Name the material and the layers. “Removal of one layer of existing carpet tile and adhesive in areas shown” — not “demo existing flooring.” Old carpet is often laid over older resilient tile.
- Separate adhesive removal from flooring removal, and state the condition you'll leave the substrate in.
- Price what's under it as unknown. The slab under a removed floor may need prep you couldn't see at bid time — carry a unit price.
- Include or exclude disposal explicitly, with the dumpster by you or the GC.
What about hazardous materials?
Older resilient floor tile, sheet flooring backing and some cutback adhesives may contain asbestos. Disturbing it is regulated — including OSHA's asbestos standard for construction (29 CFR 1926.1101) and EPA and state rules — and requires properly trained, and often licensed, contractors. Unless your company is qualified and priced for that work, exclude it and plan what happens if suspect material appears.
“Testing, abatement, handling and disposal of asbestos-containing or other hazardous materials are excluded. Price assumes the owner has confirmed existing materials to be removed are free of hazardous materials. If suspect materials are encountered, work in the affected area will stop until the owner confirms they are safe to disturb; resulting delays and remobilizations will be a change.”
— Example to adapt — have large contracts reviewed
Who handles the work around yours?
| Item | Common responsible party | Why it needs a line |
|---|---|---|
| Furniture moving | Owner or mover — unless specified to you | Labor-heavy and easy to assume |
| Computers, phones, equipment disconnects | Owner or IT vendor | Liability if something breaks |
| Appliances and fixtures | Owner or GC | Must be out before flooring goes in |
| Temporary HVAC, lighting and power | GC | Required for acclimation, testing and installation |
| Protection after turnover | GC or owner | Damage by other trades is otherwise yours |
| Final cleaning | GC or cleaning contractor | Flooring final cleaning can be a spec requirement |
| Base behind casework, trim at elevators | Casework or elevator trades | Boundary items fall between trades |
Write the responsible party when you know it: “Furniture moving by owner.” When you don't, write that it's excluded. Either way, nothing on this list should be silent.
Should a flooring contractor exclude asbestos abatement?
Yes, unless the company is properly trained, licensed where required, and priced for it. Exclude testing, abatement and disposal, and state that work stops if suspect material is found until the owner confirms it's safe.
How do you write an existing flooring removal clarification?
Name the material, the number of layers and the areas, say whether adhesive removal and disposal are included, and price the unknown substrate condition beneath as a unit price.
Who moves furniture on a flooring renovation?
Often the owner or a moving company, but some specifications assign it to the flooring contractor. Check the documents and state the responsible party in your proposal.
Key points
- Removal scope names the material, layers, adhesive and disposal.
- Exclude hazardous material work and plan a stop-work condition.
- Every neighboring task gets a named owner or a written exclusion.
The same protections on change orders
When hidden conditions turn up mid-job, IntelBid change orders have their own Notes for the condition a change is predicated on, and print your standard inclusions and exclusions, so the extra work you price carries the same written protections as your original proposal.
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About the author. Michael Reddy builds IntelBid, bid management software for commercial flooring subcontractors. These lessons come from the bid desk: how the work is priced, won and paid for.