Thinking Of Preparing A Bid?

If you are preparing a bid for waterproof deck coatings you will appreciate this article.

Do you know the secrets of bidding on critical waterproof decking jobs?

This article is directed towards builders looking for work on commercial decking jobs where they will be dealing with a Home Owner Association or Strata Council and for the managers or and HOA to learn also.

About The Author

Here's some great advice from Bill Leys of Central Coast Waterproofing on what e has to say about how to successfully bid for waterproofing deck coatings jobs.

Select the Right Material for The Job

When it is time to replace your deck coatings, it is important to first select the coating you want or need to put own.

Since waterproof deck coating replacement is one of the biggest expenditures an Association will make, it is recommended that a construction manager be involved to help guide the Association through the process.

Selecting a coating before bidding allows you to work at getting apples to apples bids on the same exact product. 

Having the manufacturer's sales representative come and review the job and writing a scope of work specific to that job will help get a manufacturer's factory warranty. The sales representative can also assist in procuring three legitimate bidders.

Ask Lots of Questions

Only by asking questions, lots of them, pointed, direct and hard questions, will you ferret out what the deck coatings weakness and strengths are.

Installation questions such as whether residents will be locked out for a day, two days, drying times, odors, noise etc. are all important factors to know in order to accurately bid on the job.

Determine Scope of Work For The Job

Once a product has been selected, a complete scope of work must be developed. Items such as flashings, drains, sloping, all need to be addressed in the scope of work, either at a cost of each, per lineal foot or a lump sum bid to replace everything. 

Substrate may need to be replaced if the deck has dry rot.  How much per square foot does that cost?

What Are the Maintenance Requirements?

Know and understand the maintenance requirements of any deck coating you are considering.  The manufacturer's maintenance requirements are often hinged to the warranty.

A manufacturer may have a written 10 year warranty against failure, but might require that the deck be resealed every 3 years by the original installer if you want to be able to make a claim at year 9 if there is a failure of their coating.

You can't drive a car 100,000 miles and not change the oil and expect it to be under warranty when your motor blows up.  And you can't expect your deck coatings to go 10 years without resealing them.

Read Manufacturer's Maintenance Instructions

Before bidding, be sure to read the manufacturer's maintenance instructions and warranty before selecting a product.  As an example, one major manufacturer of deck coatings has a stipulation in their maintenance instructions that clay pots are not recommended to be placed on their deck coating.

Would you really want to try to police that problem?  If not them think whether you want to use that coating for your bid.

Prepare Deck Surface

Every deck coating is only as good as the surface it is put down on.  Proper surface preparation is essential!

Termite or dry-rotted framing must be repaired before applying waterproofing. Be sure to build this into your bid. If you are the HOA, be sure to ask the builder about these costs understand or negotiate rates for Change Orders.

Consider Replacement Cost

Calculating the maintenance cost of a deck coating over its 30 year reserve life plus the costs of installation is the best way of comparing different deck coating products.

For example, if a coating needs to be resealed every 3 years, how much is that expected to cost each time? Over 30 years, that product will need to be resealed 10 times.

Add those projected costs to the cost of buying the product and that gives you a true overall cost. Compare that to a coating that needs resealing every 5 years, or 6 times over 30 years plus its cost of installation and that gives you something to compare against.

Total Cost of Ownership is the true measure of how much a decking coating will cost an Association.

Now You're Ready To Bid

Bill speaks from experience when it comes to how to bid on waterproof deck coatings. So whether you are a builder or an HOA looking to hire a deck waterproofing company, keep these tips in mind.