NRCS Space Alteration Project Questions v 1.1.pdf

NRCS Space Alteration Project Questions & Clarifications

Reflective Ceiling Plan: On the Concept Drawings Sheet 2, it calls out to install a “Cloud Ceiling” and in some areas a “Hard Lid”. We are proposing to ONLY have a Suspended Acoustical Ceiling with tiles like existing. The only difference would be the big conference room with a step ceiling.

Acoustical Walls: The Breakroom, Three North New Offices, Privacy Room, Two South New Offices, and All Four Conference Rooms will need to maintain noise control which will require walls built up to the decking and insulated.

Base Cove: The Statement of Work calls out the installation of 4” base cove. In the past we have run into issues with the 4” cove not covering the existing demolition of the previous cove due to floor abatement. To alleviate this issue, we will go with a 6” cove base instead of the 4” called out in the SOW.

Flooring: The flooring shall be carpet tiles that do not exceed the cost of $36 a square yard for materials. The flooring in the break room will be Vinyl Composite Tile with 6” base cove.

Furniture: The existing modular cubicles shall be disposed of by the contractor. This bid shall not include costs for furniture such as new modular cubicles, touchdown desks, conference room furniture, break room furniture, standing tables, scanners, plotters, printers, filing carousels, office furniture, refrigerator and microwave. The existing furniture in the offices shall remain, temporary storage will be made available in the basement of the building.

Cabinets: We are proposing to have six lineal feet of cabinets with uppers in the breakroom, and six lineal feet of cabinets in both conference rooms.

Paint: We are proposing that a coat of paint should go on all wall surfaces new and existing. There will be one color for the walls and one color for the frames and heat registers. Figure for two coats of primer on all surfaces.

Questions

1. Could we get a pdf of the as-builts? Yes, following CUI Approval

2. Is the existing hazardous materials survey available for viewing? Yes

3. You mentioned phases in the project, how many phases are required, how does the phasing affect the 250 days completion time? At this time, we are asking for the project to be done in 2 phases because the tenants will be occupying half the space while construction is taking place.

4. Can we us a trash shute for construction debris? Yes, however the window will need to be removed and replaced at the cost of the General Contractor.

5. How many parking spaces are available for use? Contractors will need to use the street for parking, there won’t be any designations for construction parking.

6. Is there a location for dumpster to be placed? Yes

7. You mentioned there may be limited hours of work due to ongoing court, could you elaborate on this? Work during normal business hours will need to work arounds the courts schedule, so work that causes noise at levels which could disrupt federal court will not be allowed. Because of this we will be opening this project up to allow work to occur during non-business hours of 8:00am to 5:00 pm.

8. You mentioned at site visit that the cloud suspended ceiling is going to be changed to regular suspended ceiling, please elaborate on this. No Cloud Ceilings will be included on this project. All ceilings will be a new suspended acoustical ceiling tiles. See Project Clarifications

9. Are we to supply the filing carousels via this contract? No

10. Are we to supply the desks/office furniture via this contract? No

11. Are the standing tables to be supplied via this contract? No

12. What do the highlighted yellow P's on SHT 1 of the Concept Drawings signify?

(Rooms Secondary Office Space, Designate area for file cabinets, Mailroom, Administration area, and 3 other office areas. This stands for PRINTER, please disregard.

13. Are the single touchdown desks to be provide via this contract? No

14. Past Performance: Are we able to utilize key employees for past performance? i.e. if a major stakeholder (Vice President and/or consultant) of a previous contractor was part of the firm’s construction team can we utilize their previous experience for past performance? Experience is asked for not past performance. To the best of your ability demonstrate your experience in a project similar to this project.

15. Is this LEED-certified project? No If so, what level of certification? N/A If not, do offerors still need to provide experience in managing to achieve LEED certification?

No

16. Is there a page limitation for the proposal documents? No, However, a reasonable amount should be used to show a contractor's experience and price proposal.

17. Can projects from our design partner be used for past performance? Yes, but please demonstrate your business relationship in those projects.

18. Does the Government want to know who our design team consists of? NO, demonstrate the design teams experience in terms of projects.

19. If the contractor has no design/build experience, will they be excluded from award.

NO

20. Is this a historical building? If not, can this requirement be excluded? This is not a Historic Building. Please disregard the historical experience requirement.

21. Are two or three projects required for past performance? Two, as stated in the first amendment.

22. Schedule – To accomplish a schedule of this detail before award is challenging, and we would need additional information on the court's schedule and the phasing requirements as identified in the solicitation. At this time, we are asking for the project to be done in 2 phases because the tenants will be occupying half the space while construction is taking place. The courts schedule will be supplied 30 days in advance and the courts schedule is susceptible to change from day to day. One of the requirements will be that we work around the courts schedule during business hours. Section 8 of the solicitation indicates that a schedule is to be provided after the award. Please Advise? This is referring to the design schedule the first 109 days are allotted to the design of the project.

23. Are there any page/formatting limitations/restrictions for the technical proposal? No, but please use a reasonable format and # of pages.

24. Is there a window and door schedule with sizes? No, this will be established during the design phase of the project.

25. Are the transom windows aluminum framed? Quantity? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design.

26. Are the glass conference walls going up to the ceiling at 9’? Is there going to be a header to anchor to or something other than the suspended ceiling? See Acoustical Walls Note in clarifications above.

27. Pg 6 shows the large conference room, is that corner a structural post not an aluminum corner? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design.

28. Frosted Glass, the whole piece frosted or halfway? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

29. Are the doors a narrow stile aluminum door with glass or are they an all glass door? Any more information on the hardware for the doors? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

30. Is Kawneer aluminum framed storefronts an acceptable material? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

31. Will any major HVAC equipment be replaced under this project? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

32. What is the air handling systems that serve the retrofit area? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

33. What controls the heating and cooling in each zone? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

34. Are there any hot water reheat coils associated with the zone control? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

35. Are there any air dampers associated with the zone control? This will be established during the design phase of the project. You are referring to the concept drawings which are there to give the bidder of what we will be implementing into the design

36. Does the owner want to replace the hot water radiation as part of this project? We will rely on the mechanical engineer’s representation in design. Some materials may be re used and some may have to be replaced due to the design of the mechanical changes.

37. Does the owner want to add more zone control as part of this project? Any new rooms shall have zone control along with any existing zones that has had a change in air space.

38. Does the owner want to replace the air handling equipment and ductwork for this retrofit?

Tentatively we would like to reuse as much as possible, but the design will indicate what will be reused and what will be new.

39. Is the FFE or furniture package to be included in contractor pricing or carried by GSA? No furniture package is in the Statement of work other than the demolition of existing.

40. Confirm bathrooms are excluded from SOW. Confirmed

41. A couple existing walls seem to be a combination of CMU with Lath/Plaster. Are these to be demolished or will this be revised in an amendment? It was mentioned on site that all CMU walls are to remain. There are walls that exist that are made up of a concrete masonry units. There is approximately 55 LF of wall 10’ wall that will need to be demoed.

42. Existing exterior windows are full height with the ACT ceiling currently lower than top of window. Confirm whether a soffit or new exterior transom window is the design intent. Yes, the windows go higher than the ceiling height. All we are asking for is to remove the existing grid ceiling and replace it with new grid ceiling to match the new layout.

43. Confirm if (1) on-site manager (Superintendent) meets requirements or if SSHO and/or QC manager will be required. It is not required that the general contractor has to have a site superintendent on site, at all times.

44. Current SOW calls for asbestos testing and abatement of flooring mastic in its entirety. Confirm this is to remain in SOW or be removed for Site Visit discussion.

See attached “Assessment of Asbestos” as the Pre Alteration Asbestos Report.

45. The SOW does not address power and telecom requirements for the furniture systems, offices, conference rooms, team rooms, etc. Please advise if the government will provide criteria for telecom and power for the project or should this be excluded in their bid. This will be established during the design phase of the project, but it is our intent to have a certain number of electrical outlets in each room sized & number proportionate to the NEC standards. We will also require boxes to be installed for data with plates. NRCS IT will be responsible to run and commission the data lines.

46. The RFP also makes no mention of any A/V systems that we typically spec and install in GSA conference rooms. Can the government advise if this requirement will be added to the SOW or should it be excluded in the bid. This equipment will not be included in this bid.

47. Can the government provide the mechanical drawings and equipment schedules for the renovated area. Not at this time. This information will allow us to determine any upgrades that may be needed to meet the design requirements. We apologize for the lack of mechanical drawings, and up to date as-builds, but they just do not exist for this floor of the building. We can accommodate any site visits that you may request to look deeper into the existing mechanical systems.

48. Will the D-Mark room shown on the concept drawings require a dedicated cooling system (i.e., split system). The existing D-Mark Room and utility Room will not be modified as shown in the concept drawings or modified in any way. If so, can you provide information on the heat load. No

49. The RFP drawings have no information on access control and security requirements to the renovated space. The hardware and lock sets shall match existing on all new conference and office rooms. Can the government clarify what is required. SCHLAGE is the brand of existing door hardware. Same question applies to the Secondary Cube Space 454 SF. No new hardware will be installed on existing doors that remain untouched.

50. Can the government clarify the requirements on the finishes in the renovated space (e.g., carpet type, paint, millwork finishes, etc.). New walls shall match the texture of existing walls. See Clarifications Above

51. It is our understanding that the Guy Federal Building is not equipped with a fire suppression system. Can the government confirm that the existing perimeter walls extend to the deck to provide the required smoke partitions. That is correct, this space is not sprinkled. However, the horns, strobes and detection equipment may need to be moved around to meet NFPA criteria. A FPE will need to review plans to make sure the design does not break any codes.