Florida General Contractor Florida General Contractor Estimating and Bidding 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the term 'bid bond' guarantee in a Florida public construction bid?
- That the contractor will complete the project on time
- That the contractor will enter into the contract and provide required bonds if awarded the bid (Correct answer)
- That all subcontractors have been pre-qualified
- That the bid price is the lowest available in the market
Correct answer: That the contractor will enter into the contract and provide required bonds if awarded the bid
A bid bond guarantees that if the bidder wins, they will execute the contract and provide required performance and payment bonds.
Question 2: In construction estimating, what does the term 'contingency' refer to?
- The profit margin added to the estimate
- A reserve added to the estimate to cover unforeseen costs or scope uncertainties (Correct answer)
- The overhead allocation percentage
- The subcontractor markup above direct costs
Correct answer: A reserve added to the estimate to cover unforeseen costs or scope uncertainties
A contingency is a percentage or dollar amount added to a construction estimate to account for unforeseen conditions and scope uncertainties.
Question 3: What is 'quantity takeoff' in the context of Florida construction estimating?
- The final project inspection report
- The process of measuring and quantifying all materials and labor from construction documents (Correct answer)
- The calculation of contractor profit
- A method to estimate soft costs like design fees
Correct answer: The process of measuring and quantifying all materials and labor from construction documents
Quantity takeoff is the process of measuring all materials, labor, and equipment quantities directly from drawings and specifications.
Question 4: Which of the following is typically included in a contractor's 'general conditions' costs in a Florida project estimate?
- Cost of structural steel materials
- Job-site superintendent salary, temporary facilities, and site safety equipment (Correct answer)
- Subcontractor labor only
- Design and engineering fees
Correct answer: Job-site superintendent salary, temporary facilities, and site safety equipment
General conditions costs include project-specific overhead like superintendent salary, temporary offices, portable toilets, safety equipment, and site fencing.
Question 5: In Florida public bidding, what is a 'unit price' contract most suitable for?
- Projects with a completely defined, fixed scope
- Projects where quantities are uncertain but the type of work is well-defined (Correct answer)
- Design-build contracts only
- Emergency repair work only
Correct answer: Projects where quantities are uncertain but the type of work is well-defined
Unit price contracts are ideal when the scope type is known but quantities are uncertain, allowing payment adjustments based on actual quantities installed.
Question 6: When preparing a Florida construction estimate, what is the typical range for a general contractor's overhead and profit (O&P) markup on subcontractor work?
- 1–3%
- 5–15% (Correct answer)
- 20–30%
- 35–50%
Correct answer: 5–15%
General contractors in Florida typically apply an overhead and profit markup of 5–15% on subcontractor costs, though this varies by project type and market.
Florida General Contractor Florida General Contractor Estimating and Bidding 1
What does the term 'bid bond' guarantee in a Florida public construction bid?