General Contracting

Acting as the conductor,

Sequoyah Limited and its team members orchestrate owners, architects, suppliers, subcontractors, and governing authorities to make sure the project is completed on time and within budget. We provide the leadership and experience it takes to ensure the quality, safety, timeliness, and financial success of our projects. Acting as the GC we provide:

Overall leadership and coordination
Single point of contact for all parties involved
Competitve bid or negotiated
Subcontractor and supplier selection
Estimation of project cost and timeline
Self perform: Masonry, concrete, framing, foundation, structural, carpentry, and some finish work depending on project

Negotiated Vs. Hard Bid- Which is better

There are some projects that are so familiar, and where variations are fairly unnecessary, that hard bidding makes perfect sense. In some cases, laws also dictate a competitive bidding situation. In most situations, however, it is to the owner's benefit to consider negotiated work to get the best price. Hard bid will usually give you a lower price bid day, but negotiated will almost always give you the lowest price when the job is complete.

For exapmle, say we were building another ground up Buffalo Wild Wings. Since they have already built over 200 of them, they have a very accurate idea of what they typically cost and drawings are typically much the same. Because of this, the only real variables to contend with are soil conditions, and water and utility hookup costs. In these types of scenarios, and few others, hard bid is in the owner's best interest.

On the other hand, similar to design/build on a less involved scale, negotiated work allows the contractor to save the owner money by identifying changes and cost saving opportunities before the project begins. Simply, because you hard bid your project out does not necessarily mean you will be getting the best value.

Most of the time, the contract will include a guaranteed maximum price with 100 percent savings at the end of the project retained by the owner. On most projects under this contract arrangement, the owner will have any savings realized by the contractor passed on to them at the completion of the project.

This is an open book approach where all sub bids and fees are open to the owner and architect for review (it is closed book on hard bid or stipulated sum contracts). Competitive bids from a minimum of three subcontractors in all work categories are provided, and since subcontractors typically perform 85 percent of the work, the owner still receives the benefits of competitive bidding. Of course, the nature of the project is going to define whether you competitively bid absolutely everything. In health care, for example, you might choose not to competitively bid everything because of the complexities of the systems, mechanical and electrical.

Higher-quality subcontractors are involved through general contractor pre-selection, versus wide-open subcontractor bidding in hard bid stipulated sum contracts. Generally, owners experience far less problems during the construction phase under the negotiated contract arrangement, mainly due to the use of higher-quality subcontractors.

Providing value engineering cost control when we become a design team member outweighs any initial savings from the typical design-bid-build or hard bid method. This delivery method reduces construction problems and poor workmanship significantly. To protect the owner, this method also provides quality services with checks and balances that are not found in the hard bid method. Remember, the negotiated general contractor's main incentive is to get the project within the defined budget during the design and final drawings phase. Otherwise, the general contractor will not have a contract to build the project where the majority of fee is based.

Nine times out of ten, a negotiated approach gives owners best value for their money. Owners must decide up front whether they want the best price on bid day or the best price when the job is complete. This decision will not only dictate whether hard bid or negotiated is best, but which firms are most appropriate. They are usually different firms.

In summary, negotiated work offers: