Guide

Sending us an invitation to bid

Name: North State Construction
Address: 4180 Midway, Chico, CA 95928
Telephone: (530) 555-0142

We bid public works and we bid to general contractors. This is what makes a bid come back complete and on time, written down so nobody has to guess what the other one meant.

Talk to an estimator (530) 555-0142

Aerial view of an excavator and dozer cutting a long earthwork bench behind a row of houses — Earthwork alongside an existing neighborhood

What to send

A complete package is faster to price than a partial one, and it prices lower, because everything a bidder cannot see becomes contingency.

The full plan set, including civil, grading, utility, and any details referenced
The specifications, or the standard plans the job is built to
The bid date and time, and where the bid goes
Every addendum, as it is issued
The scope you want us to bid, if it is narrower than everything we do
The schedule window: when the site is available and when you need it back
Wage determination, DIR requirements, and any labor compliance program
Bonding and insurance requirements, and the additional insured language
The geotechnical report, which is what a grading bid is priced from

What we will send back

A written bid, itemized by division, with the unit prices behind the lump sums so you can see what moves if a quantity does. Exclusions and clarifications listed plainly rather than buried in a paragraph. Named subcontractors for anything we do not self-perform. And an acknowledgment of every addendum by number.

If we are not going to bid, we will tell you that as soon as we know, so you can find somebody else while there is still time. A no-bid answered early is worth more to you than a bid submitted at 1:58.

What usually holds a bid up

Three things, in order: a geotechnical report that was not in the package, so the grading is a guess; an addendum that changed a quantity and did not reach the bidders; and a scope boundary between the sitework contractor and somebody else that the plans do not resolve. Ask us early about any of the three and we will tell you what we assumed.

Qualifications

Class A General Engineering licence, registered with the Department of Industrial Relations for public works, and bonded. Certified payroll is filed electronically. Our safety program, insurance certificates, experience modification rate, and a project reference list go out with any prequalification package on request.

Questions we get

From a single division on a small commercial site up through full sitework packages and public works contracts in the low millions. We will tell you plainly when a job is larger than we should be taking on, which is more useful to you than a bid we cannot staff.

A week is comfortable for most packages. Two or three days is workable for a single scope on a small job. If the bid date is tomorrow, call rather than email.

For private work, often. We are not engineers, so on a design-build we team with a civil engineer and carry their design in our contract. For public work it depends on the delivery method in the solicitation.

Use the form at the bottom of this page and tell us the bid date in the message, or call the yard. Large plan sets are fine as a link to a plan room.

Get a number

Put a number on your job

Scope, rough quantities, the town, and when the site is available. If there is a bid date on it, put the date and time in and we will confirm receipt the same day.

The yard: (530) 555-0142
Bids and plan sets: bids@northstateconstruction.com
Where we work: Butte, Glenn, Tehama, Colusa, Shasta, Sutter, and Yuba counties; Yard at 4180 Midway, Chico, CA 95928

CSLB Class A General Engineering · license pending, expected June