CDA subject matter clarification/help

[larry mazzella]

Hello,

Although I've been studying for almost two months now, I keep running into different guides/practice questions that waver my understanding of what exactly "Contract Documents" entail.

Here's my quick understanding:

1. Bidding Requirements

2. Contract Conditions

3. Contract Forms

4. Specifications

5. Drawings

6. Addenda

7. Modifications

"Project Manual" - 1, 2, 3, 4

"Bidding Documents" - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

"Construction Documents" - 4, 5

"Contract Documents" - 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The biggest point of contention for me is whether or not Bidding requirements (1) is included in the "Contract Documents". From different study materials/sources that I use it seems the consensus is that Bidding Requirements are eventually dropped from the process and are not included in the "Contract Documents".

However, I just took a practice exam from a very, very popular study source and it claims that bidding documents are, in fact, included in the CDs. Now, I'm basically back to square one on fully grasping the material, and it's late in the game for that.

I would appreciate it anyone has any insight on this or if anyone would be interested in me creating a chat so there can be some open discussion.

thanks,

[ADMIN]

Its Saturday night so I'm just thinking off the top of my head, but doesn't Hinze in Construction Contracts place the project manual as part of the contract documents and aren't the bidding documents part of the project manual?

[ADMIN]

I'm re-reading your post - are you maybe getting the bidding requirements and the bidding documents confused?

[larry mazzella]

It's entirely possible I'm getting them confused, but aren't bidding requirements a part of bidding documents?  What confuses me in general is that bidding requirements are a part of both the project manual and the bidding documents, and while both of those are part of the contract documents, bidding requirements are technically not as they are removed upon agreement. So blanket statements such as "bidding documents are a part of the contract documents" are technically incorrect. I'm sure as the heart of it there is something fundamental that I'm misunderstanding.

[ADMIN]

Ok, I removed my previous response because I want to get at the heart of your original question:

1) Whether or not Bidding requirements is included in the "Contract Documents"
2) Whether bidding documents are, in fact, included in the "Contract Documents"

I'll cover #2 first. Hinze states that the project manual is part of the contract documents, and that the bidding documents are part of the project manual on page 156: "The project manual consists of the bidding documents, general conditions, supplementary provisions, and the technical specifications" So my opinion is that yes, bidding documents are part of the contract documents. That answers question 2 in my opinion.

#1 is a bit more hazy based on the CLARB readings - and this is where you should be finding the answers to these sorts of questions. Hinze never fully describes what he means by "bid documents," but it is covered under the "Bidding" subsection on page 25 of Landscape Graphic Standards: 

"The bid documents are usually made up of the drawings, specifications, and the bid manual. At a minimum, the landscape architect is responsible for providing the drawings and specifications."

LAGS then goes on to say: 

“In addition to the technical specifications, the bid manual is also made up of what is called Section One, the instructions to bidders. This section outlines the specific steps that each contractor must follow to submit an acceptable and responsive bid. This section also includes any pertinent bid forms, prequalification forms, bid bond and performance bond forms, and any other boilerplate information affecting the bid.” 

Based on this, its possible to interpret that the bidding requirements are part of the contract documents but lets take a step back since we are really getting down the rabbit hole. What you really want to know is - am I going to encounter a question that asks me "are the bidding REQUIREMENTS part of the contract documents" and the answer is almost certainly no. At best, you will have a single question that addresses this and you would have a 50/50 chance of getting it correct. My advice would be read page 25 of LAGS and come to your own interpretation of whether the bidding REQUIREMENTS are part of the contract documents. But remember that all the time you spend on this could be spent studying other content and at best is going to improve your chances from 50/50 on a single LARE exam question to 100%.. When you really dig into the CLARB readings, you can actually find numerous instances of information that directly contradicts itself, oftentimes within the same text. If you really want to get confused, start combing through the green roof details in LAGS! So yeah, make an educated assumption based on your readings and move on. But that's ultimately just my opinion!

[larry mazzella]

Thank you for taking the time to expound upon your response. Whether or not I would encounter a question asking to specify if the REQUIREMENTS are or are not a part of the Contract Documents is the heart of my question. I agree that I am too far in the weeds on this specific subsection as a whole and should move on. I appreciate your time.