A tender is only as good as the information behind it. When the condition survey is thin, every bidder fills the gaps with their own assumptions — and the board ends up comparing guesses instead of prices. Here is what a survey should cover before your garage goes to tender.
- The condition survey is the step that turns estimated quantities into measured ones.
- Require mapped delamination, defined repair types and a clear quantity schedule.
- Ask for drainage, joints, membrane condition and phasing constraints to be documented.
- A good survey produces bids you can actually compare — on rates, not assumptions.
Why the survey matters
Garage deterioration is mostly invisible from the surface. A restoration engineer's condition survey uses testing to find and measure it, then turns the findings into drawings, details and a specification. Contractors price those documents. The better the documents, the closer the tender value sits to the final contract value.
Comparable bids start with comparable information.
What to require in the scope
1. Delamination survey and mapping
Hollow areas are typically found by chain drag and hammer sounding. Ask for the results to be mapped on drawings so every bidder sees the same picture, and so quantities can be checked later.
2. Defined repair types
Partial-depth, full-depth, column and beam, crack treatment — each should be defined with a detail, because each is priced differently. Full-depth repairs in particular are far more expensive per unit and often need shoring.
3. A quantity schedule
Estimated quantities for each repair type, in the units the tender will use (square feet, linear feet). This is what makes unit-rate bids comparable.
4. Membrane and coating condition
Whether the existing traffic membrane can be repaired or needs replacement changes the scope significantly. The survey should say which, and where.
5. Expansion joints and drainage
Leaking joints and ponding water are two of the main ways water and chloride get into the structure. Document their condition, and specify the replacement system and any slope or drain corrections.
6. Phasing constraints
Note what must stay open: access routes, fire routes, accessible stalls, loading. Contractors price phasing — so tell them what the building needs up front.
What the tender package should ask bidders for
- Unit rates in the consultant's format, with exclusions stated plainly
- WSIB clearance, insurance certificate, written health and safety policy and references
- A proposed phasing approach and draft resident notices
- How installed quantities will be recorded and reported — and how often
- What the close-out package will contain
Those are exactly the items we include in every Solid tender submission, because they are what boards and consultants need to make a confident decision.
