Landing a project feels like winning a prize, sort of like finding that forgotten $20 bill in the pocket of a pair of jeans you haven’t worn in a while. But living on the “chance” of winning a job isn’t a great way to pay your electric bill. So, how do you swing the chances in your favor?

You turn in the most competitive bid.

Whether that means you are competing against other contractors or simply the owner’s budget, the sharpest – not the luckiest – sword wins the battle.

Here’s how to hone your competitive bid with tips on codes and loads:

1. When pricing a job, confirm that the wind and snow exposures are correct. Using exposure C when exposure B is all that is required can lose you the job. The same is possible with incorrect snow site exposure factor.
2. When in a high seismic area and your building has a collateral load that exceeds 5 psf, ask how much of that collateral will actually be on the whole roof. A large number of specifiers put heavy collateral on a total roof area because they do not know where the collateral is going. However, if the collateral will only cover 25% of the total roof area, that is all that needs to be included in the seismic analysis.
3. Input collateral load as ceiling only if a ceiling will be present. Ceiling triggers stricter deflections for both rafters and purlins than what is required for other types of collateral loading.
4. Always question the specifier if they ask for a live load greater than 20 psf. Any live load other than 20 psf is either a building with extraordinary construction loads or an error by the specifier. If they are looking for a specific roof snow load, calculate it based on use of the building and code ground snow requirements.
5. When in high seismic areas, confirm the soil site conditions. Your bid can be more competitive by knowing the site conditions, rather than relying on SBS defaults.

Stay sharp. Stay competitive. And stay here for more “no brainer” tips on getting and keeping your competitive edge.