Need help with bid

Chesapeake

Chesapeake

New member
Has anyone ever cleaned the vent covers for a parking garage ventilation system. There are approx. 70 covers that need to be cleaned front and back, the debris needs to be shoveled out of the vent tunnels, and the tunnels need to be rinsed down. I'm working on an estimate based on the time I think it will take, but was wondering where I should be on price. This is the first time I've bid anything like this, and my first job for the federal gov't. Any help is appreciated.
 
Chesapeake said:
Has anyone ever cleaned the vent covers for a parking garage ventilation system. There are approx. 70 covers that need to be cleaned front and back, the debris needs to be shoveled out of the vent tunnels, and the tunnels need to be rinsed down. I'm working on an estimate based on the time I think it will take, but was wondering where I should be on price. This is the first time I've bid anything like this, and my first job for the federal gov't. Any help is appreciated.
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maybe you should try posting how many guys and if any kinds of material would be purchased and estimating how many shifts and time for each vent. that way we can give you a better idea on cost or price per vent
 
Not sure of what you are talking about.

Post pictures so we know what you are talking about and can help you.
 
I wish I would have taken some pictures to show you guys. The vent covers are constructed of aluminum. They range in size, but are approx. 72"x36". They are somewhat like a vent cover you would find in your home, in which they are louvered, and adjustable for airflow. These vents are located on the ground level and the underground level of a parking garage. There is no duct work behind them, there's a tunnel. That tunnel is 20-24' tall, 8' wide and over 100' long. At the entrance to the tunnels there are huge fans, probably 10' in diameter, that continuously pull air through the garage. These vents and tunnels are over 20 years old, and i doubt they've ever been cleaned. The louvers on the vent covers are probably 4 times their original thickness, which is greatly reducing the efficiency of the system.
 
I might have some ideas, just need pictures to see if my ideas might work.
 
Jim Cooney said:
That sounds like a filthy job. Your biggest challenge is getting all the sediment out of those 100' long, 2' x 8' vents. Probably need to reclaim also ????
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Deffinately gonna be a filthy job. The vent tunnels are roughly 24' x 8' x 100'. Not 24". I can set up scaffolding, or work off a step ladder to clean the inside of the ground level vents from inside the tunnel. The entrance to the tunnel is on the underground level, but the inside of both the ground level and the underground level vents are accessible from inside of it.

I asked about reclaim and was told that the garage has its own filtration system. It is a government property.

We will have to set up temporary lighting in the tunnels. And of course, all work will have to be done at night.
 
You might want look into the confined space entry. Don't get a OSHA fine on a government job. Just something to think about
 
ccobb said:
You might want look into the confined space entry. Don't get a OSHA fine on a government job. Just something to think about
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+10 One of many, many, many reasons to look at the job from different angles and definately get opinions about things out of the ordinary that you do not do routinely.

You want to be safe, legal and not do anything that will cause bad publicity if you do something wrong.

That would really suck to do a job and get epa fines, osha fines and then bad publicity, you never know what can happen in situations that you are not familiar with.

If it is confined space........
Who is going to do the testing for air, oxygen, combustables if it is a confined space? Do you know where to get a meter? How to use one? How to calibrate one? Do you have the proper monitoring forms?

Sometimes a job that you are not familiar with can not just a can of worms but a tractor-trailer size can of worms that once opened, you can't just try to close the door.

Like they say, a picture can say 1000 words.
 
Christopher said:
+10 One of many, many, many reasons to look at the job from different angles and definately get opinions about things out of the ordinary that you do not do routinely.

You want to be safe, legal and not do anything that will cause bad publicity if you do something wrong.

That would really suck to do a job and get epa fines, osha fines and then bad publicity, you never know what can happen in situations that you are not familiar with.

If it is confined space........
Who is going to do the testing for air, oxygen, combustables if it is a confined space? Do you know where to get a meter? How to use one? How to calibrate one? Do you have the proper monitoring forms?

Sometimes a job that you are not familiar with can not just a can of worms but a tractor-trailer size can of worms that once opened, you can't just try to close the door.

Like they say, a picture can say 1000 words.
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Excellent point. I have my confined space OSHA competent person certificate, and didn't think of this as one of the conditions this job would probably result in. You will most likely need confined space permit(s), training, proper ventilation. In reality, if the dusts are only 2' tall and 8' wide, you really won't be able to have personnel inside the ductwork (unless you have midgets available and on your payroll).

And, at least here in Maricopa County, you would have air quality issues. They catch you here in the Phoenix area dispersing particulates into the air, the fines start at $15,000.
 
Not trying to run you off the job but the first thing that came to mind was the confined space because of upgrade training I just went through. With it being a government job, they can be a pain in the a$$ sometime. Just make sure you look at the big picture first, because you fine could be more than the payout, then it would just keep rolling down hill.
 
When at the refinery I used to write confined space permits, have not had to do any of that kind of work since leaving there so have not kept up with it. I was a Master Level 1A permit writer, I could write Initial Entry Confined Space Permits.

Good points on that duct, if it was not designed for human occupancy, chances are that you will need a permit and the whole grab bag of stuff that goes with it so you are safe and legal.
 
As a former mechanical contractor in alexandria Va ( alot of exp in under ground parking structures) A few thing to think about in northern VA the Fire Marshalls carry weapons and handcuff it is against the law to run a combustion engine in the garages in northren va without a high percentage of the fans operating something like 65% The garage its self does have a filter system in the bottom lvl it will be 2 large tank first one is a sand filter the next is an oil seperater. The shafts should have large access panels in the low lvls and drains in the bottom of the shafts,another thing to know is half the fans pull air half push air.the motors on the fans are very cheap and dont like water. The fans that push air out of the garage will have back draft dampers on them. the fans that pull air in will have large galvinized hoods in side the shaft. Also louvers are a pain to clean And there are CO2 Alarms watch where you park your rig.
 
I think he corrected the size of the tunnels to 24'x8' which are pretty big tunnels.It sounds like a huge job.I know that any space not designed for human occupancy is a confined space.Even if it has a hatch and stairs leading into it.If the space is not designed to go in there and work you will need a permit,Monitor the space every 15 minutes with a meter,have a man watching the people working inside,and in some states you will have to have a rescue team standing by to perform rescue in case of emergency or contact the local fire department and find out if they are setup to do it,and if so put them on notice the mornign of the entry..Along with that there may be breathing air requirements that you have to be on supplied air because of the Carbon monoxide in the tunnels in the tunnels.Like they said it is not just what do I use to clean them.The setup and paperwork involved will be the biggest time consumer of this job.
 
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