Solicitation
Houston National Cemetery SOD Delivery and Installation IDIQ Base plus 4
Department of Veterans Affairs · Sol. 36C78626Q50257
Due in 19 daysSDVOSB
Track this notice by email. We'll email you if it's amended or awarded, and a week and two days before responses are due.
AI summary Beta
The VA's National Cemetery Administration wants a service-disabled veteran-owned small business to supply and lay hybrid TifTuf bermudagrass sod on grave sites at Houston National Cemetery in Houston, TX. It is an IDIQ (the government orders sod as needed) with a base year starting December 1, 2026 plus four option years, with orders allowed through November 30, 2031. Award goes to the lowest-priced quote that is technically acceptable.
Watch out for
- Only VA-verified SDVOSBs can bid. Quotes from firms not listed in VA's VIP database are not considered, and the guidance sheet's wording (SBA-certified) differs from the clause (VIP-listed), so confirm your status with the contracting officer.
Offers received from entities that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs
- Very short delivery turnaround. Sod must be delivered and installed within 3 business days of an order and cut, delivered and installed within 24 hours, so you need a sod farm and crew close to Houston.
The grass sod shall be delivered and installed within three (3) business days of order from the COR.
- Half of the money must stay with SDVOSB firms. You cannot pay more than 50% of what the VA pays you to non-SDVOSB subcontractors, which limits buying in installation labor or work from non-qualifying firms.
the SDVOSB prime contractor will not pay more than 50%
- Order quantities are estimates; only small per-order minimums. The VA guarantees only a small minimum on each order it places, so revenue depends on how often and how much it orders, and funding beyond the current fiscal year is not committed.
For each placed order, the US Government guarantees a minimum order of 1,350 square feet (3 pallets).
- You pay to replace failed sod and any damage. Sod that does not meet the requirements must be replaced within 2 weeks at your cost, and you repair any damage to headstones or grounds at your expense.
Contractor is responsible for replacing any grass sod delivered and installed that does not meet the requirements stated in this scope of work within two (2) weeks after planting.
- Submission method is not stated. The documents give a due date and time but not where or how to send the quote (email, portal), so you will need to ask the contracting officer before the question deadline of 10/16/2026.
Late quotes will not be accepted.
- Price schedule has errors and mismatches. Option Year #2 is labeled as ending February 29, 2029, option CLIN 0003 is reused in every year, and the Option Year 4 quantity (60,000 sq ft) differs from the 58,000 sq ft elsewhere, so priced lines may need to be clarified.
Option Year #2: December 1, 2028 through February 29, 2029
- Wage determination applies but could not be read. The contract includes the Service Contract Labor Standards, so minimum wage rates apply to your workers, but the wage determination pages in the file have no readable text.
52.222-41 Service Contract Labor Standards (Aug 2018)
- Equipment and timing limits on site. No heavy equipment in burial sections (only light carts), nothing stored overnight, work only Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the cemetery handles soil prep and watering.
Contractor shall not use any heavy equipment (i.e. back hoes, forklifts, dump trucks, etc.) within burial sections.
Read from the notice and 4 attachments.
- QSE_36C78626Q50257.pdf
- SOW FY27 Sod HNC .docx
- Administative Guidance for Offerors.docx
- Eval Factors Sod FY27 Base 4 Houston.docx
Full brief
What they want
- Deliver and install certified TifTuf bermudagrass sod on grave sites, in orders of roughly 8,100 sq ft each (CLIN 1)
- Deliver sod only, with no installation, in smaller orders (CLIN 2)
- Option: deliver and install sod for smaller turf repair projects (CLIN 3)
- Deliver and install within 3 business days of each email order from the COR (the VA's on-site contract representative), with sod harvested, delivered and installed within 24 hours
- Provide a sod spec sheet or third-party certification before each delivery, and a delivery ticket with every delivery
- Install to match existing grade, butt joints tightly, stagger seams, and roll with a sod roller
- Replace any sod that fails the requirements within 2 weeks of planting, and repair any damage to cemetery property at your own cost
- Supply an English-speaking foreman or work leader
- Contract type
- IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) with priced lines per square foot; commercial-item procedures (FAR Part 12); an RFQ
- Period of performance
- Base year December 1, 2026 to November 30, 2027, plus four 1-year options (through November 30, 2031). Orders may be issued December 1, 2026 through November 30, 2031; a clause also allows extending services up to 6 months.
- Place of performance
- Houston National Cemetery, 10410 Veterans Memorial Drive, Houston, TX 77038
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price that is reasonable and technically acceptable (LPTA); offerors failing any technical acceptability factor are not eligible
- Offers due
- 10/29/2026 at 17:00 local time (the notice lists it as 5:00 PM, UTC-04:00)
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1: Technical approach and understanding of the work (statement of experience and approach, sod specification sheet, example delivery ticket)
- Factor 2: Past performance (minimum of 3 similar projects in the last 5 years; CPARS and other sources may also be checked)
- Factor 3: Price (evaluated for LPTA and accuracy in the provided CLIN structure)
What to include when you submit
- Complete the price schedule (Section A.1) with unit prices for every CLIN in the base year and all four option years, plus the totals
- Complete the SF 1449 offeror blocks (12, 17, 23, 24 and 30)
- Sign and return the 852.219-75 limitations-on-subcontracting certification with the quote (quotes without it are ineligible)
- Include a statement of your experience and approach, the proposed bermudagrass sod specification sheet, and an example delivery ticket
- Include descriptions of at least 3 similar projects from the last 5 years
- Questions by email to david.hester@va.gov by 10/16/2026; answers come by amendment on SAM.gov by 10/22/2026
- Late quotes will not be accepted; acknowledge all amendments
You must have
- Must be a VA-verified service-disabled veteran-owned small business listed in VA's Vendor Information Pages (VIP) at the time of offer and award
Offers are solicited only from VIP-listed SDVOSBs.
- Small under NAICS 561730 (size standard $9.5 million) and that NAICS code on your SAM.gov profile; the guidance sheet also says you must be SBA-certified as an SDVOSB by the due date
must be a registered certified SDVOSB with the SBA by the time all bids are due.
- Active SAM.gov registration at the time of quote and at award
Only quotes submitted by vendors that are actively registered in SAM.gov at the time of quote submission and award will be considered.
- Limitations on subcontracting: pay no more than 50% of the amount the VA pays you to firms that are not VIP-listed SDVOSBs, with a signed certification
the SDVOSB prime contractor will not pay more than 50%
- Sod must be certified TifTuf bermudagrass, with a spec sheet or third-party certification before each delivery
Grass sod shall be certified TifTuf Bermudagrass (see Table A.1 on submittals).
- At least 3 recent, similar past performance projects
past performance descriptions of a minimum of 3 recent (within the last 5 years)
- An English-speaking foreman or work leader for the contract
Contractor shall provide an English-speaking Foreman or Work Leader for this contract.
Not in the notice text
- How to submit the quote (email address or portal) is not stated
- No estimated contract value; only estimated square footage per line is given
- The Service Contract Labor Standards wage determination (2015-5233, dated 09/18/2026) had no readable text, so the required wage rates are unknown
- The due time is given only as 17:00 local time; the notice shows UTC-04:00
- The cover page and guidance say no site visit is planned, but the price schedule page encourages a pre-bid site visit (contact: Houston National Cemetery Assistant Director, 832-648-0997)
- Who the current sod supplier is, if any, is not stated
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Key facts
- Response due
- Oct 29, 2026, 9:00 PM UTC
- Posted
- Oct 9, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Solicitation
- 36C78626Q50257
- Agency
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Office
- National Cemetery Admin (36C786)
- Set-aside
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Set-Aside (FAR 19.14)
- NAICS
- 561730
- Product/service code
- S208
- Business type
- Facilities, janitorial & grounds
- Place of performance
- Houston, TX, 77038
- Contracting contact
- David HesterDavid.Hester@va.gov
What similar contracts paid
204 contracts at this agency under the same NAICS code, in the same state, had activity in the last 5 years, according to USAspending.gov. Small businesses won 94% of the dollars in this market over the last 3 fiscal years.
Typical contract$45.1KMiddle half: $21.5K to $215K
Typical per year$63.2KValue divided by years of performance
Possible incumbent's contract endsSep 2026A similar contract in this state, ending near when this one starts
Before you respond
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Please review all the attached documents. Site Visit: A no site visit is scheduled or planned. Vendor Questions: All vendor questions regarding this solicitation shall be submitted by email to the david.hester@va.gov no later 10/16/2026. Questions received after this deadline may not be addressed, and answers will be provided via amendment no later than 10/22/2026 on SAM.gov.
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