Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Local | 460-26- 4-5074-0108 | 460-26-999 | Condenser Water Piping Modification | (VA-26-00077929)
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryThe Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office 4, wants a contractor to modify the chiller plant condenser water piping at the Wilmington VA Medical Center in Delaware. Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB: firms owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities) can bid. Work is due 30 days after the notice to proceed (NTP, the written order to start), and the response due date is November 20, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
The notice looks incomplete: Part of the solicitation document (S02 36C24427B0003.docx) and of the combined specifications (460-26-999 Combined Specs.pdf) was attached but not read here (the middle sections), so some clauses and technical sections are unseen. Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Network Contracting Office 4, wants a contractor to modify the chiller plant condenser water piping at the Wilmington VA Medical Center in Delaware. Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB: firms owned and controlled by veterans with service-connected disabilities) can bid. Work is due 30 days after the notice to proceed (NTP, the written order to start), and the response due date is November 20, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern.
Who can bid (5)
- Must be a service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB); this is a 100% SDVOSB set-aside
- Must be verified in the Vendor Information Pages (VETBIZ) and registered in SAM.gov
- Must return a signed limitations on subcontracting certificate (VAAR 852.219-75) with the bid
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- Safety record: no more than three serious, one repeat or one willful OSHA or EPA violation in the past three years, certified with the bid
- Experience modification rate (EMR) of 1.0 or lower, shown on the insurance carrier's letterhead
How to submit: Email to vanessa.chmielewski@va.gov; faxed bids are not accepted. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 21, 2026.
- Serious: SDVOSB set-aside: only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses can bid. Firms that do not hold this status cannot win, and the VA checks status in VETBIZ and SAM.gov.
- Serious: Signed limitations on subcontracting certificate required with the bid. A bid without the signed VAAR 852.219-75 certificate will not be considered, so it must be returned with the bid.
- Serious: Safety record and EMR of 1.0 or lower required with the bid. Firms with a higher EMR or more OSHA or EPA violations than allowed can be found not responsible and lose the award.
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- Worth checking: Site visit on October 28, 2026. A scheduled site visit is set for 11:30 AM EST at Building 10; the text does not say attendance is required. The specifications say other visits are by appointment with the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).
- Worth checking: Work only after hours or on Saturdays in an active hospital. The work must be planned around hospital operations, which affects staffing, overtime cost and scheduling.
- Worth checking: Bid item descriptions in the specifications do not match the piping scope. The combined specifications list general construction, electrical and HVAC duct items, while the scope is valve and pump work; ask the contracting officer what is actually priced.
- Minor: Davis-Bacon wage rates apply. The Davis-Bacon Act sets minimum pay for construction workers; the solicitation attaches wage decision DE20260008 for New Castle County, and the bidder must classify workers correctly.
- Minor: OSHA training proof needed before any work. Every worker needs the 10-hour OSHA construction course and the competent person the 30-hour course; people without proof are removed from the job.
- Minor: No contractor parking on station. Vehicles may stop only to load and unload, so crews need off-site parking.
- Minor: Bids by email only. Faxed bids are not accepted, and late bids may not be considered.
Read from the notice and 3 attachments. Show which files.
- S02 36C24427B0003.docx (read)
- 36C24427B0003_1.docx (read)
- 460-26-999 Combined Specs.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Freeze the condenser water piping so valves can be changed (the chilled loop that carries heat away from the building's cooling system)
- Furnish and install TWO 10 inch butterfly valves and TWO 10 inch vertical check valves
- Open Pump #2, inspect its internals and re-install the pump casing
- Start up and balance both condenser water pumps
- Work in Room 128 of Building ONE, after normal business hours (7 am to 4pm) or on a Saturday (7am to 5pm), with as little disruption to the hospital as possible
- Submit before, during and after photos of the affected area, plus a submittal tracking checklist on an Excel spreadsheet
- Follow the construction waste management specification (01 74 19) and the VA HVAC specifications listed in the statement of work
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP): one set price, whatever the work ends up costing. Sealed bid, with one lump-sum line (item 0001, quantity 1.00).
- Period of performance
- Construction completion by 30 days after the notice to proceed
- Place of performance
- Wilmington VA Medical Center, 1601 Kirkwood Hwy, Wilmington, DE 19805 (Room 128 of Building ONE)
- Estimated value
- Under $25,000 (the solicitation's stated project magnitude)
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price among bids that follow the solicitation (responsive) from bidders the VA finds able to do the work (responsible)
- Offers due
- November 20, 2026, 10:00 AM Eastern
- How to submit
- Email to vanessa.chmielewski@va.gov; faxed bids are not accepted
What they'll judge offers on
- Price (lump sum bid amount)
- Responsibility check before award: safety and environmental record, experience modification rate (EMR: the insurance rating of a firm's workers' compensation claims), and government database checks
What to include when you submit
- Email the bid to vanessa.chmielewski@va.gov by the response due date and time
- Complete and sign the offer section of Standard Form 1442 (the construction offer form) and write the lump-sum bid amount in words
- Return a signed copy of the VA limitations on subcontracting certificate (VAAR 852.219-75); without it the bid will not be considered
- Include a certification of your safety and environmental record: no more than three serious, one repeat or one willful OSHA or EPA violation in the past three years
- Include your current EMR (equal to or less than 1.0) on your insurance carrier's letterhead, or a rating letter from the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) if you cannot
- Acknowledge any amendments (answers to questions will be issued by amendment)
- Send questions (RFIs) by email to vanessa.chmielewski@va.gov by the question deadline
After award, you must have
- All contractor and subcontractor employees need the 10-hour OSHA construction safety course, and the competent person needs the 30-hour course; proof goes to the Contracting Officer before any work From S02 36C24427B0003.docx:
Effective July 31, 2005, all employees of the general contractor and subcontractors shall have the 10-hour OSHA certified construction safety course.
- Employees must be screened by the VA medical center and wear VA-issued badges on site From S02 36C24427B0003.docx:
The Contractor is required that all subcontractor or employees have been screen by the VAMC Wilmington Healthcare System.
Current contractor
No incumbent is named in the documents.
Not in the notice text
- Part of the solicitation document (S02 36C24427B0003.docx) and of the combined specifications (460-26-999 Combined Specs.pdf) was attached but not read here (the middle sections), so some clauses and technical sections are unseen
- Whether performance and payment bonds or an offer guarantee are required (the form's checkboxes couldn't be read; check Standard Form 1442 on SAM.gov)
- The exact start and completion days and how long the Government can hold the bid open (the form's blanks couldn't be read; the statement of work says completion within 30 days after the notice to proceed)
- Whether attending the October 28, 2026 site visit is required
- The time of the bid opening, which is held on Microsoft Teams (the link is in Section L of the solicitation)
- The drawings referenced in the scope are not in the text read; the combined specifications say drawings may be obtained from the website where the solicitation is posted
Eligibility and how to respond
- Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) certified through SBA's VetCert can bid as the prime contractor. Not certified through VetCert yet? Apply on VetCert (SBA), or start with the SDVOSB guide. More open service-disabled veteran-owned set-asides under NAICS 236220
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to vanessa.chmielewski@va.gov; faxed bids are not accepted. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Construction contracts over $2,000 pay at least the local Davis-Bacon wage rates, from the wage determination in the solicitation. Price your labor from it: How to price a government contract, and how Davis-Bacon differs from the Service Contract Act.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 21, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- 244-Network Contract Office 4 (36C244), Pittsburgh, PA
- Product/service code
- Z1DA · Maintenance of Hospitals and Infirmaries
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236220)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Open SDVOSB set-aside contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, SDVOSB (service-disabled veteran-owned small business), Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
See solicitation attached.
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