Solicitation
FY27 NRM 558-24-160, Domestic Water, Chilled Water and Steam Piping (VA-26-00066009)
Department of Veterans Affairs
AI summaryOnly service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) can bid on solicitation 36C24626B0041_1, a sealed-bid invitation for bid (IFB) from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 6. The job replaces domestic water, chilled water and steam piping in Buildings 1 and 23 at the Durham VA medical center in North Carolina. Work must finish within 603 calendar days of the notice to proceed (NTP: the Government's go-ahead order), in a hospital that stays open. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
This summary may miss requirements: 1 of 3 attachments weren't read (9_558-24-160_Durham Piping_Revised Bid Drawings.pdf). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
Only service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) can bid on solicitation 36C24626B0041_1, a sealed-bid invitation for bid (IFB) from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 6. The job replaces domestic water, chilled water and steam piping in Buildings 1 and 23 at the Durham VA medical center in North Carolina. Work must finish within 603 calendar days of the notice to proceed (NTP: the Government's go-ahead order), in a hospital that stays open.
Who can bid (5)
- Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB): the solicitation is a total SDVOSB set-aside, with a $45.0 million size standard for NAICS 236220.
- Bid guarantee with the bid for any bid over $150,000: 20 percent of the bid price or $3 million, whichever is less.
- Experience Modification Rate of 1 or below, or documentation from the workers' compensation provider explaining why no rating exists.
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- Signed VAAR 852.219-75 certificate of compliance with the limits on subcontracting, returned with the bid.
- SAM.gov registration: the bid must list your SAM Unique Entity ID, CAGE code and Tax ID.
How to submit: Email to Contract Specialist Alice Custis at alice.custis@va.gov, or paper delivered to the public bid opening at Hampton VA Medical Center, Network Contracting Office 6, Building 27 Averill Avenue, Hampton, VA. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (12)
From the version posted Oct 23, 2026.
- Serious: Only SDVOSBs can bid. The job is a total service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside, so other firms are not eligible.
- Serious: Bid bond due with the bid. A bid over $150,000 needs a bid guarantee for 20 percent of the price or $3 million, whichever is less; one received late or in the wrong form can cause rejection.
- Worth checking: Payment and performance bonds after award. The winner must furnish payment and performance bonds when the contract exceeds $150,000, so a surety must be lined up before bidding.
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- Worth checking: Site visit on October 30, 2026. One site visit is held at 10:00 AM ET at the Building 6 Engineering Office; the text does not call it required, and questions are not answered there.
- Worth checking: Work in an occupied hospital. Crews work around patients and staff in a facility open 24 hours a day, with phasing, infection control and protective equipment.
- Worth checking: Utility shutdowns need 20 business days' notice. Any major interruption of a system must be requested in writing at least 20 business days ahead, which can slow scheduling.
- Worth checking: Safety rating proof required. The bid must show an Experience Modification Rate of 1 or below, or an explanation from the workers' compensation provider.
- Worth checking: Limits on subcontracting certificate. The signed 852.219-75 certificate must come with the bid or the Government cannot evaluate or award; the subcontracting percentages were not in the text read.
- Minor: Questions due November 6, 2026. Questions go to the contract specialist by email only; telephone inquiries are not accepted.
- Minor: Large job size. The form gives the magnitude of construction as $10,000,000 and $20,000,000, which sets the scale of the bonds and the work.
- Minor: Asbestos abatement in the specifications. The specification list includes glovebag asbestos abatement, so removal work may involve asbestos handling.
- Minor: Davis-Bacon wage determination attached. A Davis-Bacon wage determination for Durham County (General Decision NC20260003, modification 1) sets minimum pay, so price labor at those rates.
Read from the notice and 2 attachments. 1 of 3 not read. Show which files.
- 36C24626B0041_1 10232026.pdf (read)
- 9_558-24-160_Durham Piping_Bid Documents Specs.pdf (read)
- 9_558-24-160_Durham Piping_Revised Bid Drawings.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Replace the domestic water, chilled water and steam piping (Priority 1) in Buildings 1 and 23 at the Durham VA Health Care System.
- Supply all supervision, materials, labor, equipment, transportation, testing and storage, working to the attached drawings and specifications.
- Phase the work around an occupied healthcare facility that runs 24 hours a day, with protective equipment and infection control.
- Write a work plan and schedule for each shutdown, and ask in writing 20 business days ahead before interrupting any utility service.
- Base bid covers the piping in Buildings 1 and 23; Alternate No. 1 drops the piping replacement in the recently constructed OR addition building (project 558-323).
- A superintendent may also act as the quality control person (the VA accepts the dual role); the safety officer must be a separate person.
- Finish in 603 calendar days from the NTP, which includes buying long-lead-time items.
- After award, send contract papers (requests for information, daily reports, photos) as PDFs named with the contract number, a description and the date as mmddyyyy.
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (one set price, whatever the work ends up costing)
- Period of performance
- 603 calendar days from notice to proceed, including procurement of long-lead-time items
- Place of performance
- Durham VA Medical Center (VAMC), 508 Fulton Street, Durham, NC, Buildings 1 and 23
- Estimated value
- Magnitude of construction is given as $10,000,000 and $20,000,000 (the form's own wording)
- How they'll choose
- Sealed bid: award goes to the responsible bidder whose bid is responsive to the invitation and most advantageous to the Government. Bids are opened publicly.
- Offers due
- December 2, 2026, 9:00 AM ET
- How to submit
- Email to Contract Specialist Alice Custis at alice.custis@va.gov, or paper delivered to the public bid opening at Hampton VA Medical Center, Network Contracting Office 6, Building 27 Averill Avenue, Hampton, VA
What to include when you submit
- Emailed bids must be received in full by 1:00 PM ET the day before the December 2, 2026 bid opening; paper bids are accepted until one minute before the opening.
- Email subject line must read: BID Documents, 36C24626B0041, Offeror Name, Email 1 of XX, and each email lists its attachments.
- Send files as .pdf or .doc, each email under 10MB; .zip files may not be received, so use several emails if needed.
- Tab A: cover page with solicitation number and project title, table of contents, and company information (SAM Unique Entity ID, CAGE code, Tax ID, principal contact with address, phone and email).
- Tab B: complete Standard Form 1442 (SF 1442, the construction offer form) blocks 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20A, 20B and 20C; an official who can bind the company signs, and one copy has an original signature.
- Acknowledge in block 19 every amendment posted on SAM.gov before bid closing.
- Include proof that the Experience Modification Rate (EMR: the workers' compensation safety rating) is 1 or below, or documentation from the workers' compensation provider explaining why no rating exists.
- Complete and certify provisions 52.209-7, 52.209-12, 52.209-13, 52.225-11 and VAAR 852.219-75; the 852.219-75 limitations-on-subcontracting certificate must be signed and returned with the bid.
- If the bid exceeds $150,000, include a bid guarantee on Standard Form 24 (SF 24, the bid bond form) for 20 percent of the bid price or $3 million, whichever is less, received before the bid opening.
- The Contracting Officer may ask the apparent winner for the complete original signed bid after the opening.
After award, you must have
- Payment and performance bonds from the winner when the contract exceeds $150,000. From 36C24626B0041_1 10232026.pdf:
…shall be required to furnish a Payment Bond, Standard Form 25A, and a…
Not in the notice text
- Part of the files were attached but not read: 9_558-24-160_Durham Piping_Revised Bid Drawings.pdf (too large), most of the specifications, and the middle of the solicitation document. Check them on SAM.gov.
- The subcontracting limit percentages (FAR 52.219-14 and VAAR 852.219-75) and the bid price schedule were not in the text read.
- Whether the October 30, 2026 site visit is required is not stated; the specifications say site visits are by appointment with the Medical Center Engineering Officer.
- How to price the base bid and Alternate No. 1 together is not shown in the text read.
- The number of calendar days the Government may take to accept a bid is not clearly shown in the form text.
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 Contract Specialist Alice Custis at alice.custis@va.gov, or paper delivered to the public bid opening at Hampton VA Medical Center, Network Contracting Office 6, Building 27 Averill Avenue, Hampton, VA. 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 23, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- 246-Network Contracting Office 6 (36C246), Hampton, VA
- Product/service code
- Z2DA · Repair or Alteration of Hospitals and Infirmaries
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236220)
- Versions
3 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2026 · Solicitation (this version)Due Dec 2, 2026
- Oct 23, 2026 · Amendment 0001Date Dec 2, 2026 (changed)
- Sep 18, 2026 · PresolicitationDate Dec 9, 2026
- 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
Replace Domestic Water, Chilled Water, and Steam Piping Project Number 558-24-160 STATEMENT OF WORK Description of Work - Summary: The piping at the Durham VA Health Care Center, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC is aging. There is an immediate need to replace the domestic water, chilled water and steam piping. General: The contractor shall replace domestic water, chilled water and steam piping (Priority 1) in Building 1 and 23 at the Durham VA Health Care System. The contractor shall provide phasing coordination for each section below to minimize impact of normal operations. The contractor is responsible for providing all supervision, materials, labor, equipment, transportation, testing, and storage for this project. All work shall be performed according to the attached drawings and specifications. The VA will accept the Superintendent shall perform the roles and responsibilities of Superintendent and Quality Control—dual hat. Safety officer must remain separate. Place of Performance: Tasks will be performed at the VA Medical Center Durham, VA. Work will be around an occupied healthcare facility in operation 24 hours a day. This work will require appropriate personal protective equipment and proper infection control measures. Work will be phased to minimize disruption to clinic and medical center operations. Period of Performance: Completion of project shall be 603 calendar days from NTP. This includes procurement of long lead time items.
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