Solicitation
Consular ABA Bathroom construction
Department of State
AI summaryThe U.S. Embassy in Brussels wants a contractor to build an accessible (Architectural Barriers Act) bathroom for its Consular Section, inside a building that stays open and occupied. It is a firm-fixed-price purchase order, priced in euros, to be awarded to the lowest-priced technically acceptable quote. Work must start within 30 days and finish within 60 calendar days of the notice to proceed, and quotes are due by email on November 3, 2026 at 2:00 pm Brussels time. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Sep 28, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 27, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov. This summary may miss requirements: 3 of 7 attachments weren't read (Attachment 2 - Consular ABA Bathroom Specifications - Sanitaries.pdf, Attachment 3 - Consular ABA Bathroom Specifications - Tiles.pdf and 1 more). Check the attachments on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Embassy in Brussels wants a contractor to build an accessible (Architectural Barriers Act) bathroom for its Consular Section, inside a building that stays open and occupied. It is a firm-fixed-price purchase order, priced in euros, to be awarded to the lowest-priced technically acceptable quote. Work must start within 30 days and finish within 60 calendar days of the notice to proceed, and quotes are due by email on November 3, 2026 at 2:00 pm Brussels time.
Who can bid (5)
- Active SAM.gov registration at the time you submit your quote
- Authorization to do business and operate in Belgium; if you do not have it yet you must explain how you will get it, and a plan taking longer than 15 calendar days after award can be rejected
- An English-speaking supervisor on site at all times, treated as key personnel
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- General liability insurance as required by local law (naming the U.S. Government as additional insured), plus Defense Base Act workers' compensation insurance priced into the contract
- Security screening of all workers: submit names, birth details, address and ID numbers within 10 calendar days after award
How to submit: Email to BrusselsBids@state.gov, as PDF files; cloud storage links such as Google Drive are not allowed. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (9)
- Serious: Work in Belgium with local legal requirements. A U.S.-based small business must show it can legally operate in Belgium, follow Belgian labor and safety law, and price in euros with 21% VAT, all within a very short start-up window.
- Worth checking: Conflicting submission instructions. The SF 1442 asks for sealed offers (original plus 1 copy) while the letter and Section J say to email PDFs, and the email size limit is 30MB in one place and 50MB in another, so ask the contracting officer before submitting.
- Worth checking: Heavy proposal and no partial credit. A two-volume quote with a Gantt chart, resumes, equipment lists, three past projects and subcontractor documents is a lot of work for a small bathroom job, and missing pieces can knock you out.
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- Worth checking: Tight 60-day schedule in a working embassy. The work must be finished 60 days after notice to proceed, with limited work hours, noisy work barred during public hours, and escorts and 48-hour advance access lists.
- Worth checking: Escort and access limits. Embassy staff must escort your crew, so more workers on site means more Embassy escorts and possible delays.
- Worth checking: No price or currency adjustments. The price is fixed in euros, so cost increases or exchange rate swings after award are your risk.
- Worth checking: MEP design left to the contractor. The architectural design is done, but you must work out the final routing and locations of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems yourself and still meet ABA rules.
- Minor: Registration closed Oct 14, 2026. If registering was required to take part, ask the contracting officer whether late registration is allowed.
- Minor: Price breakdown template mismatch. The RFQ points to a price breakdown sample as Attachment 1, but Section I lists Attachment 1 as the drawing set, so you may need to ask for the template.
Read from the notice and 4 attachments. 3 of 7 not read. Show which files.
- 19BE2026Q0007 - RFQ Cover letter.pdf (read)
- 19BE2026Q0007 - RFQ.pdf (read)
- 19BE2026Q0007 - Site Visit Registration For.pdf (read)
- 19BE2026Q0007 - Experience and Past Performance Form.pdf (read)
- Attachment 2 - Consular ABA Bathroom Specifications - Sanitaries.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment 3 - Consular ABA Bathroom Specifications - Tiles.pdf: not read (it couldn't be opened): open it on SAM.gov
- Attachment 1 - Consular ABA Bathroom Drawing Set.pdf: not summarized: open it on SAM.gov
Full summary
What they want
- Build an ABA-accessible bathroom in the Embassy Consular Section, Regentlaan 25-27 / Boulevard du Régent, Brussels, following the drawings and specifications
- Price the job in 11 line items: plumbing, ventilation, electrical, architectural finishes, doors, fixtures and accessories, miscellaneous metal and framing, general conditions, mobilization, temporary works, and contingency
- Work out the final routing and locations of mechanical, electrical and plumbing equipment to keep the design ABA-compliant
- Keep the Consular Section and the next-door administrative building running: temporary partitions and barriers, dust and noise control, and loud work outside public hours
- Work only 7:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday to Friday, with an approved schedule, quality control plan and safety plan
- Provide spare floor tiles, ceiling tiles and paint, as-built drawings, and a one-year warranty on labor and materials
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price purchase order for construction, priced in euros and including 21% VAT
- Period of performance
- Start within 30 calendar days and finish within 60 calendar days after notice to proceed; 1-year warranty after substantial completion
- Place of performance
- U.S. Embassy Consular Section, Regentlaan 25-27 / Boulevard du Régent, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Lowest price technically acceptable (LPTA): a technical pass/fail review, then a responsibility check and price check; the lowest-priced acceptable, responsible offer wins
- Offers due
- November 3, 2026 at 2:00 pm Brussels local time (SAM.gov shows Nov 3, 2026 14:00 +01:00); no late quotations accepted (from the version posted Sep 28, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to BrusselsBids@state.gov, as PDF files; cloud storage links such as Google Drive are not allowed
- Page limits
- Past performance: no more than 2 one-sided A4 or letter pages per project, plus up to 4 sheets of photos per project; no other overall page limit found
What they'll judge offers on
- Technical acceptability (pass/fail) of: Performance Schedule and Technical Execution Plan
- Technical acceptability of: Key Personnel
- Technical acceptability of: Management Information (including authorization to work in Belgium)
- Technical acceptability of: Past Performance and Construction Experience
- Technical acceptability of: Subcontracting (division of work between prime and subcontractors)
- Responsibility under FAR Part 9
- Price: fair and reasonable, lowest evaluated price among acceptable offers
What to include when you submit
- Volume I (Price): Tab A signed SF 1442 (blocks 14-20); Tab B the 11-line price table in euros including 21% VAT; Tab C price breakdown; Tab D Section L representations and certifications, or proof of SAM registration
- Volume II (Technical): Tab A Gantt-chart schedule and technical execution plan; Tab B key personnel resumes; Tab C management information; Tab D three past projects; Tab E subcontracting and self-performed work share
- Include a draft schedule and phasing plan and a draft personnel plan for each phase so the Embassy can plan escorts
- Name each file with your company name plus a short description; if you split across emails, label them like 'File 1 of 2'
- Keep each email under 30MB (cover letter) - the RFQ text also says 50MB, so confirm - and make sure no message bounces
- Quotes must be in English, and offers must stay open at least 90 calendar days
- Acknowledge any amendments with the SF 1442 or SF 30
- Site visit October 14, 2026 at 1:00 pm: send the site visit registration form at least 24 hours before; Teams call October 20, 2026; questions due October 22, 2026 at 5:00 pm
Not in the notice text
- The actual drawings and technical specifications: the drawing set is a scanned PDF and the two specification files were too large to read, so the detailed scope, materials and quantities are unknown
- About 19,000 characters in the middle of the RFQ (part of the clauses section) were not read
- The price breakdown template (Attachment 1 in the pricing section) was not read (it may be an attached file the AI skipped; check SAM.gov)
- Estimated contract value is not stated
- Whether a bid, offer guarantee or performance security is needed: the forms show 0% payment protection and $0 liquidated damages, but the check boxes are unclear
- The key personnel table in section G.5 that the instructions refer to was not found
- Which email size limit applies (30MB or 50MB)
- Name of the Contracting Officer's Representative (shown as TBD at award)
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to BrusselsBids@state.gov, as PDF files; cloud storage links such as Google Drive are not allowed. 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 27, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- U.S. Embassy Brussels
- Product/service code
- Z2AA · Repair or Alteration of Office Buildings
- Business type
- Construction & renovation (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 236220)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 27, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Nov 3, 2026
- Sep 28, 2026 · SolicitationDue Nov 3, 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
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Enclosed is a Request for Quotations (RFQ) for Consular ABA Bathroom construction. If you would like to submit quotation, follow the instructions in Section 3 of the solicitation, complete the required portions of the attached document, and submit it to the address shown on the Standard Form 1442 that follows this letter. The U.S. Government intends to award a firm fixed price purchase order (P) to the responsible company submitting an acceptable offer with a LPTA evaluation. The Government may award a contract based on initial quotations without holding discussions; however, we may hold discussions with companies in the competitive range if necessary. The site visit will be held on October 14, 2026 at 1.00pm at Regentlaan 25-27 Boulevard du Régent. Prospective offerors/quoters should contact submit the site visit registration form not later then 24 hours before the site visit to arrange entry to the building. The conference call will be held on October 20, 2026 on Teams. Prospective offerors/quoters should contact BrusselsBids@state.gov to get access. Questions are due by October 22, 2026 at 5.00pm. No questions will be answered after this time. Quotations are due by November 3 , 2026 at 2.00pm. No quotations will be accepted after this time. Proposals must be in English and incomplete proposals will not be accepted. Your quotation must be submitted electronically to BrusselsBids@state.gov. It is important to make sure the submission is made in specific size and format; Adobe Acrobat (pdf) file format. The file size must not exceed 30MB. If the file size should exceed the 30MB, the submission must be made in separate files and attached to separate emails with less than 30MB each. In order for a quotation to be considered, you must also complete and submit the following: Volume I - Pricing Volume II - Technical Offerors shall be registered in the SAM (System for Award Management) database at https://www.sam.gov prior to submittal of their offer/proposal as prescribed under FAR 4.1102. Failure to be registered at time of proposal submission may deem the offeror’s proposal to be considered non-responsible and no further consideration will be given. Therefore, offerors are highly encouraged to register immediately if they are interested in submitting a response to this requirement.
Similar open opportunities
- 561-26-104 Repair Operating Room (OR) & Bathroom LeaksOnly certified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) can bid, per the solicitation text; SAM.gov states no set-aside.