Substitutions

[moaki]

According to AHPP-
Contractor warrants that substituted material or system will perform the same as the originally specified material or system would have performed. Should accepted substitution fail to perform as required, Contractor shall replace substitute material or system with that originally specified and bear costs incurred thereby.

My question is, if contractor is to bear such cost, why would he/she propose substitutions in the first place anyway? I know substitution may mean a cheap copycat, but if a copycat is proposed, does that mean the architect will not propose a change order to deduct the contract sum after the architect approves the substitution?

any comments would be greatly appreciated!

[ElfLocks]

I think the contractor is to propose substitutions during bidding process. This is one way to lower the bid. Therefore, there will be no change order. An experienced contractor will probably be familiar with a substitution product in terms of its performance. Also, the manufacturer guarantees certain aspects of the product, so they may be liable for failure and potentially can reimburse the contractor for defective product. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

[JPok]

A contractor may propose substitutions for reasons other than cost - such as: availability, lead time, familiarity with product/system, improved performance for no cost increase, etc.

[aa_banned]

The main reason for the contractor to propose substitutions is to make money:
If the substitutions are 100k cheaper, the owner may get 20k credit if he is lucky.

[moaki]

Thanks for the comments.
Elflocks, i've read AHPP and it said contractor can still propose substitutions after the bidding process..

so the substitution means NO change order to adjust the contract sum?

thanks again

[aa_banned]

As an architect, you should guard the owner's interest and remind the owner and the GC that there are credits due when cheaper substitutions are used, but the final credits are always worked out between the owner and the GC.

You as an architect are NOT a specialist in pricing and all your estimates are just an educational guess.

Substitutions are big business, and many GC submit a low bid to get the job, and actually make money by doing substitutions.

Tell the GC no substitutions to save your and the owner time, if you are to spend a lot of time reviewing substitutions, you can ask for additional fees from the GC.

[aa_banned]

As an architect, you do need to know a general price range of different brands, such as Kawneer storefront is MUCH more expensive than Arcadia storefront, just like the price range between Mercedes Benz and Toyota.

[moaki]

Now I have a much better picture of how it works- GC propose substitutions, architect accepts it and issue change order, but the exact amount to be adjusted will be the business between GC & owner.
Now that I understand why the firm I work with always specify Kawneer storefront....
thanks again!

[Coach]

The main reason for the contractor to propose substitutions is to make money:

Not true.