who pays for tests?

Building Section Vignette and Multiple Choice

who pays for tests?

Postby Mandy23 » Fri Jun 23, 2017 9:51 am

when does the contractor pay for tests and when does the owner pay? Does the owner only pay for tests required by the city (and all site surveys, soil borings)?
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Re: who pays for tests?

Postby kerzzo » Fri Jun 23, 2017 12:25 pm

it's a broad question, and it needs specific information...it may be a requirement or it may be a "challenge" from th design team...these things matter when trying to get to the answer.

the AIA contracts have very good narratives on their general conditions paperwork that can help you understand this.
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Re: who pays for tests?

Postby kikstear » Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:19 pm

I'm also having issues with this question!
Question 16 on the Ballast Practice Exam:

A developer from NY owns a large piece of property along the James River in Virginia and plans to construct a retirement community and golf course. This is an area where there are many pockets of unstable shrink/swell soil, so the architect advises the owner to hire a geotechnical engineer to conduct testing and prepare a soils report for the property. The developer bids construction of the clubhouse and provides a copy of the soils report to each of the bidders along with the contract documents. THe low bidder and the developer reach an agrrement based upon A201. Three weeks into the site excavation, the contractor finds areas of shrinks/swell soil in locations not indicated in the soils report. Who is responsible for the const of additional excavation and/or foundation design and reinforcement?
a.) contractor
b.) geotechnical engineer
c.) owner
d.) architect

My ballast answer key says A, contractor (unlike the person's above, who said their key says owner!). and explains that the contractor is technically responsible for additional incurred cost because AIA doc 201 Sec. 3.2.1 exaplains that "execution of the contract by the contractor is a representation that the contractor has visited the site, become generally familiar with local conditions under which the work is to be performed and correlated personal observations and requirements of the contract documents. However the same document states that the "Contractor shall be entitled to rely on the accuracy of information furnished by the owner." AiA document A201 includes a provision to address this sort of situation where concealed conditions differ from those anticipated by the contract documents. Section 3.7.4 allows either party to submit a claim for concealed or unknown conditions within 21 days of discovery. This provision helps owner and contractor to negotiate a fair resolution to the issue and protects the owner from bid prices that may be inflated to allow for the unknown conditions."


With this explanation, it does seem that the image posted above is correct with the change order. However, when deciding who is actually responsible, I don't see how to determine who is responsible (prior to reaching an agreement after notice within 21 days) ?
Does the situation change because the property is in a different state (does that have anything to do with this or is that just all jargon)? Is it because it is generally known that there are many pockets of shrink/swell soil, and the contractor should assume this may be a greater issue?
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