THE STANDARD FORM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN CONTRACTOR AND OWNER ISSUED BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS FOR USE WHEN A STIPULATED SUM FORMS THE BASIS OF PAYMENT The Standard Documents have received the approval THIRD EDITION, COPYRIGHT 1915-1918 BY THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, THE OCTAGON, WASHINGTON, D. C. THIS FORM IS TO BE USED ONLY WITH THE STANDARD GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT WITNESSETH, that the Contractor and the Owner for the considerations hereinafter named agree as follows: Article 1. The Contractor agrees to provide all the materials and to perform all the work shown on the Drawings and described in the Specifications entitled... (Here insert the caption descriptive of the work as used in the Proposal, General Conditions, Specifications, and upon the Drawings,) prepared by. acting as, and in these Contract Documents entitled the Architect, and to do everything required by the General Conditions of the Contract, the Specifications and the Drawings. Article 2. The Contractor agrees that the work under this Contract shall be substantially completed. (Here insert the date or dates of completion, and stipulations as to liquidated damages, if any). Article 3. The Owner agrees to pay the Contractor in current funds for the performance of the Contract subject to additions and deductions as provided in the General Conditions of the Contract and to make payments on account thereof as provided therein, as follows: On or about the. day of each month.. per cent of the value proportionate to the amount of the Contract, of labor and materials incorporated in the work. .up to the first day of that month as estimated by the Architect, less the aggregate of previous payments. On substantial completion of the entire work, a sum sufficient to increase the total payments to.. per cent of the contract price, and.. ..days thereafter, provided the work be fully completed and the Contract fully performed, the balance due under the Contract. Article 4. The Contractor and the Owner agree that the General Conditions of the Contract, the Specifications and the Drawings, together with this Agreement, form the Contract, and that they are as fully a part of the Contract, as if hereto attached or herein repeated; and that the following is an exact enumeration of the Specifications and Drawings: The Contractor and the Owner for themselves, their successors, executors, administrators and assigns, hereby agree to the full performance of the covenants herein contained. IN WITNESS WHEREOF they have executed this agreement, the day and year first above written. These comments of the Institute are printed as published without comment by the author. The use of a seal or of the word "seal "with the name of an individual or firm can do no harm, but since the only significance of a seal as used in ordinary contracts is to imply a consideration, and since all of the Institute's forms of agreement recite considerations, the use of a seal, except in the case of a corporation, is quite unnecessary. A bond, however, by its very nature must be under seal. NOTES ON THE GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE CONTRACT In some cases the Articles as printed do not include all necessary General Conditions of the Contract. The Architect will then add such others as he deems wise. Many architects include in their General Conditions one or more of the subjects named below. Most of these are better placed in the specifications for the various trades; and others, though suited for inclusion in the General Conditions, are not always needed. Among these subjects are: Bracing building during construction, Charges for extra copies of drawings, Chases, Checking by surveyor and his certifi cate, Contractor to keep the work in repair, Contractor to lay out the work, giving lines and levels, Contractor to work overtime if required, Fences, Heating during construction, Insurance against lightning, wind storms, hail and earthquake, Keeping building and cellar free from water, Ladders, Lanterns, Offices and their furniture, Permission to use articles or methods other than those specified, Photographs, Protection and care of trees and shrubs, Protective coverings in general, Scaffolding, Sheds, Sidewalks, Special cleaning other than "broom clean," as in Article 33, Stoppage of work in freezing weather, Temporary enclosure from weather, Temporary wiring and electric lights, For further information of use in connection with the General Conditions, refer to the "Handbook of Architectural Practice," published by the American Institute of Architects. NOTES ON THE BOND OF SURETYSHIP The bond of Suretyship is drawn for use with either corporate or individual sureties. If a bond is to be given, this form, without additions or omissions, should be insisted upon to insure a full measure of protection. Proper certification that those signing the bond have authority so to sign should accompany the bond. NOTES ON THE INVITATION TO BID, INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS AND FORM OF PROPOSAL The Institute formerly issued the above named forms which contain much of value. Experience, however, showed that they had generally to be adapted to specific cases. They are, therefore, reproduced here so that Architects may draw from them whatever they deem useful. FORM OF INVITATION TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL DEAR SIR: You are invited to submit a proposal for Drawings, Specifications and other information may be procured from this office on and after All documents must be returned to this office not later than.. To be entitled to consideration the proposal must be made upon the form provided by the Architect, which must be fully completed in accordance with the accompanying "Instructions to Bidders" and must be delivered to this office not later than... Very truly yours, FORM OF INSTRUCTIONS TO BIDDERS Proposals, to be entitled to consideration, must be made in accordance with the following instructions. Proposals shall be made upon the form provided therefor, and all blank spaces in the form shall be fully filled; numbers shall be stated both in writing and in figures; the signature shall be in long hand; and the completed form shall be without interlineation, alteration or erasure. Proposals shall not contain any recapitulation of the work to be done. No oral, telegraphic or telephonic proposals or modifications will be considered. Proposals shall be addressed to the Owner, in care of the Architect, and shall be delivered to the Architect enclosed in an opaque sealed envelope addressed to him, marked "Proposal and bearing the title of the work and the name of the Bidder. Should a bidder find discrepancies in, or omissions from, the drawings or documents, or should he be in doubt as to their meaning, he should at once notify the Architect, who will send a written instruction to all bidders. Neither Owner nor Architect will be responsible for any oral instructions. Before submitting a proposal, bidders should carefully examine the drawings and specifications, visit the site or work, fully inform themselves as to all existing conditions and limitations and shall include in the Proposal a sum to cover the cost of all items inIcluded in the Contract. The competency and responsibility of bidders and of their proposed subcontractors will be considered in making the award. The Owner does not obligate himself to accept the lowest or any other bid. Provision will be made in the Agreement for payments on account in the following words: (Insert the Provision). Any Bulletins issued during the time of bidding are to be covered in the proposal and in closing a contract they will become a part thereof. FORM OF PROPOSAL (The Proposal should be dated and addressed to the Owner in care of the Architect.) DEAR SIR: Having carefully examined the Instructions to Bidders, the General Conditions of the Contract and Specifications entitled...... (Here insert the caption descriptive of the work as used therein.) and the Drawings, similarly entitled, numbered.... . . ....as well as the premises and the conditions affecting the work, the Undersigned proposes to furnish all materials and labor called for by them for..... (Here insert, in case all the work therein described is to be covered by one contract, "the entire work." In case of a partial contract insert name of the trade or trades to be covered and the numbers of the pages of the Specifications on which the work is described.) in accordance with the said documents for the sum of . Dollars ($. . . . . . . . . . ). If he be notified of the acceptance of this proposal within ...days of the time set for the opening of bids he agrees to execute a contract for the above work, for the above stated compensation in the form of the Standard Agreement of the American Institute of Architects. Very truly yours, SUGGESTIONS TO ARCHITECTS USING THE ABOVE FORM OF PROPOSAL The above form includes only such statements as will probably be required in any Proposal. Additions will usually have to be made to it. Suggestions suited to certain conditions are offered in the following notes. If the bidder is to name the time required for completing the work, insert such a clause as the following: The undersigned agrees, if awarded the Contract, to complete it within..... days, Sundays and whole holidays not included. If liquidated damages are to be required, insert the following: And further agrees that, from the com pensation otherwise to be paid, the Owner may retain the sum of.. dollars ($... . . . . . .) for each day thereafter, Sundays and holidays included, that the work remains uncompleted, which sum is agreed upon as the proper meanure of liquidated damages which the Owner will sustain per diem by the failure of the undersigned to complete the work at the time stipulated, and this sum is not to be construed as in any sense a penalty. If a bond is required, insert the following: The undersigned agrees, if awarded the Contract, to execute and deliver to the Architect within.... ...days after the signing of the Contract, a satisfactory bond in the form issued by the American Institute of Architects (second edition reissued 1918) and in an amount equal to the contract sum, and further agrees that if such bond be not required, he will deduct from the proposal price the sum of. dollars ($.. ..). .... If a certified check is required, the following clause should be inserted: The undersigned further agrees that the certified check payable to....... .Owner, accompanying this proposal, is left in escrow with the Architect; that its amount is the measure of liquidated damages which the Owner will sustain by the failure of the Undersigned to execute and deliver the above named Agreement and bond, and that if the Undersigned defaults in executing that Agreement within .days of written notification of the award of the contract to him or in furnishing the Bond within... ..days thereafter, then the check shall become the property of the Owner, but if this proposal is not accepted within..... days of the time set for the submission of bids, or if the Undersigned executes and delivers said Contract and Bond, the check shall be returned to him on receipt therefor. |