Complex Roofing/Building Envelope Solutions

Planning Phase

Complex roofing projects, particularly retrofits and renovations, demand specialized knowledge and experience beyond the scope of a general architect or designer. DBS begins each project with a roof evaluation in which a seasoned roofing professional conducts a visual inspection, physical inventory, and non-destructive infrared scans (as necessary) to determine the conditions of your roof and the underlying insulation and deck. That information is recorded into a Roof Asset Management Program (RAMP) database, which subsequently becomes the definitive source for recording and retrieving all historical information related to your roof.

During the planning phase, your DBS professional will help you devise a conceptual estimate and a conceptual schedule based upon your scope of work (marketing survey) documents for use as the base line when evaluating bids and work proposals.

• The conceptual estimate takes into consideration general conditions such as insurance and bonding requirements pursuant to your procurement policies; temporary facilities; lifting and hoisting equipment; and direct overhead required for your project. The conceptual estimate represents the total installed roofing cost, based on the mean national average costs and adjusted to account for the Davis Bacon labor rate at the facility location. A bid contingency and change-order contingency are built into the cost estimate, so there are never any surprises, with these contingencies adjusted downward as the design documents are refined and completed.
• The conceptual schedule provides a real-world indication of the entire project duration, based on our years of experience in roofing design and construction.

Design Phase

During this phase, DBS devises a variety of design solutions, evaluating and comparing their respective abilities to meet the performance, budget, and scheduling requirements of your project. Once a solution has been chosen, we create a set of construction documents guaranteed to be 90% accurate in regards to unforeseeable conditions, such as a damaged substrate. At this time the conceptual estimate and conceptual schedule become working ones, with a Guaranteed Maximum Cost and a Guaranteed Completion Date.

Construction Phase

Construction-related services include on-site evaluations and every aspect of installation, with regular inspections during construction to ensure a quality job that has been implemented as specified. DBS will manage the pre-bid process for the entire project, making sure that local sub-contractors approved by the various material manufacturers are involved, and that all work is monitored for quality, from start to finish.

Delivery Advantages

Because the design-build process is competitively negotiated, there is no obligation to accept the lowest bid. Decisions take into consideration all critical factors, including a sub-contractor's reputation for responsiveness, financial stability, familiarity with similarly complex applications, and ability to meet the required deadlines. This is of particular advantage to government agencies and private organizations that plan to hold on to their facilities for 30 years or more, since it allows the building owner to negotiate with a single-source design-builder on the basis of total life-cycle returns on his initial capital investment.

DBS has successfully completed complex roofing projects for many government agencies and institutions, as well as private enterprises. Click here for references and other information on completed projects.