The form of construction contract which the successful bidder is required to enter into should be stated in the bid documents and coordinated with the provisions of the client/architect agreement. It is recommended that the CCDC standard forms of construction contract be used rather than proprietary forms of contract because they are known, have been tested in court, and have wide acceptance in the industry.

The architect usually prepares the contract for signing on behalf of the owner. The contract document sets should be prepared as soon as possible after award of the contract. If there is no signed contract, it may be difficult to enforce the intended provisions. At least two copies of the contract are prepared for signature by the owner and the contractor. Each receives a signed copy of the contract.

The architect also requires a complete and accurate copy of the contract including all notations or amendments in order to be able to administer the contract during construction. It was therefore common in the past for the architect to also prepare a third copy for signature by the owner and the contractor which would be kept by the architect.

Where there are only two copies prepared for signature, the architect should also prepare an identical copy for reference and use in administering the contract. Refer to OAA Practice Tip 20 “Assembly of Construction Contract Documents for Signature”.

Unless the contract signing occurs in a meeting with both parties present, it is typical for the owner to sign the copies and then forward them to the contractor who signs and keeps one copy, returning the other(s).  One copy is given to the owner, often via the architect.

Due to improvements in printing/copying technology and to facilitate storage and archiving, some clients request that the drawings in their contract document set be half-size or smaller prints. The client should be advised to obtain advice from their legal advisor on the legal implications of doing so.

At the request of the owner or the contractor, it may be required that the contract documents be bound and sealed using a) a wire and a lead seal, b) a ribbon and a wax or paper seal, or c) some other acceptable method. Binding and sealing used to be standard practice, but is no longer required by many parties.

Refer to the Management of the Project\CCA “Assembling Contract Document Sets” document for an illustration and discussion of which of the bid documents should be included in the contract document set and which ones should not be included.

It is helpful if those items from the bid documents which will be included in the contract document sets are on separate pages in the bid documents from items which should not be in the contract sets. If they bear appropriate specification section numbers, it is easy to reference them in the list of contract documents.

The contract sets should include the originally issued drawings, specifications, all issued addenda, and any changes agreed to in post-bid negotiations. It may be tempting (and easier) to use the latest versions of drawings and specifications since they likely have all the addenda changes already included. This should not be done as it may introduce inadvertent differences between what was bid and the contract. This could happen if someone decided to proof the documents and correct spelling or grammar errors, or make small changes that didn’t get issued as an addendum.

References

CCDC-23 A guide to calling bids and awarding construction contracts. (2005)
Canadian Construction Documents Committee
Canadian Handbook of Practice for Architects. (2009). Volume 2 Chapter 2.3.9
Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
A Guide to Prequalification of Contractors. (2006)
Ontario General Contractors Association
A Guide to Successful Construction. Effective Contract Administration. (1996)
BNI Building News
Practice Tip 20 Assembly of Construction Contract Documents for Signature
OAA
Assembling Contract Document Sets.
Construction Contract Administration 

 

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