Federal Contract Alert: Mondeaux Floor Refinishing — AGRICULTURE, DEPARTMENT OF.FOREST SERVICE.USDA-FS, CSA EAST 13
USDA Forest Service Floor Refinishing Contract: What You're Looking At
The USDA Forest Service is seeking a contractor to refinish flooring at a facility managed by CSA East 13. This is a straightforward service contract—not procurement of equipment or materials, but labor-intensive floor restoration work. The scope likely includes stripping, sanding, sealing, and finishing of existing flooring surfaces, possibly across multiple rooms or building sections. Before you spend time on this, understand that floor refinishing contracts are competitive, heavily dependent on local labor availability, and often awarded to shops that can mobilize crews quickly and have a track record with federal property care standards.
Eligibility: Set-Aside Status and NAICS Requirements
This is a Small Business Set-Aside (Total), which means only businesses certified as small under SBA size standards can bid. Your NAICS code is 238330 (Flooring Installation and Refinishing Services). If you hold a current small business certification from SBA or are registered as small in SAM.gov, you're eligible. The size standard for NAICS 238330 is 15 employees. If you're larger than that headcount, you cannot bid, period—don't waste the proposal effort.
Check your SAM.gov entity record now. Your small business status must be active and match the NAICS code in the solicitation. If there's any discrepancy, request a correction before the deadline or your bid will be rejected on the spot. There's no appeals process for eligibility mistakes.
Key Deadline and Where to Find the Full Solicitation
Closing date is 26 August 2026 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. That's your hard stop for submission in SAM.gov. The full solicitation package—including detailed specifications, site conditions, schedule requirements, and technical evaluation criteria—is available through the link above on SAM.gov. Download it immediately. The three-page notice you're reading is not the solicitation; it's a teaser. The real document tells you what the Forest Service actually cares about: square footage, flooring type, environmental conditions, required certifications, and whether you need bonding.
Read the entire Statement of Work. If the site is in a remote location, factor in travel time and crew accommodation costs. If the work requires specialized equipment rental (industrial sanders, ventilation systems, dust collection), get quotes now.
How to Respond: The Competitive Reality
You'll submit your proposal through SAM.gov's workspace feature. Your response should include a technical approach describing your crew experience, equipment, timeline, and quality control measures. Include references from similar federal or commercial projects. The Forest Service will evaluate based on technical merit and, in many cases, price. Since this is a service contract, your labor rates matter—underpricing is a common trap that wins the bid but loses money on execution.
Before you bid, call the contracting officer listed in the solicitation and ask three questions: (1) What is the exact square footage and current flooring condition? (2) Are there any environmental or accessibility restrictions during work? (3) What schedule constraints exist? If the contracting officer won't answer, that's a sign the opportunity is not well-defined—walk away. Vague specs lead to disputes and change orders.
Three Actionable Tips
1. Site Inspection is Non-Negotiable
Request access to inspect the facility before you bid. Don't estimate from the solicitation description. Floor condition varies wildly—some surfaces need only finishing; others require structural repair beneath. A pre-bid site visit costs you half a day but prevents bidding blind on a job that could require double the labor.
2. Price Local Labor, Not National Averages
Forest Service facilities are often in rural areas. Crew availability and hourly labor costs in small towns differ dramatically from metro regions. Get actual rate quotes from local crews or confirm your own labor bench can reach the site and meet the schedule. Padding a bid to cover speculative travel costs makes you uncompetitive; underpricing labor destroys profit margins.
3. Review Past Forest Service Contracts
Search SAM.gov's contract archive for other flooring or facility maintenance awards the Forest Service has made in your region. Look at who won, at what price point, and what their technical approaches emphasized. This gives you real data on evaluation priorities instead of guessing what the government values.
Decision Checkpoint: Should You Actually Bid?
This opportunity is winnable if you have crews in or near the facility location and a proven track record with federal floors. It's not winnable if you're a startup, located far from the site, or don't have references from similar work. Be honest about whether you can mobilize faster and cheaper than regional competitors. If you can't, save the proposal effort.
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