Posted September 15, 200915 yr comment_2521 Are normal wear and tear items such as light bulbs required to be covered by the contractor's one year general warranty on new construction projects?
September 15, 200915 yr comment_2523 Are normal wear and tear items such as light bulbs required to be covered by the contractor's one year general warranty on new construction projects? Normal wear and tear is expected even under a warranty. As long as the bulbs, as a group or trend, aren't burning out prematurely, that would be considered normal wear and tear or a maintenance responsibility. The clause 52.246-21, Warranty of Construction, doesn't include unconditional warranty that nothing will wear out within one year. Unless light bulbs are "defective" (the warranty is for defects in materials, workmanship or design furnished), then the government is responsible for normal maintenenance and replacement. I was taught in one of my quality assurance classes, almost 30 years ago, that light bulbs were required to be "new" at acceptance. Thus, lights used during construction were to be replaced for acceptance. That was long ago, though. I don't remember if our guide specs at the time specified this or if this was based upon deductive reasoning from the Material and Workmanship clause that required all new materials and equipment unless otherwise specified. That would usually be a very high cost. If contractors were required to take out and replace all bulbs used during construction, we would theoretically pay for those labor and thrown away material costs anyway, resulting in a lot of waste.
September 15, 200915 yr Author comment_2524 Normal wear and tear is expected even under a warranty. As long as the bulbs, as a group or trend, aren't burning out prematurely, that would be considered normal wear and tear or a maintenance responsibility.The clause 52.246-21, Warranty of Construction, doesn't include unconditional warranty that nothing will wear out within one year. Unless light bulbs are "defective" (the warranty is for defects in materials, workmanship or design furnished), then the government is responsible for normal maintenenance and replacement. I was taught in one of my quality assurance classes, almost 30 years ago, that light bulbs were required to be "new" at acceptance. Thus, lights used during construction were to be replaced for acceptance. That was long ago, though. I don't remember if our guide specs at the time specified this or if this was based upon deductive reasoning from the Material and Workmanship clause that required all new materials and equipment unless otherwise specified. That would usually be a very high cost. If contractors were required to take out and replace all bulbs used during construction, we would theoretically pay for those labor and thrown away material costs anyway, resulting in a lot of waste. Thanks for the guidance.
