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- Take a cruise,
or invest in your property?
CDA believes that when an
Owner
elects to spend the kind of money construction requires, then the
process should result in enjoyment and satisfaction, not
regret. We help that happen!
Construction horror stories, like most conflicts in life,
are usually the result of poor communication. Construction is
unique because it is people
intensive. Most projects will have 10 to 20 people
involved just on the site. These individuals are independent
contractors working for themselves first, then sub-contracting thier
services to a general contractor. They all have their own agenda,
only part of
which is your project.
Construction is not a consumer
product, it is not like buying a car, it is
like ordering a "custom" car, wth the additional responsibility of
describing how to build it.
The Owner has a thousand decisions to make
and convey, and then watch to see if he/she was understood.
There are two primary horror stories. Ask Eric to explain them in
detail.
How
can an Architect help? The goal is communicating
good
information to all
the people involved, and seeking a fair price for
good work.
- The Architect's Proposal: Project
communication begins with a well prepared agreement for archtectural
services. It will put forth a systemized program for the project,
and describe the roles and responsibilities of the major participants,
the Owner, the Architect, and the Contractor(s). Each party has
their own initial expectations. The only way to actually manage
those expectation is if they are clearly defined. Thus the
Owner/Architect agreement serves as a project "guide book."
Contractors must have access to this guide book beginning with
estimating phases.
Click Image to get sample Agreement
- The Design Process: The Architect listens
to the
Owner, then provides a visual, practical, solution using drawings and
examples. This becomes a dialogue between Owner and Designer,
continuing until the graphic result expresses what the Owner wants, and
the budget can afford.
- Budget: The Architect will assist the
Owner in securing a
good estimate of the proposed work, so a budget can be set and
maintained. This is critical when financial flexibility is
limited.
- Knowledge: The Architect provides
the Owner with
a brain trust of information and resources. This is an
opportunity to ask questions
and enjoy a professional willing to provide educational content as part
of the service.
- Construction Documentation:
Technical drawings,
including specifications, are professionally prepared and distributed.
- How a quality Architect can affect your project.
- If you want a contractor to deliver
quality work, then
it only makes sense to provide him with quality documents. When
sloppy drawings are provided, then the message communicated is "sloppy
work
is acceptable."
- Drawings help the contractor get the
complete, accurate
message to all the subcontractors. This defeats the "whisper down
the line" syndrome. A picture is worth a thousand words in
construction. Either have an Architect
provide a coordinated set of drawings for
all to use, or you depend on each individual trade providing
their own field instructions only as they need them, without helping
any of the
other trades know what is happening or how their work coordinates with
the other subcontractors.
- The drawings are the "contract". The
agreement
is the Owner will pay a defined amount of money for a defined
description of work.
- Good drawings save good money.
Remember the old oil filter commercial where they say "pay me now, or
pay me later?" Ultimately all
the descriptive work provided by the Architect has to be done
by someone, sooner or later, and the cost will end up in the
project somewhere. The better and more complete the drawings are
at the start,
the better the initial estimating, and ability to hold to that
estimate. For contractors, time and
production efficiency are where money is made (the cost of the
materials is the same for everybody). There is an old saying
"when you have ten minutes to cut down a tree, spend the first nine
minutes sharpening the saw." Good drawings are the sharp saw.
- Project Administration: The
Architect can
provide the Owner with continuing assistance during the execution of
the Work. The Architect's training and knowledge are
available to the Owner to interpret and clarify the design intent,
review the progress of the work, help evaluate options presented by the
contractor.
A picture really is
worth a thousand words!
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