Leaks from ponds created by ice dams can frequently be traced to roof design. Roof designs that funnel snow to narrow spaces and narrow eaves are likely to promote the development of ice dams and resulting roof leaks. Roof designs…
A Catch 22 Product Specification
Specifications occasionally include unintended contradictions, and in some instances they are related to schedule. Not long ago, I reviewed a specification for roofing that included a requirement for a particular “ice and water shield” product and allowed no substitutions. The…
Interdisciplinary Coordination of Construction Documents
Gaps between design disciplines are a common cause of construction change orders. In some cases, the consulting disciplines’ standard practices may generate a gap. For example, the electrical engineer may establish an electrical scope of work that “stops” 10 feet…
Bidders Trust Bid Documents for Take-off
Estimating quantities from a set of plans prepared by another architect reminds me that bidders are likely to rely on the accuracy of the drawings when preparing a take-off for a bid. If the drawings are inconsistent or include discrepancies,…
Noisy Lessons
Reading an article on acoustics in the July 2012 issue of The Construction Specifier reminded me of a number of useful lessons learned in the process of designing and administering public school construction projects. Here is one: Basic Acoustical Treatment…
Breaking Ground with New Consultants
It can take a few projects to work out the communication kinks with a team of consultants. Consultants who have worked together and with the same team are likely to develop a good understanding of what to expect from other…
Posted in Practice Management, Project Management
Getting up to speed with Air Sealing Details
Article 103 of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) requires that construction documents include air sealing details. Detailing the building envelope air barrier is a relatively recent challenge for architects, but it is a necessary task for communicating these…
Building Science and the Risks of Experimentation
Science is experimental; it consists of hypothesis and experiment. The path to success can be littered with experiments that fail. Scientists learn to expect failure along the way and to live with experimental failure as the cost of progress. Scientific…
Code Talk: Challenges for Architects
Most of the architects I have known are not comfortable with codes. They want to comply with applicable codes, but they find them confusing, tedious, contradictory, or even frightening. Codes are always being revised or superseded. It takes time to…
Change Orders: Making the Architect’s Call on Contractor Claims
When construction contracts are based on drawings and specifications prepared by architects, the need for changes during construction raises questions about the completeness, correctness, and coordination of the architect’s drawings and specifications – in short, questions about the architect’s performance.…
Posted in Construction Administration
