For future reference:

1)  Be sure to add "outside spigots" to the list of deliverables that should be discussed immediately following completion of framing and prior to rough-in of plumbing.

It is NOT advisable to assume that the project manager will have thought of this, nor is it advisable to assume the project manager will know that the home owner would rather not have to walk down and around and under the deck to connect the hose to the spigot, drag the hose up to the deck, in order to wash down the deck or put out a fire around the grill.  Nor will the project manager think of the problematic potential of having a frozen spigot within feet of a basement window.  Some project managers may question the spigot only after holes have been drilled through drywall and siding, about the time the plumber has problems with trying to run copper tubing outside a finished, painted interior wall to serve that spigot.

2)  Be sure to keep triplicate copies of prints with electrical layout/lighting plan, in case the electrician throws out his copy and the copy left at the house gets tossed by who-knows-which-contractor.  This may prevent inadvertant or inexplicable lighting and switch placement at the time of the second electrical installation and again at the final electrical install.  Be sure to plan on the occasional patch in drywall if an electrical error occurs.

And don't forget little things for little people, like garage door opener switches placed about 6'-5" above the floor where children and short women will have difficulty reaching.  Specify the height of these switches before drywall and paint, preferably at the time of electrical rough-in.  Vice versa for tall people; pendant fixtures should not be a hazard to a tall person; be sure to call out on the plans which fixtures will need pendant chain or tubing cut to length (see triplicate copies of plans).

3)  Every single detail, down to the kind of edge on the counter, should be in writing and submitted to the project manager, pictures furnished whenever possible.  Surprisingly, some project managers forget what they are told in spite of repeated verbal instructions, and some will not grasp verbal instructions but require written instructions and graphic depictions.

4)  Plan schedule accordingly during flu season to allow for a cascading affect of viral transmission throughout the construction team.  The project manager will get it, be out for a week. The incubation period is about one week; count on the finish contractor to get it the following week.  And then the plumber, the tile installer, so on.  And then the home owner...

5)  Delivery personnel will most assuredly not get the correct delivery address from their dispatch, even if you have called dispatch and corrected the address.  Delivery personnel will drive past the house four or five times before calling your home number and leaving a message on the machine, even though you have left your cell phone number with dispatch.  Be sure, therefore, to get dispatch's phone number and ask where the delivery people are after the appointed time has come and gone and after seeing an unmarked panel truck drive by twice.

And be certain to post the house number out front of the house; the project manager may forget how important this is to delivery people who don't know to look for the fifth new construction site instead of the fourth or third site.  The project manager may also forget that not every Tom, Dick or Harry knows to look for his beat-up red pickup truck with the snowplow rig in the correct driveway, further complicated by the quick run to 7-11 for coffee.

6)  Be scrupulous when receiving deliveries.  Appliances, for example -- make sure to match the part numbers ordered against the part numbers received.  Point out discrepancies immediately to the driver.  There is a chance that a) the order taker mistook "G" for "D" in the part number, or b) the model offered has now changed since the order was placed, or c) the warehouse folks grabbed the wrong appliance, or some combination of these options.

7)  Make sure that contractors park on the street on the day appliances are delivered so that the truck may have full and easy access to the house.  Otherwise appliances may be dropped in the driveway between the street and the garage, sustaining unknown injury.

More notes for the file later.

12:25:38 AM    comment []