Masonry Magazine August 2000 Page. 24
THE CONTRACTOR
AND ARCHITECT
... and the Lost Art of Communication By Steve Saucerman
If you've been a contractor for any amount of time (like me), it's likely you've come into contact with an architect. If you tend to do a lot of commercial work, this likelihood increases even further, where indeed it can be hard to swing a dead cat without hitting an architect. But regardless the circumstance, the architect is an integral, dynamic cog in the building industry wheel and most of the time enjoys a positive, proactive working relationship with the contracting community.
And then there's the rest of the time. You know, like when you (the project manager) have just slammed the phone down in unbelieving disgust after the architect for the ranger station you're building has just now demanded you remove the (already installed) steel columns in the new building. It seems when he was out at the site, he'd snapped one of them with his fingernail and felt the resulting "pinnnnngggg" emanating from within the column indicated (in his world) that the "chromium content seemed a little low". Yes, this actually happened to me... and no - we didn't exchange the columns.
Later on in the project - still reeling from the earlier exchange -I received another blistering memo from the same architect demanding that we remove the (already installed) 90-foot hip roof system and move it 3/8" to the west. Yes, I said 90 feet (and yes, I said 3/8"). Apparently, the 3/8" was half of the difference of the horizontal measurement of the truss tails (or the soffit dimension) that the architect had measured while out on site. The memo went on to proclaim that "no further work be performed until this situation was remedied...."
Well, that sounded good to me so we walked off the job.
Ten days later and after a week and a half barrage of letters, phone calls, and faxes (mostly from the architect-to whom we didn't respond) and an occasional plea from a now very-exasperated owner, we received a written apology (from the owner) along with a humble entreaty for us to please return to the job. The letter assured us that there would be no further petty interferences. We went back the following day - never heard from or saw the architect again (he'd mysteriously disappeared) -and finished the job on schedule. The project was inspected by another A/E firm (along with the applicable governing bodies) and everything was fine.
SEARCHING FOR
COMMON GROUND
Unfortunately, I have other stories similar to this and though admittedly extreme the one above is not entirely unusual. There are design professionals out there who do take their responsibilities to rather absurd extremes at times. Now, this is probably an excellent time to mention that I remain fully (and painfully) aware that we contractors have our own malicious cast of characters with whom to contend. I'm further sure that there are architects out there who'd be delighted to regale me with
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24 MASONRY-JULY/AUGUST, 2000