Our blog will tell construction stories, general contracting stories, and maybe, carpentry how-tos. The stories may be funny, ridiculous, educational and/or horrifying depending on the reader's perspective. The names will be changed to protect the guilty.
It is pretty amazing that any construction is completed correctly.
The Construction Process
Let's consider the process of providing a door for someone's house during construction. Someone needs to account for this door on a material takeoff. That person could be the project manager, his assistant, an estimator or a door salesman. Suppose the door is specified as a 3'0" x 7'0", right hand, four panel, pine door with No.1 clear pine jambs and casing and brass hardware.
Whoever does the estimate should recognize that the usual 6'8" doors will not be used in this house. Then the building supplier processes the order and sends it to the manufacturer. The manufacturer should build the door to all specifications. The door should then be shipped to the building supplier without damage. The building supplier should store the door until the house is ready. Eventually, the building supply store should deliver the door on time.
Meanwhile, the contractor should ensure that the doors are not delivered early and are not subject to damage once they have been delivered.
The framing subcontractor should be informed of the correct rough opening. If the casing is wide the electrician should place the light switch so as not to interfere with the casing. The trim subcontractor should know if the door will be pre-hung on the jamb or hinged onsite. The painting subcontractor should be told that the door and trim are all clear lumber to be stained instead of painted. This subcontractor should be told what brand of stain and what color. Will the stain get a polyurethane finish or, perhaps, varnish?
Now the subcontractors should convey the information provided by the contractor to carpenters, electricians, and painters.
Once the work is done the subcontractors should check the work. Rough openings should be checked for proper width and height. The framing should also be plumb. The rough opening should also allow for finished flooring. The electrical box should be checked for clearance. These items should be checked before insulation, sheetrock, etc. The door itself should be properly plumbed, leveled, shimmed and fastened and checked by the door subcontractor. The stain should be properly applied and checked by the painting subcontractor.
Once the subcontractors have completed their installations, they, they should check all their work. Once they have checked their work, the contractor should check the subcontractors' work as well.
I used the conditional extensively in the preceding text. Everywhere I use the word should, it marks a common point of failure in the system. Any of these failures can add time and cost to a project.
Understand that every other door and all framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and finish components go through the same process as described above to some extent.
Construction Problems
All of the above is compounded by the fact that, especially in a busy market, each subcontractor might have a dozen or more projects underway. Additionally, the contractor might assign dozens of houses and, possibly, multiple subdivisions to a single superintendent.
After reading this, a buyer with a home under construction might better understand any delays but only wants the job done on time and correctly.
A Partial Solution
As you can see, it is pretty amazing that any construction is completed correctly.
An owners' representative with awareness of potential failure points can add quality to the process by identifying problems and ensuring their correction. The reps' professional presence may even help prevent common problems by discussing upcoming work with the construction team..