As we approach the New Year I always try to think of ways to make the coming year better than the last. This means first reflecting on the past and second look ahead to the future. This year, my family and I will be following our New Year’s ritual by setting resolutions for the coming…
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Modular Construction – Architects Responsible for Lag in Adoption of Pre-Fabricated Construction Techniques?
I want to reflect on all of the ways that builders could implement modular construction methods regardless of the design or the project management.
Today Matters – Happy Thanksgiving
It has been a while since I published any articles about books I have read. Given the Thanksgiving Holiday in the United States, I thought I would post something a little lighter for the Holiday, so Today, I want to share with you a book I recently completed called Today Matters. Today Matters was written…
Control Estimates – Six Critical Steps for Reducing Risk in a Cost Plus Contract
Prior to committing to a contract it’s necessary to requisition funds, waiting until after a contract has been signed to know the full cost can be problematic.
To GMP or not to GMP that is the question?
In a recent article about pricing models, I gave a brief overview on a pricing model known as Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP). This pricing model is often used because of the provisions that protect Owner’s from change orders. These provisions are often misunderstood and Owner’s believe that once the price is set, it cannot be…
Tariff’s, Blacklisting, and Global Warming – Canada’s Self-Inflicted Challenges on their Wood Industry
You may have recently heard about President Trump imposing tariffs on wood imported from Canada. The story broke in April, 2017 in the New York Times. The Trump tariffs are not a reaction to new developments. According to the Times article, the US and Canada have been at odds on this issue since 1982. Trump’s…
Best Practices for Managing sub-contractors
In most construction projects, General Contractors (GC) use sub-contractors. Sub-contractors perform the majority of the work, but most Owners spend little to no time considering who their sub-contractors are. While it is not prudent to get too far into who the GC’s sub-contractors are (doing so adds liability to you), it is prudent to establish…
What are the phases of work of a typical project?
No matter how big or small, all construction projects follow the same basic phases of work. Spending an appropriate amount of time (relative to project complexity) at each phase can mean the difference between the success or failure of your project. If you try to skip a phase or fail to perform the proper due…
Working without a contract? The reasons why Owner’s should never allow it.
In Today’s HGTV world where entire room renovations happen “While you were out” and “Restaurant Impossible” re-brands failing eateries in a weekend, the notion that construction can happen quickly is all too prevalent. These shows don’t reveal the pre-work that goes into performing these miraculous transformations and they don’t account for the incredible amount of man-power that goes…
How to avoid change orders on roof replacement.
The couple stood their in front of their home with their roof exposed and a pile of old roof tiles on the front lawn…Basically, there is no choice but to accept the change order and move on.
10 questions to ask a Contractor Reference.
Most people know that one of the best ways to qualify a contractor is to request references, but most never actually call. It might be that some think call a reference is a waste of time or possibly that you are imposing on the reference, but it is surprising how willing some folks are to…
How Owner’s influence Scope
One of the most important factors in the success of a construction project is having a quality Scope of Work. Scope of Work is the definition of what you expect your service providers to do for you. A service provider could be an Architect or a Contractor. You should have a Scope of Work for…