April 2013 Update…

Architect/Engineer

Well, it’s April.  Its not that nothing much has been happening; its more like I have been waiting for the April story to have a full arc.  It doesn’t have an ending yet, but I figured I could post a cliff hanger.

As you may recall if you have been following the whole story, the original time line called for completion of the drawings and engineering by fall of 2012.  (The original post about finding an architect here) By September, it became clear that we were not going to hit that target.  At the November meeting, the architect and engineer agreed they would be done before the end of February.  So, now at the beginning of April, I got a set of drawings labeled “penultimate update”…

The “next to last” update had some things fixed, such as the concrete sunshade from March, but still had a number of issues, almost all of which I had reported earlier.  Most of the fixes would be relatively easy, the biggest remaining issue was updating the drawings for the windows details…   The problems with the engineering pages were more serious but could also be fixed quite easily.  For instance, the foundation plans did not include one corner of the basement, and the plan for the entry was missing vertical supports.   I sent in a list of issues and asked if we could sort these out by the end of April so I could stay on track for building.  I did not get any response at all for over a week.  When I did get a response, they said they would work on the changes and get back to me, but there was no comment on when they might be ready.

 

Then I got a “final” bill saying they were 100% done…  The last page was a note saying that the engineer may want more money.  It didn’t actually say he was charging more, and the additional cost was not included in the bill, but obviously this would need to be sorted out before I would get the problems fixed.  I am sure that, like most disagreements, it is mostly about a difference in perspective.  My engineer thought there was scope creep, something no one on a fixed contract likes to see, but I felt I had sufficient documentation, in the form of emails and meeting notes, to show that the design had not changed.  I called the architect about the bill and explained why I thought they should just finish up for the agreed upon amount.  I really am happy to pay my dues, so I told him that I would just keep the final bill handy so I could send in the check as soon as the work was done.   He said he would discuss it with the engineer, but they have not got back to me since.  Hopefully that is a good thing?

I did get one little update from the architects assistant since, he added a fence to the front and back of the garage.  It was just one detail, but it shows the work is not stopped.

Ever the optimist, I think it will still work out and I am trying not to worry about the lack of any real information.  In the mean time, I have my own list of tasks to complete including  putting together a landscaping plan, shop drawings for the curved steel beams quote, finding a couple more shotcrete companies to ensure a competitive bid, etc.   On the first of May, I plan to start the construction loan paperwork.

Eye Candy

In this months eye candy, I have a few interesting things including an earth sheltered office tower, the AcrosFukuoka in Japan, some interesting ancient underground water cisterns (and a dog house cistern) and a cool Escher lizard floor.   The Musmuci Bridge in Italy shows how you can make cement very interesting…  There is even a shot of the 3D model that I got from the Architect last month.   Have fun.