New Construction

At the first OAC meeting for the development of Country Club Estates, the General Contractor notified the development team that their estimator had mispriced the fire suppression system, bidding a NFPA 13R system instead of the NFPA 13 required. This was a +/- $50,000 miss at the beginning of the job that really hurt the GC’s profitability before any of the typical project challenges hit.

 

The site work moved along well and the post-tension slab was installed without challenges other than weather

 

The job continues to progress smoothly through framing, roofing, exterior envelope completion, etc.

 

Then the challenges started.

 

A sidewalk where the specifations for concrete design were not followed.

Framing not being coordinated with HVAC and now having no room for a trunk link where it was designed.

Gypcrete that wasn’t correctly poured on the 2nd floor.

Sidewalks not meeting ADA requirements.

 

At this point, our own VP of Construction had lost his mind and was only siding with the architect, the Architect and the GC’s VP were fighting at every single OAC meeting, the Superintendent threw F-bombs and left the construction trailer and threatened to leave the job. It was brutal.

 

I felt like I was the only one able to maintain a cool head and work towards solutions in every meeting. This was painstaking. We maintained a log of concerns, responses, etc. Everything was logged in Procore. But someone had to make decisions and ensure resolution of items discussed. So week in and week out I helped parties get past their personal animosity, agree on solutions, and keep moving the project forward.

 

At the end of the project, which was months behind schedule, we calculated the Liquidated Damages potentially owed to us by the General Contractor. We didn’t plan to enforce them but it was a reminder that we could sue for them and hold retainage, according to the contract.

 

In the end, everyone left the job without suing each other. The VP for the GC lost his job, the GC never worked for the developer again, and I won’t ever work with that architect again.

 

We all learned lessons. We completed the job. And moved on to the next one.