How to Eliminate ‘He Said, She Said’ Moments When Building a Custom Home

By Bob Hoebeke
President, Hoebeke Builders

Think of a building project as a gigantic jigsaw puzzle with thousands of parts. Everything from: aerators to air switches; mirrors to microwaves; zinc plating to zinnias – you get the idea. So many decisions! Sure, some of the “stuff” is automatic and comes with the overall design, but other “stuff” requires your selection.

So far, you’ve hired a wonderful team of professionals (architect, builder, interior designer, and landscape architect) to help navigate the often- turbulent waters of product selection. But with so many pieces, and seemingly endless decisions, miscommunication becomes a real problem. You need a plan for communicating with everyone on the team.

Although “communications” come wrapped in lots of different boxes, let’s consider two which are imperative to any building project: Document Communications, which is generally work product produced by the project team, including blueprints, drawings, specifications, cost data, etc.; and Informational/Directive Communications, which are aimed at informing, defining, and correcting the building process.

Let’s be more specific.

Document Communications

Now that you’ve taken all of your hopes, wishes and dreams, and downloaded them to your project team, it’s their turn to “echo” back what they’ve heard.

Initially, the way this is done is through documents. Yes, a set of blueprints is a form of communication – perhaps THE most important form of communication! Spaces and layout are defined, sizes, shapes, and style also ultimately end up on the same sheet of paper.

Through first working on “conceptual” design, later finalized in “construction drawings”, the architect/builder/interior designer/landscape architect are all effectively saying, “You said this, I heard that, and this is what we all together have decided to build.” Together is the operative word – finished plans reflect what all parties, including the owner, have agreed to construct.

But, every great actor needs a supporting cast. In this case, it would be the supporting documents (specifications, landscape plans, finish schedules, drawings, cost data, timelines etc.) needed to more completely define the project.

Back to the 80/20 rule from the last article: Surprises are exponentially decreased the more detail completed before those documents are released! Remember, these documents define the project’s “scope of work,” a baseline on which your contract for construction will be drawn.

Though it may take a little longer, complete the full 80 percent (not 68.5 percent!) before the plans and supporting documents leave the design table for the field. You’ll save lots of money!

Informational/Directive Communications

While never a part of the contract documents, these memos are vitally important for exchanging information, clarifying, and correcting the building process.

Examples might include: A directive from the owner or team member (either during design, or once under construction); meeting minutes; requests for information (RFI’s); requests for pricing (RFP’s); progress updates, etc.

Unless user-specific, the team should be included in the thread so each professional discipline has a chance to figure out if anything in the memo applies to them. 

One of the greatest gifts ever received from a client was the insistence our business compose an update every week for distribution to them and the rest of the team. Though seemingly ominous-sounding at first, we found the weekly update kept us organized, the team informed, and frivolous communications to an absolute minimum. Needless to say, we adopted the idea and have used it very effectively for the last two decades.

Regardless of the form of communication, the team and the owner should agree on the best and most convenient method for updating job progress. Job transparency is the foundation necessary for smooth, and timely construction. Next time, we’ll tackle Monitoring Project Progress, and Conflict Resolution. Stay tuned …

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From, developing a “Lifestyle Inventory,” to building and monitoring your Project Team, Hoebeke Builders Consulting Services has all the tools necessary to dramatically increase your project’s efficiency, while decreasing your project’s cost! www.hoebekebuilders.com