At the completion of the Design Phase the building design was finalized. Construction drawings now will be produced, and this is a set of plans of numerous sheets with the following information: site plan, foundation plan, floor plans and floor framing plan, roof plan, building sections, building elevations, some specific interior wall elevations, details of construction, mechanical and electrical layout plans, and basic material specifications. The plans will meet the requirements of the governing regulatory agency.
Separate structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering might be required on some projects. Those respective services by licensed engineers would be obtained, and their drawings would be packaged as part of the construction drawings.
Finish material lists or schedules, and/or allowances might be a part of the information provided, depending on how you are choosing to work with a contractor.
All construction information that is provided by the architect, engineers or others, becomes what is called the Contract Documents.
The plans are now complete and can be submitted for a building permit.
Perhaps you want to put the plans out to several recommended contractors for competitive bidding. This will require a bid process in which several contractors are brought on board, given the project information, and instructed on specifics on how to properly submit their bid. There is a fair amount of work to be done in this phase, from being available to answer contractor and sub-contractor questions, to ascertaining equality in the bids, to verify complicity with the bid requirements.
But you might have found and chosen a contractor, in which case time will be spent helping the contractor to accurately understand the project and your requirements as he puts together the building cost.
In either scenario, you’ll probably want help facilitating the negotiation of a contract with a contractor.
With the permit in hand and the contractor ready, construction can begin. Periodic site visits will be made to determine if the work is proceeding in accordance with the plans. You will be kept informed of progress if out of town, and can be provided with written field reports and photos explaining the progress of construction.
Inevitably contractors and sub-contractors will have questions that arise during construction, and these will be answered in the field or office as appropriate.
We can request that the contractor provide Certificates of Payment for review, so that you can be assured that the money being requested is in balance with what service or materials are supplied or being secured.
When construction is almost complete, a final “punch list” will be made on a walk-through, noting any miscellaneous touch-up items to complete.
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