March 22 2008
In the last couple of days I, as the GC, have been in the center of the storm called the 'Moment Frame'. More on the moment frame later, but suffice it to say that it is a 8,000 pound steel structure that becomes the frame for the front of the house. Also, this steel frame will cost as much as the entire lumber package. Steel prices are at an all time high. A mistake with this part of the stucture is a very expensive mistake.
A critical part of the moment frame install happened at the time of the concrete pour. We had to locate and place four 24 inch threaded bolts into the concrete to support the frame. (Similar to how a lamp post is secured on a sidewalk. Next time you walk by a city lamp post notice how it is bolted to the sidewalk. That is how this moment frame is bolted to my house).
The concrete guy said he did not want to take any responsiblity for the placement of these bolts. The plans were VERY specific about where these bolt should be on the wall. I didn't want to get this wrong. The good news is that I got the bolts in the right place. The bad news is that they should have been sunk further into the concrete so that we had an easier method to make the moment frame plumb and level. The bolts are in the concrete per the plans but because I didn't understand how the moment frame really attached to these bolts we have a minor work around for getting it level. (If you would like to understand the finer details of jacket nuts and how to plumb a 8,000 pound moment frame and tolerances for non shrink grout....email me and will be happy to discuss.)
The steel guy, who happens to be Irish with a very sexy accent, is the one who pointed this out to me and he immediately blamed the concrete guy. He was adamant that the concrete guy didn't read the plans and didn't sink them in far enough. I told him that I felt responsible and it was my fault. I mean I dont think the concrete guy has much experience with moment frames either. If he did, I am confident he would have said "Hey Sara, we have to sink this in farther than your plans so we can put a jacket nut on these threads."
This made me realize how easy it might be to point the finger at other trades if something goes wrong. THe sheetrocker can blame the framer, the tile guy can blame the sheetrocker etc etc etc....
This and a couple of mis prints on the blueprints got me thinking about the blame game. I have heard countless times from various friends how different subs and even the GC starts pointing the finger at any other sub-contractor for a mistake.
The buck should stop with the GC. I think a critical question when hiring a GC, might be something like this: "Will you take full responsbility for all mistakes that are made with this project?". Unequivocally, the GC should say yes. Otherwise, I would move on down the road and find another one.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
First day of Spring: Framing begins
March 20, 2008
A bird chirper sunny kind of day to start the framing of the main house. The first day is dedicated to 'pulling' string lines to start off all walls and the enire house 'square'. This is just another opportunity to gauge how your concrete team performed.
The concrete footing and walls can be so out of square and usually the framer can adjust the sill plates to bring the house back to square. (By the way, another example of how 5th grade geometry is worth while to understand. See later posts on use of math skills...).
Shane, my framer, and frankly the best on the island, said that sometimes he has seen really terrible concrete jobs that he can't bring back to square. He confirmed that my concrete team did a 'great job'. I think we were only max a 1/4 inch out of square...and thats considered excellent. We checked the level as well and this is a great time to understand the attention to detail of your framer. One of Shane's employees remarked that it "looked good enough" to start building the walls. Thank the good Lord that Shane brought out his electronic level and we went around to all the corners and made 1/8 to a1/4 inch adjustments so that it would be level. Again, a lot of framers apparently just build walls right on the concrete and how ever the concrete turned out is how ever your floor level is going to be. Yikes!
By the way, my concrete team was B&B concrete, headed by Brent Lang. Brent was so respectful and nice and I would recommend him to anyone. Shane promised him a cup of coffee if the walls were level. He definitely owes Brent a cup of coffee and at least a donut too for a job well done.
A bird chirper sunny kind of day to start the framing of the main house. The first day is dedicated to 'pulling' string lines to start off all walls and the enire house 'square'. This is just another opportunity to gauge how your concrete team performed.
The concrete footing and walls can be so out of square and usually the framer can adjust the sill plates to bring the house back to square. (By the way, another example of how 5th grade geometry is worth while to understand. See later posts on use of math skills...).
Shane, my framer, and frankly the best on the island, said that sometimes he has seen really terrible concrete jobs that he can't bring back to square. He confirmed that my concrete team did a 'great job'. I think we were only max a 1/4 inch out of square...and thats considered excellent. We checked the level as well and this is a great time to understand the attention to detail of your framer. One of Shane's employees remarked that it "looked good enough" to start building the walls. Thank the good Lord that Shane brought out his electronic level and we went around to all the corners and made 1/8 to a1/4 inch adjustments so that it would be level. Again, a lot of framers apparently just build walls right on the concrete and how ever the concrete turned out is how ever your floor level is going to be. Yikes!
By the way, my concrete team was B&B concrete, headed by Brent Lang. Brent was so respectful and nice and I would recommend him to anyone. Shane promised him a cup of coffee if the walls were level. He definitely owes Brent a cup of coffee and at least a donut too for a job well done.
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