During Construction

The greater Seattle and Portland areas get their fair share of adverse weather.  For a comfortable and livable interior, the exterior shell must be able to resist the elements. In construction speak, this outer shell is known as the building envelope, or  building enclosure. It’s the physical separator of the interior and the exterior environments of a building, the outer shell that (together with mechanical conditioning systems) makes the indoor environment a place you’d want to spend time in.

Perfect sets of plans and specifications detailing every miniscule facet of a project unambiguously and with crystal clarity are about as easy to find as unicorn leather upholstery for your chaise longue.  Invariably, (before or during construction) contractors will need more information, clarification, or to point out if something’s amiss.  

Contractors need to present competitive bids. So, architects will avoid specifying or sole sourcing materials by manufacturer.  Instead, materials are specified by their properties, and it’s up to the contractor to get the best price. 

So, you’ve started work on your dream home, the most beautiful, stylish and elegant home that ever was built.   Everything is going to plan when, out of the blue and cloudless sky, crashes  

Critical Path Method (CPM) is a project modeling and planning technique that the military and major US companies developed to manage the manufacturing processes of sophisticated weaponry.  Now, CPM is used in all forms of projects.  Any project with interdependent activities can apply this method of mathematical analysis. 

During the execution of a project, procedures for project control and record keeping become indispensable. These tools both record all financial transactions as well as give managers an indication of progress and any problems encountered on the way. By recording all financial transactions, organizing them and comparing them to the estimate (or budget), the prudent contractor can identify any areas that may be costing more than was anticipated in the bid. The compilation of this data is called a cost report.