Friday, April 30, 2010

Join-To: Overlooked Quality Impact

Join-To Conditions
Most recurring quality problems (and the most difficult to fix after installation) happen at locations where two materials meet -- what I have learned to call "Join-To Conditions". Look around the room you are in--You will see several examples:
  • Where the wall meets the floor
  • Where the ceiling meets the wall
  • Where windows or doors meet the wall
  • Corner conditions
  • Carpet-to-tile or wood transitions
  • Cabinet to wall
  • Etc. . . .
How do they look? If they look good, it is because the designer and builder considered and solved the conditions. More frequently though, these conditions are not thoroughly considered, and the impression of lesser quality results - even if the materials used are expensive or high quality themselves.

It is very beneficial for any project to take time, before the design is completed, to review with the design and construction team the constructability of the project plans. As far as finish quality is concerned, solutions to Join-To Conditions can cause the biggest impact. Here is a summary of 4 of the most common I have seen over the years, with a few considerations for each.
  1. Exact Match - Easy to say, hard to do in real life. Materials move over time and what may start out as "flush" may become a "gap" or develop a "lip" later on. Exact Match is probably the most difficult Join-To Condition to make look really good, but it also may be the only available solution due to adjacent conditions. If Exact Match is the way you have to go, it is recommended to make sure the backing or substrate is solid. Since all materials are exposed, much more attention to surface finish, edge treatment and fasteners (or adhesives) will be required. Exterior applications for Exact Match are even more difficult to accomplish successfully, because of weather. Materials expand and contract at different rates, and when moisture is involved, freezing and thawing cause even more pronounced movement.
  2. Butt Joint - A Variation of the Exact Match of two different materials is a Butt Joint - typically two of the same materials, separated by a caulk joint. This Join-To solution has an advantage over the Exact Match, in that the caulk joint allows for some movement without affecting the appearance of workmanship problems. Some Butt Joints allow fort significant movement as part of the design. Major Butt Joint examples include prefabricated expansion joints (seen on highway bridges or large buildings). This solution does not try to conceal the joint, which makes the location, dimensions and configuration of the joint important to the overall design aesthetic.
  3. Reveal - A channel recess between two materials, often square in section. Reveals have the appearance of a clean line or band, as compared to the proportions of adjoining field material. Reveals typically provide a more modern, high-end appearance and tend to highlight the quality or impact of the field. Reveals are commonly used with thick materials, including wood, stone and built-up gypsum walls. Reveals can be made to allow a certain amount of movement without affecting the look or quality, and the "line" can be more easily maintained (than, for example, a painted field with a stripe). Properly designed and installed Reveals may cost more than other Join-To solutions, but they tend to provide a longer-lasting quality appearance.
  4. Trim Cover - The most common, successful Join-To solution is to cover the joint with "trim". Common examples of this are door and window casings, crown molding, flooring base and door thresholds, to name a few. The trim cover provides an additional design feature to be considered in the aesthetic scheme and installation solution. Trim conceals the rough or unfinished edges beneath, allowing for a more expeditious installation. Also rough fasteners are covered, and more flexible tolerances are allowed behind the trim. In general, the Trim Cover solution is more economical, and more often seen (especially in residential construction) than other "planned" Join-To solutions.
Other solutions to difficult Join-To Conditions involve covering the entire field and joint with one material or by using an obstructing element so that the condition cannot be seen. Examples include "floating" over an uneven joint and covering with carpet, or by covering a joint condition behind a column.

Identifying and solving Join-To Conditions will save countless hours in rework or "call-backs" down the road. Ultimately, the success or failure of the Join-To solutions on every project will have significant impact on the overall perception of quality.

On one hand, failing to address Join-To Conditions will cost money and cause disappointment, but addressing them early is one of the best ways to increase the Quality and Value of your project.

Hopefully this information is helpful in stimulating ideas to make your projects better, whether you are building a multimillion dollar commercial project, a piece of furniture for your home, or a tree fort in your back yard.



Answer to the Trivia question - what three different presidents later went on to be:
(1) Senator: Andrew Johnson
(2) Congressman: John Q Adams
(3) US Chief Justice: William H Taft

CHW gets lunch!

Monday, April 26, 2010

7 Project Success Tips

How often do you find yourself jumping into the middle of a project and later on find out that you forgot or didn't consider something, and in some cases, someone gets hurt? --when I built tree forts as a kid, I would run into these problems all the time. I have learned through over 45 years of building things that there are a few universal essentials to well-built projects--- and I summarized seven of them. These apply to building major commercial structures and also to a home project in your backyard.
1. Safety First - If a project needs to be done, it also needs to be done safely. Safety can't be something that is considered after you get started, it needs to be done along with the primary planning process. What safety protection measures need to be taken? What tools and equipment will be used? What separation or protection from danger will be needed? Talking through how a project is going to be built, gives an opportunity for all involved to think about safety, quality and efficiency before the work starts. A safe project is a clean project, and results in higher levels of satisfaction all-around.
2. Area Logistics - Where is the work going to be done? Is there room? Are there access or adjacency constraints? How do the materials, equipment and manpower get in and out of the project area? What is going to be affected by this project? This is the step that causes you to imagine building the project before you actually start, and what the project will be like when the work is going on. This is one of the most overlooked steps in project planning. You can travel around construction sites and look at projects that have well-thought-out logistics, and projects that don't. Project sites that are a mess, will affect the quality, safety and overall Owner satisfaction. Since construction is by nature disruptive, those projects that have good logistics planning are better neighbors, allow the work to progress more expeditiously, with higher quality ---and in the end, everyone involved is much happier.
3. Schedule & Sequence - This can be as simple as the answer to the question, "What comes first, and how long will it take?"--or as complex as a massive Critical Path Method chart, with thousands of activities, links and associated durations. The problem with many schedules is that they are created and then never updated. No schedule is completely accurate when it is created-- it needs to be updated and adjusted for changes in plan or inevitable impacts (like weather). The goal is to anticipate enough of the project conditions that the overall duration and major milestones are met, while communicating how the various work items will fit together along the way. Many times schedules are just re-used from a similar project, or even, "It took 2 months last time, so we'll use that--". Past history is a good starting point (or "Go-By"), but the best schedules are customized to take into consideration the most current information. Contractors in the past have been notorious for mis-estimating schedules - in the movie "the Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long, the contractor was constantly telling the Owners that the work was going to take "two weeks", and it always ran way past . . . if you haven't seen the movie, it is a comedy, with a very funny but unflattering portrayal of contractors. Although most projects have schedules, many miss the critical step of updating and communicating to all the parties changes, impacts and efforts to get back on track.
4. Rules/Requirements/Restrictions - Most projects have to be built within codes, standards, plans & specs and personal expectations. The best projects review all these requirements, and establish clear expectations at the outset. Without this, the builder may find himself re-building to meet the expectation, that was never understood or communicated in the first place. Project documents should communicate what the expectation is and allow that expectation to be confirmed. Questions are a great way to establish clarity-- and for the benefit of all involved, they should be documented in writing. Misunderstanding and miscommunication are the root of most project conflicts. "Measure Twice, Cut Once" is a long-used expression in construction that urges confirming and double-checking to remove doubt.
5. Follow-Up - Even with the best laid plans, directions and agreements - any of these left unchecked, will likely result in project disappointment. I believe there are 3 opportunities to impact or manage a work activity - establishing and confirming the reasonable expectation in the first place, second follow-up to confirm the commitment is on track, and finally confirming satisfaction after the commitment is completed. Amazon is a great example of this-- if you order something from Amazon.com, they immediately confirm the order and confirm the expectation of the delivery of the item (first follow-up). Then, when the item is being shipped, they confirm that it is coming and what the expected delivery date is (second follow-up) and then, after the item is delivered, they send a survey to ask how the service was (third follow-up). Construction projects would surely benefit from using this technique.
6. Clean-Up - Sometimes the hardest part of a project is finishing, getting everything removed and allowing the regular activities of the former worksite to return to normal. Thinking about cleanup and smoothly exiting the worksite from the outset --is essential to a successful project. Efficient cleanup planning could affect safety, logistics, schedule and certainly expectations. The best approach to a smooth cleanup is to finish the work and cleanup as you go. There is a tendency to want to leave certain items until the end - "we'll get it when we do the punchlist" or "let me come back and do all that at the same time"-- these approaches may seem most expedient, because all cleanup is done at one time - but I am convinced that more cleanup is required if left until the end, than would be required if done as the project progresses. The proof of this is when you consider human nature. If a project has mixed materials or trash (even in piles) around a site, there is a tendency to add to that trash rather than avoiding creating the trash in the first place. Sometimes the trash even creates damage to finished work.
7. Celebrate Success - Whether it is a round of drinks for the crew, a formal ribbon-cutting party, or more elaborate recognition of the efforts of those involved - celebration is something that is often neglected on projects. In fact, using the promise of celebration can be a great incentive to provide vision to the team.

I hope these ideas are useful, even if they confirm what you already know (or do), to make your personal and professional projects successful.



The answer to the trivia question 4 presidents elected WITHOUT popular majority:
John Q Adams (Andrew Jackson)
Rutherford B Hays (Samuel Tilden)
Benjamin Harrison (Grover Cleveland)
George W Bush - 1st term (Al Gore)

Next trivia question (winner gets lunch at Lawry's in Addison):
Which 3 presidents went on to later serve as (1) US Senator, (2) US Congressman, and (3) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court


Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Materials Cost Trends April 2010

One of the things I have been tracking over the years is Cost Trends in the Commercial Construction Industry. I have found that the Producer Price Index has been one of the most reliable sources of factual (non-political) forecast information. The latest hasn't data hasn't come out yet through the Associated General Contractors, but I have another source that I keep track of and that is the Engineering News Record Materials Trends data.

It seems Asphalt Paving and Steel prices have been rising for the past few months (although low work volumes may have kept those impacts from showing up in quoted prices) -- now we are beginning to see rising Gypsum Wallboard and PVC Piping, which are essential materials on most Commercial Construction projects.

Here is a link to the April ENR Materials Trends Summary:
http://enr.construction.com/economics/materials_trends

Please let me know if you have questions, or want more specific input on helping to fend off these impacts---

At the Dallas Arboretum--

Tree Fort

I have been building things all my life and about once a year I build a significant project. Although other relatives are much more prolific creators than I am (visit websites www.karivonwening.com, www.davedolphin.com, www.robertcturner.com). I built a greenhouse, a shed, a wellhouse, a porchdeck, a hutch, a bookcase, etc . . . and a few years ago I built a treefort for my stepson, who was too old to really get into it at the time. So it has been basically holding up the tree limbs since then. Recently, my 8 year old daughter Hope has started to climb up the ladder and then bring friends up and then she found the pulley and a rope and tied it to a basket and she has started hoisting plants up to the fort. This morning she watered them and went up again to talk to them. She has found a new place to go to have fun! It is great to see the fort getting to be used and appreciated. Seems like over time, we get new opportunities to appreciate things we already have.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010


I have been building forts since I was about 5 years old, my mom will tell you all about the first one - I had no patience . . . built it in about 20 minutes and climbed on top when it was done. That is the excitement I get about building things all the time. This picture is me focusing on something I think is important (like paying the tab), and my mom is about to tell another story.

I hope to use this blog to talk about issues related to building things - all kinds of things - buildings, additions, renovations, furniture and even tree forts. I also like to share trivia and sometimes corny jokes.

Here is one of each:
Trivia: What four presidents were elected WITHOUT a popular majority?

CJ: Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar, one says to the other, "I lost my neutron," the other says, "You sure?"
"Yep, I'm positive."