Don’t assume everyone understands your design intentions

One of my biggest concerns within the practice of renovation design is the lack of attention paid to producing accurate drawings. There seems like there’s a growing trend amongst designers that contractors and trades should be able to “price the intent of the job.”  But to borrow an old cliché, relying too much on assumptions can result in making a**es out of everyone involved in the process.

I recently brought up this topic with an architect-friend. His argument was that, because I was on-site and understood his vision, I should be able to consider what would be involved to bring that intent to fruition.

But my defence is that, if I were to price his job based on intent, I would be set up to fail.  Here’s why.

First of all, as the contractor, it’s both my nature and my responsibility to err on the side of caution – even more so when details are vague – and that’s always going to end up being too expensive and price my firm out of the job.

Second – when not articulated accurately – a design detail as simple as what type of wood veneer is required to match a door can result in significant budget implications. Is it oak? Mahogany? Cherry or ash? The answer to can affect the costs substantially. (Not to mention, the affect this can have on the timeframe if it’s discovered too late that the veneer requested has an extended lead-time.)

In my experience, the only thing you can safely assume when you price the intent of a job is that the job will go over budget.

That’s painful for everyone – for the trades teams who have to re-budget, the client who is disappointed with the results, and especially the designer who’s design intent isn’t brought to life.

Many designers find it hard to lean on construction managers to help fill-in those details before going to tender, perhaps because they feel it’s too early in the process to commit to a partnership. But it’s a very wise idea to develop alliances with contractors that you trust before it’s too late. Otherwise, if you expect contractors to price on design intent, then you’ll need to be prepared to like the outcome of what you draw.