Who Pays when the Wrong Windows are
Ordered
How to Avoid Ordering the Wrong
Construction Material when Building a Custom Home
By Mark J. Donovan
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When building a custom home it
is not uncommon for the wrong construction material to be occasionally
ordered and/or delivered to the job site. In one of my more memorable
experiences the wrong windows were ordered. These were not your ordinary
double hung windows, but instead large plate glass custom windows that
were specifically fabricated for the particular home I was building.
Windows that were very expensive, but which had little value to anyone
else. |
As usual a combination of poor
communication and lack of paying attention to details were the main reasons for the
wrong windows being ordered.
As the general contractor I provided
house plans with engineering drawings to the rough framing crew foreman. After
the rough window framing was complete, I allowed the foreman to fly solo and
meet with the window designer from the local lumber company. A big mistake! I
should have been present on site with the framing crew foreman and window
designer.
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Between the two of them they reviewed the engineering drawings but did not
confirm the actual measurements of the rough window frame openings.
It turned out that the rough window
frame openings were not built exactly to the engineering drawings. As of result
of only looking at the engineering drawings, and specifying the design of the
windows to these dimensions, the windows were ordered incorrectly. This was only
discovered when the windows were about to be installed into the window frame
openings. |
Unfortunately in this situation there
was no way to modify the window openings without major engineering, demolition
and reconstruction. The windows were designed for a wall of windows on the gable
side of the home.
Immediately fingers began pointing
with everyone laying blame on each other. The truth however was that all were
at fault to some degree. I was at fault, because as the general contractor I
should have been more closely monitoring the framing crews' work and I should
have been on site to meet with the window designer and framing crew foreman. The
window designer was at fault because he neglected to actually measure the window
openings. And the framing crew foreman was at fault for not framing the windows
correctly.
After a short debate the three of us,
along with the lumber company’s owner (window designer’s employer), agreed to
evenly split the cost of paying for the worthless wrong windows. Though I still
took issue with the fact that both the framing crew and window designer had made
gross mistakes, I came to the conclusion that if I did not share in this costly
mistake my home construction project would suffer in both schedule and even
higher costs. By not sharing in this mistake I may have lost my framing crew
and/or have had to eat the entire cost of the wrong windows.
The lesson learned from this
experience: As the general contractor, leave nothing to chance and make sure
when it comes to large or expensive decisions you are present and making the
final decision. Also, sharing in both successes and sometimes mistakes,
may be occasionally required for the overall good of the project.
For more information on
Installing a New Window, see the
Installing a New Window Ebook from
HomeAdditionPlus.com. The Installing a New Window Ebook provides
easy to understand, step-by-step instructions, on how to remove an old window
and install a new one. Pictures are included for every key step in the process.
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