Building Envelope
Review / Analysis
The Benefits of Hiring a Building Envelope Consultant
for Your Projects
The building envelope is one of the most important parts of your project…and yet it can also be one of the most costly if not built correctly. Water intrusion through the envelope can cause damage in the tens of $1,000’s, if not more. And probably even more so in litigation fees. You do not have to go it alone, though. A Building Envelope Consultant can provide several benefits up front, and during construction, including the ones listed below:
Drawing Review Before Construction
A review of construction documents can highlight potential change orders and potential post-construction issues. The review consists of an in-depth analysis of the completed documents help determine completeness, constructability, a general industry standard of care as well as best practices. As a fellow architect reviewing the Contract Documents, the independent reviewer may recognize the Architect’s design intent and share useful observations regarding the drawings and specifications to provide feedback to the Architect of Record for possible modifications as the Project moves forward.
Project Submittal Review
The purpose of shop drawings is to enable the design professional to secure graphic representation from the general contractor as to how the installing contractor intends to complete a portion of the work, prior to proceeding, for which submittals are required.
Pre-Construction Meetings
Pre-construction meetings are an excellent way to make certain that everything in your project is communicated clearly before execution operations begin. Pre-construction meetings allow you to define project, monitoring and maintenance goals and help you manage expectations.
By having a pre-construction meeting prior to actual project execution, you get to identify potential issues, conflicts and non-conformities, and get to resolve them without having to spend a lot on change order requests and expensive reworks.
Mock-Up Review
While the majority of the time, the mock-up has been limited to aesthetic review, it is imperative to use this as a tool to judge overall construction practices by the different trades working on the project. The mock-up is what is utilized on the project to reference the quality of construction provided on the project.
Mock ups are used to set quality of work standards. They enable the contractor and architect to make sure the work is being built to their expectations. Then it can be used as a reference during construction to make sure the standards are being met.
Construction mock ups are an important part of any job. To make mock ups more effective, they can be built in conjunction with a pre-installation meeting in conjunction with various manufacturer’s representatives present to review the overall constructibility.
Construction Site Inspections
During the project, it is necessary to maintain guidance to ensure the quality of work is being maintained, in order to ensure the project will meet the requirements of the Contract Documents. This is where careful documentation can be developed
“I’ve worked with Scott both as a vendor to him, and as a client using his services. The initial project I engaged Scott on was a small deal, but he treated it like a big deal. He consistently engaged us during the process and the result was spot on. He nailed it out of the park on the first attempt. He accomplished through his constant communication and creative solutions on a tight urban infill site. He is a talented architect with a strong creative sense, and I would not hesitate to hire him again.“