At this point you know I'm happy to get back in touch with you if things change but I think
at this point it's pretty much a no-go yeah we'll talk to you soon all right thanks a
lot for help okay bye bye.
Ah, that stinks.
On this day in the life episode we're talking about struggles and challenges of practice.
I'm pulling back the curtain on things all architects and designers face but few are
willing to share and this was inspired by a recent comment I received on the channel,
and why I couldn't disagree more with that statement.
So one of the disadvantages of working for yourself is you have to do everything and
one of the things I've always hated doing is drawing door and window details and so
for this project - I have a couple of projects in construction right now - and this particular
one I've kind of blown off the door and window details for a while and now it's time to really
sort them out.
So I'm just finishing up a couple of these and maybe you'll see what I mean when we look
at them here let's have a look.
Okay so basically if we take and we’ll zoom back into this one in a minute here.
But if we take in plan we look and we see we have windows here we have door openings
here we have screen porch here we've got a window and a door combo over here we've got
another window here each one of these locations here needs to get sorted out from a detailing
standpoint.
So we're gonna build our wall here and we have our sheathing and our finishes and we
need to figure out how this window actually fits into this whole opening and then ultimately
how it all gets trimmed out how these meet how things turn the corners.
So that's our responsibility when we're drawing details like this.
So for this particular one we have an exterior soffit out here we have our window unit in
here and then we have our interior finishes in here and we have to figure out and tell
the contractor kind of how all these pieces fit together from a dimensional standpoint
so they know where to locate the wall in relation to all this wood framing here.
We need to show them how we want to actually assemble it so there's an order that all of
this stuff goes together in.
So basically this window will get attached using these metal clips and these metal clips
are affixed to the window and then they're also attached to the framing the rough opening
here which is where we're at.
There's a section at the head there's a section at the sill and there's a section at the jamb
and there are typical details and there are atypical details.
And you know as we look through this there'll be a detail for this this detail will be the
same well similar to this.
This detail will be different than this detail.
So you have to kind of go through the plan and look at each one of these conditions and
say okay does the contractor actually have enough information to be able to assemble
these parts and pieces.
So when we look at the head detail here they're gonna have this framed opening here and we're
gonna have some insulation in here and then they're gonna come in and they're gonna put
their window in but they need to know where to align the window and basically what I'm
saying is we want to align the face of the clad, exterior cladding, with the face of
our sheathing in this particular instance and then we want to have our soffit come in
tight to the underside of our plywood here and we're using plywood so that there's a
good nailing surface so we can attach these, we can blind fasten the soffit boards and
then on top of that we want to have this trim detail so we have this trim band that's running
around the head and then it returns down the jamb and it also happens actually in this
condition it doesn't happen at the sill there's a sort of sloping threshold.
And then on the inside here we have the same two-and-a-half inch band and I probably need
to tell them how big this is here so that's 3/4 we're going to tell them where to set
the rough opening that's the 7-foot one here we have the metal clip window attachment.
And sometimes instead of putting dimensions on everything some people will just say you
know one by three would be a two and a half so we can just call that out.
Wood trim match all wall surfaces and we're gonna tell them what kind of finish to put
on this.
With all of this construction you need to leave some tolerances here so I can't just
put the window tight to this opening right?
The window is gonna move at a different rate than the framing is gonna move and we need
to room so that they can actually set the window in there so building in some of these
tolerances means we also need to accommodate for covering those tolerances with our finished
construction.
So we're gonna come in here install our window we're gonna foam the gap.
Later on we're gonna come in and we're gonna drywall it basically and the drywall needs
a place to fasten off to right?
We need to be able to screw these edges down so we probably need some blocking in behind
here and then we're going to add our finished trim piece and that also needs a place to
attach this finished trim piece needs a place to attach.
So you need to think all these things through as you're detailing.
You know I have some fussy conditions around where these doors meet at a corner and I'm
calling out very specific dimensional requirements for these parts and pieces and also like what
I want that finished condition to look like.
So you need to think through all these things and show aligned alignments and arrangements
of things.
So as much as I dislike drawing window and door details they're super important.
What I always tell my clients is that the more time I spend drawing the more accurate
your price will be but equally the higher my fee will be and so sometimes there's a
trade-off like we'll get to a certain point we'll flush out certain number of details
and then we'll take a standard detail and then meet on site and really figure out how
we're going to apply that standard detail to maybe a special condition like the screen
porch is a good example.
So we know what the generic window detail looks like the screen porch is we want it
to look similar but instead of drawing all those different details we can sort of take
the generic detail and mock it up on-site and say yeah this is you know roughly how
we'd have to tweak it to get it to work for the screen porch area.
And that saves me from doing a lot of drawing tedious drawing that I'm not always in love
with doing and it saves the client some fee and it helps the builder sort of gain some
momentum there at the same time.
On my hike today I listened to a podcast with the author James Clear and he was talking
about the difference between goals and systems and I've been struggling with this particularly
in the past year.
Many people set goals you know many people set the same goals even: losing weight, getting
fit.
And I've set goals before and although I've met some of them there are plenty more that
I haven't met so it can't just be the fact that I'm setting goals that determines whether
I'm successful or not.
There has to be something else.
So according to James, it's the systems that we should be focusing on.
Goals are good for setting a direction but it's the systems that determine whether we
actually make daily progress toward those goals.
He says - and I certainly agree - that we're overvaluing results and outcomes because outcomes
are really just a lagging measure of the systems we put in place to achieve them.
This makes perfect sense to me the systems are the more important thing for us to focus
on.
Achieving a goal is an endpoint but it's also just a moment in time something we celebrate
and move on.
Systems though, they establish our daily quality of life and this is the crux for me of this
entire discussion: if your daily practice isn't satisfying it's clear that you have
to change your systems.
So, spending too much time speaking with contractors during your most creative time?
Don't take the call then.
If you're not drawing enough, be the person that spends more time drawing.
Spending too much energy writing email?
Use canned responses, batch it, set a time limit for it.
It's all about the systems you put in place.
Dividing my schedule between making and managing allows me to focus on creating assets first
and as I create more and more of those assets over time they become the financial support
system for the business.
And the bonus is, they're not time limited like the managing part of my day.
Good how are you.
Good thanks.
Well, you can't capitalize labor but you can capitalize the material.
The Spruce decking is for the soffit.
If you guys have it could you just bounce it to me?
I kind of liken them to a giant lever I can use this lever however I choose and the more
of my create the longer the lever becomes.
Just getting back from a site visit.
Construction is one of those places in an architect's life where it can be a really
humbling experience, everyone's asking questions of you, you’re expected to have answers
on demand.
But it also is a good place for an architect to be involved because you can't draw every
possible corner of a building you can't draw every possible detail in the building you'll
just be far too expensive.
So you want to have some input during the construction process so you can work out the
things you didn't have a chance to work out in the drawings.
Equally you want to be an advocate for your client.
A general contractor may not intentionally miss something but it may not have been drawn
clearly on the drawings or somebody may have made an assumption about something and it
could be the wrong assumption.
Being involved in construction is a requirement for me when someone hires me to work with
me, I'm involved throughout the construction process.
But it means that we're gonna be constantly you know brushing up against these conflicts
and having to solve these problems.
So today was no different went out to job site the shower had been tiled it had been
grouted and the shower glass was in.
Now the tile was installed and it's a half running bond so the tile joints are staggered
by half the width of the tile and there's a lot of lippage in the tile.
And lippage is where the faces of the tile don't meet there are they are not congruent
so we have a little lip here and a lip here and with a half running bond you can imagine
an error there tends to scatter throughout the whole field.
So that's a problem.
And the fact that it's already being grouted is even more of a problem.
Now adding to that the shower glass installer came and installed the shower track hardware
and the shower glass and it's the wrong hardware number one, number two they drilled into the
tile which we now need to fix.
The team that we have working on-site they brought it to my attention and that's great
because you know we're all working toward a common goal.
There's no finger-pointing here there if I make a mistake somewhere in the drawings I
own the responsibility for it, if the contractor or the tile installer makes a mistake I would
expect that they own that responsibility too.
So construction can be confrontational or it can be collaborative and definitely the
process that I foster is a collaborative one and that starts all the way back in the schematic
design phase.
We’re all assembling the team right at that very early phase the client the contractor
and myself the architect.
We're all working to a common goal and that is to get the client the house that they want
within their budget and when you do that that's where this sort of collaborative team process
begins.
As we get into construction everyone knows what the design is about, they know the level
of decision and care and thought that went into that and it's really in everyone's best
interest to realize that goal on-site.
So the last we left the Gallery House it was sort of at a crossroads.
Ah, that stinks.
We were seeking additional pricing and we just got that pricing back and kind of confirmed
what the first price was that we were over budget and I did a video on all the different
ways that I proposed to save money and get us back on track and some of those are more
popular than others especially with the client.
And the client decided to not pursue the project.
You know I'm disappointed - I - of course I want to see the things that I design built
in the world and you know I want to help my client build the house that they want and
managing client expectations and budgets that's a big challenge that architects face all the
time.
I think they made the right decision and I certainly support that decision but it brings
up another challenge and especially for sole practitioners maintaining an even flow of
work in the studio is a challenge, it's not easy to do.
And if you're relying on solely a one-to-one you know consulting arrangement it's difficult
when a project is delayed if you don't have something to bounce on to you are left with
a gap in your schedule.
And so it speaks to the need to really think about maybe a more entrepreneurial practice
model one that looks for a diversification of revenue streams and I've talked about this
in my books so be sure to check those out I'll link those up in the cards.
I've also talked about this at length on a couple of different podcast interviews and
I’ll also add those in the description so you can check those out if you want.
And I talk about exactly all of the ways that I do this for my practice and it's made a
huge difference.
As a sole practitioner you know if you a project is delayed or cancelled you have this hole
in your schedule you know how do you quickly fill that if you don't have a waiting list?
And one of the strategies that I used especially when I was just starting 30 by 40 you know
I started writing making videos I started designing things on spec.
So, I figured you know if I make things and put them out in the world that I like that
are interesting to me that are aesthetically pleasing to me then I figured that it would
attract the kind of people that ideally I would want to work with, kind of my own tribe
people who had aligned interests and aligned goals.
And I have to say that really does work.
Now I don't want to leave you thinking that I've got it all figured out.
There's so many challenges that I don't have the answers to.
Some are unique to sole practice, like isolation, and some aren't like work-life balance.
I mean I'm here in the studio right now 7 p.m.
I'm not hanging out with my kids or my wife.
You know work is like a river it just keeps coming.
It's easy to come out here and keep at it especially because I enjoy it and of course
it demands my attention.
So yeah I don't have that worked out yet.
But let's get back to the comment that inspired this all.
If your reality looks very different from what I'm showing you here, know that you get
to choose.
That's the beauty of it.
Cheers my friends, we'll see you again next time.