Deadlines...

In construction there are tons of deadlines and people to coordinate. If one person runs behind (like the carpenter) it causes a domino effect for the rest. Painters cant paint what's not built, electrician cant hang lights if room is not painted, flooring cant be installed, plumber cant install toilets without flooring.... and on and on...

Here are some more progress pics of the stairs

Well this has happened more than once on this job and the closer to end that I get the more people are getting stacked on top of each other. The carpenters continually underestimate their time and pushing people behind. Some things, like the brick floors being laid... if I put them off again it would be a month before they could come back so I let them install and just covered the floor for the painters to get back in.

All last week I spent 2-4 hours every morning on the site and often spent an additional 1-2 hours in the afternoon. I answer questions, check on progress, meet subs current and new as we move into the outdoor repairs before painting. Since the homeowners do not live here yet I am the liaison and make many major decisions. Remodels are notorious for uncovering problems and issues that require a answer to keep things rolling.

On very rare occasions I have issues being a woman on a job site, some men can get too fresh. I have one particular sub who is constantly too fresh. I can handle some  smack talk on a job but he tries to box me in a room, makes comments as I walk in front of him and he tries to touch me. I told him again to stop and followed our meeting up with... if he was unable to behave appropriately that I would have someone else complete the project. I'm WAY over it! Everyone else on this project has been respectful. I occasionally have a little difficulty with a new sub who does not realize my 20 years of experience are not just picking out paint colors and fabrics. That I have a lot of knowledge on residential construction.   They soon realize I know a lot more than they expect and I can say my pursuit of getting my degree in interior design has added so much to abilities.

I have a meeting tomorrow to show my final selections and prices for the apartment clubhouse furniture, accessories, drapery and art. I'm ready to get that going. Below is a picture of all the fabrics and paint colors.

Collaboration outside the office

Other types of collaboration happen with developers, contractors, other designers and subcontractors. The Pennebaker's have connections with other people in the community that send or refer them work. These kinds of projects include apartment complexes, retirement communities, local hospitals and universities. Sometimes there are other designers involved and we merely provide the product and other times we select every item and finish. I also have residential designers that work through me and are provided a small commission for selling our products.

On commercial projects the builder/developer coordinates all the subcontractors. On occasion I may be involved in decisions about a certain aspects and I will communicate directly with the management teams to provide answers via group emails, phone calls or texts.

On some of my residential projects I often, hire, recommend and oversee subcontractors like, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, flooring installers and painters. Coordinating all these people can be very complex and time consuming. For new subs, it has taken time for me to gain their respect as they begin to understand the value, overall coordination and detail I add to the project as well as my 20 years of experience and knowledge in residential construction. We all have to work together to create the best outcome for the client. Both sides have to listen and understand the other. Sometimes the design doesn't work exactly as drawn or sometimes the sub may have never done anything like you are asking. Both sides must be open to modifications and new ideas.

The most important person to collaborate with is the client. They are the reason for any project. Their happiness is the most important thing in any project. Their needs, wants and desires should be considered an addressed wherever possible. They rely on me to help them navigate through all the complex decisions. Construction and remodeling is very stressful and often overwhelming for home owners. I feel it is my job to help them understand the process and decisions they are making.

Collaboration

Since the design department is new here and it only has one employee (me) the collaboration that takes place is more about people specific jobs and division of responsibilities. Adam Pennebaker (co owner of Pennebaker Enterprises) is the COO (Chief Operations Officer) and he deals more with vendors and the delivery center. Bo is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and deals more with financial and legal.  I report more to Adam on most projects and my office in located inside the Ashley store. Adam and Bo have offices in a different building so I don't see them everyday. When I place an order if its an Ashley product it is already in the computer system that automatically places orders. If its a non Ashley item or a custom item I make a manual Purchase Order and give it to Sarah who is Merchandise Coordinator/ Expediter. She enters the items in the system so I can write a sales order on the computer. This allows the item to be attached to the sales order when it is received at the delivery center.  The delivery center is 36000 square foot building for receiving and organizing deliveries of furniture. There are teams to receive product and check it for damage. If it needs assembly they do that there. Then we have teams of delivery trucks and a service van. Art work, mirrors, lamps and some accent furniture are received at the store in the small warehouse area by the floor designer and floor support.

In the store there are a lot of other people that I interact with or have specific rolls. The store manager and assistant manager help with portions of the computer ordering system that are only accessible by them. The GSR's (guest services representative) do all the paperwork, receive all types of payments or financing and handle guest sales orders  I track all my jobs and payments and send my commission sheets to one of our accountants. We also have a person in charge of all advertising which is geared towards the retail side and none on the design side, so I interact with her very little unless I need business cards.. Although I'm no longer one of the 12 sales person on the public retail side of Ashley furniture, I am still friends with them and interact with them when I am out on the sales floor. I have access to product lines they do not so much of my work is done on line in my office.

Manic Monday

Monday morning the paint crew of 7 was at the Martin house priming, caulking, staining and painting. The cleaning crew was also there removing dust and debris left by the carpenters and plumbers so the painters have clean surfaces to paint. The carpenters still not complete, but closing in with painters on their back. Lighting delivered and placed in the correct room.  Electricians starting Tuesday morning hanging lights and replacing old switches and plugs. Controlled chaos.
until...

I walk in to the garage as I make my full job site inspection and notice a puddle on the floor. I look up and yes water dripping. I guessed it was an A/C unit since I knew there was one in the attic above the garage. One of the painters overheard me and went up into the attic to check it out. And it was the A/C so I turned it off and called the service tech. The subs have been leaving the doors open too much so the A/C gets overworked and freezes up. Also there was 6 months before I was put in charge where the A/C filters were not being changed and dust got into the unit. I have an a/c cleaning lined up but I'm not doing it until the dust stops.

Next I had a sub lined up to start forming up the new front steps to be poured. And to work on replacing the rotten boards on the eaves. But after not being able to reach him he eventually texted me back that he had to much on his plate. He flaked out after promising to do the work, so I'm in the process of finding a replacement sub.

In between all this I was working on making final selection and presentation digital boards for the apartment complex club house that I have been working on for months now. Furniture, art, lamps, rugs, accessories and drapery. Stopping and starting all afternoon.

Even the best plans go awry

My large residential project for the Martins is my daily challenge. I go there 1-3 time a day to meet with subs, discuss issues (with remodel there is always something), keep people on track, job site clean and make sure they have the supplies they need. The carpenters are very behind and at this point the painters have stopped because they can't do anymore. So I made a new schedule for the carpenters to focus on the kitchen and be out by Friday morning so the painters can get in there. The problem is I have electricians, sound and security subs planned to start Monday, so I reworked their timeline a bit and pushed them back a few days. The painters need 4 days to finish painting if the carpenters get out of the way. So Friday (maybe Saturday if the painters will come) Monday Tuesday. The electricians can start up stairs while the painters finish the 2 story foyer and living room on Monday. The iron stair railing is getting installed starting Wednesday so the painters must be done in the foyer Tuesday.

Yesterday as I was leaving the job site, after meeting with the plumber,  I did my standard walkthrough. I noticed a dark spot on the unfinished wood mantle in the study. I walked over and was it was water dripping from above. I found a bucket and placed it to catch the water. The house was built in the early 1990's and had been unoccupied for 8 years. You never know what kind of issues will pop up. I got the plumber to turn off the water so we could assess the issue. We had to access from the wall behind the shower faucet inside the vanity, so today I had the carpenters remove all the drawer guides and cut a hole into the wall for the plumber.

I told the homeowners I could probably get the house in a condition to move furniture and boxes in but we would need a few more weeks before they live there. We will have a few things to finish up and a punch list to do.  Pushing up the moving timeline due to his business travel schedule is understandable but not practical. So I continue to do my best to keep the job running smoothly.