Now that you've settled
on a design that fits your home and lifestyle, it's time to start making your
dream a reality. In the weeks (or months) to come, we'll come to know each other
very well and you'll realize that our philosophy guides everything we do. The
Pre-Construction Meeting is a forum for discussing these important topics to make your upcoming building/remodeling experience as comfortable
(and even enjoyable) as
possible.
Scope of Work
Even with a detailed contract, it's worthwhile to do a quick but complete review
of the written Scope of Work and plans. Then we'll walk through the house
together and discuss
the overview of the work and what you can expect.
Project Schedule
We'll discuss what you can expect for
the Project’s completion date, as well as a detailed schedule for each phase
within the project. If delays are possible, we'll talk about where are they most likely
to occur, and how we'll react if they do occur. It will be important for us to
set a weekly meeting, together, to
review progress on the job, update the schedule, and address any other
issues that may arise.
Living Conditions As we walk through each stage of
the work, we'll discuss how your living space will be affected.
There are a lot of questions we'll discuss, such as:
Will we need to move furniture?
How much notice will you
need before a living
area is affected?
We'll confirm that 24-hour notice will be given before daily
essentials, such as water or power, are turned off to do particular tasks such
as wiring or plumbing.
We'll try to
anticipate when it may necessary to
briefly vacate the house for tasks like refinishing floors.
And this is a good time
to make your own list of questions.
Project Manager
Your Project Manager will be a key person in the meeting. Depending on the
project he may or may not be supervising on-site every day. But he will be
immediately accessible by telephone if problems or questions arise. Similarly,
if you're planning to be away during the project, it will be important for us to
be able to reach you by telephone.
Children and Pets
It's very important to both of us to know about your children, how we can
make sure they're safe, and how we have a minimal effect on their daily lives.
So please let us know if there will be children in the area while work is going on. If so, let
us know where they will be in the house, and who will be providing supervision.
Similarly, let us know where
your pets will be and what their temperament is. If we need to make special
arrangements for pets during specific phases of the project, it's important
to know and prepare in advance.
Your "Valuables"
If you have an art
collection, collectibles, special plants, or any other item that needs special
attention, please let us know in advance. We'll discuss how we can protect them
where they are, or whether they'll need to be moved to a protected area.
Security
Most homeowners give
builders a set of keys to the house for the duration of the job. We'll discuss who
will be responsible for the keys, and who will be allowed access to keys.
We'll also need to
understand whether your home has an alarm system that will need to be turned off or on.
And if work is
to be done on a second floor, we'll make sure no ladders are left up
overnight. We'll also make sure that all openings be secured with plywood...
and exposed areas of will be covered tightly with plastic tarp to protect from
rain. It will help a lot if you can identify any other unusual needs well in
advance of actually needing them.
Working Conditions Be sure to ask about crews’ working
hours, and ask to be notified if anyone is going to work beyond those hours.
We have a comprehensive
Code of Conduct and
Code of Ethics that guide the behavior of
our people on site. Please review these by clicking the links (above) and let us know if we've overlooked
anything.
Cleaning
At the end of the day, we want you to be able to "sleep like a baby" in the
knowledge that the job site is secure and has been cleaned up... and will be cleaned up
every day.
As part of our planning
we'll also need to discuss who will be responsible for disposing of materials and
waste and what areas may be used for storage. At your option, we can also arrange for a professional
cleaning service be brought in at the end of the job to do a thorough, final
cleanup.
As you can see, there are many details involved with day-to-day project
development. In more than 23 years of operation, RGI has experienced
virtually every exception that can occur, so we look forward to the
Pre-Construction Meeting as an opportunity to anticipate and plan for them.
Together, we can minimize the disruption to your daily living and make the
project an exciting and interesting experience.
