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Question about a client's comment on my detail callouts
A client in Phoenix said my section views were 'too clean' and lacked the grit of the actual site. He pointed to a concrete footing detail and said, 'That's how it's drawn, not how it's poured.' I've always prioritized clarity, but maybe I'm over-polishing. How do you balance clean drafting with showing real-world build conditions?
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lisa_jones214mo ago
Man, that reminds me of a contractor who kept complaining my rebar drawings were "too perfect." He said on site they're always a little bent and never line up exactly like the plans. I started adding little notes like "typical field bend" with a sketch, and he shut up about it lol.
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scott.mia4mo ago
Ever see that happen with concrete pours? My buddy's crew had a foreman who would argue over every tiny slump test reading until they just started taking video of the whole test. @lisa_jones21 Your fix is smart, sometimes you just gotta show your work in a way they can't ignore. It shuts down the silly complaints fast.
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olivia_chen352mo ago
The "too perfect" complaint is something I read about in a construction forum years back. A structural engineer mentioned that some contractors actually prefer drawings that look slightly messy because it gives them room to fudge things on site. Your notes approach is solid, it forces them to acknowledge the standard without letting them pretend the plans are unrealistic. I've seen similar stuff with plumbing rough-ins where a foreman would argue that the pipe locations were impossible, until someone taped a printed plan to the wall and showed him it fit perfectly. It's wild how often these arguments are more about ego than actual fit issues.
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