Are SUPERSTRUCTURES’ construction drawings suitable for framing?  Actually, some of them are. While clients aren’t interested in paying for works of art, they benefit from elegant drawings that are expressions of elegant solutions.

In exterior restoration, drawings that embrace the five Cs (those that are clear, correct, concise, complete, and consistent) are indications that all aspects of the project have been considered. The very process of drawing forces us to think through all the implications of a repair detail.

Our approach is different than that taken by some firms, whose CDs are vague and rely on verbiage rather than drawings. They lean on the contractor for solutions, feeling that the consultant’s role is to document the job (field reports, change orders, etc.) however it unfolds.  We know this because we’ve recently reviewed projects where the consultants have followed this approach. In some cases, costs tripled relative to the initial budget, and the schedule expanded.

When the contractor has free reign, it can be like the fox guarding the henhouse (some contractors even have boats named “The Change Order”). Conversely, tight drawings minimize change orders. They represent solutions formulated by prudent investigation and analysis, and familiarity with the most effective restoration products and techniques.

Convinced of the value of quality construction drawings? Ours inspired one of NYC’s preeminent restoration contractors to say: “I see ten sets [of exterior restoration drawings] a week from the best firms in NYC and your office continues to be the Gold Standard. Your docs are by far the best in the industry, by a good margin.”

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but utility is universal.