its all in the bounce
One role I play in the construction of my projects is Construction Administrator.
After the design is done and the bids have been reviewed and accepted, I gear up for construction. My role for this next phase of the project has me working closely with the contractors, answering their questions, certifying payment applications and reviewing the overall progress.
The focus of this post is to share a small trick. I learned this highly scientific method for checking vinyl floor tile installations from an old general contractor that I admired a lot. It is definitely NOT the industry approved method, but it gives you a basic idea if the vinyl tiles have been adhered properly to floor’s substrate.
It’s All In The Bounce
My contractor friend taught me to take a golf ball with me on my site visits. When a vinyl floor tile installation is complete, bounce the golf ball on the tile floor. Just as you would a regular ball, drop it from waist high.
If it bounces solidly back up to you, the rule of thumb is that the tile has the proper adhesion and has been installed correctly. If you drop the golf ball and you hear a “thud” or a hollow sound and does not bounce back, there might be a problem. I mainly use this trick as a preliminary way to see if the installation is alright. If it is not, we may need to do the REAL adhesion test or use some other way to check.
The pros to using this test is it is quick. The cons is that it is quick and very localized. You would have to bounce the golf ball on every single tile to really have an understanding if everything was installed properly.
Regardless, I like to use this simple test.
Do you have any tricks to share?
photo credit: dwyman
Hiring a Web Designer
Matt has been writing a series of articles outlining what it takes to hire an architect. His posts inspired me to write about what it takes to hire a web designer. Here are a few basic questions you might want to ask yourself before you start inquiring with web designers. Most are going to want this information in order to give you a proper quote and begin.
What is your budget?
This is probably the most important question. I’ve worked on websites that cost as little as $1000 and as much as $10000. With websites, I believe you truly get what you pay for. When thinking about budget, be sure to include some sort of recurring monthly fee in mind for hosting. This also can have a pretty significant price range, $5 to $100. It all depends on who hosts it and what kind of services you’d like. Finally, a domain name, or multiple domain names will need to be purchased. These typically cost about $10.
What do you want on the site?
Start thinking about what kind of content and how many pages you’d like. Do you want to sell products? Do you want a blog?
Who is your audience?
A pretty simple question. Who are you trying to cater to; an age group, gender, business type, etc. This certainly will affect the overall design and functionality of the site.
How much updating will your site need?
Chances are, if you’re hiring someone to create the website, most likely you’re going to want to have them update it for you. That is of course assuming you, or someone on staff doesn’t know how to make updates themselves. This will add extra cost in the future. (See next question for an option.)
Would you like to make changes yourself?
These days, most of my clients expect to make updates themselves. This means that the site has some sort of database associated with it and a content management system (CMS). This option may cost more up front, but could save money in the future since the end user is making the updates.
Do you have an identity?
Do you have specific colors, a logo, fonts or any other design elements that the designer should know about up front? If the web designer is expected to create an identity rather than working from a pre-existing one, it could increase the cost significantly.
When do you want to go live with the site?
It’s an important question. It could take weeks or months to complete the site depending upon the scope of work for the site and the workload for your chosen designer.
Stay tuned for more on the topic of hiring a web designer. Future posts will include questions to ask the designer, what to look for in a designer, how to be critical of their portfolio and more detailed questions to ask them.
Weekly Town Crier
After a long hard week, enjoy this list of random links that we feel you may want to check out. Some may involve design, some may involve small business and others may just be something random we find interesting. Keep checking our site each Friday to find out what inspires or interests us. Feel free to email suggestions.
Follow us on Twitter.
Join our Flickr group.
Healthy and wealthy and what??
For all you non-computer organized people.
Here are some inspirational TED Talks for designers.
Great budgeting ideas.
Mmmm, this looks good!
Interesting way to get lost stuff back.
Does form follow function?
Value in good design?
Watch this.
Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
Now watch this.
Making Of Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.
Until We Meet
Keeping with the “Hiring an Architect” topic, this post talks about what may happen at a first meeting with an architect.
When I have that first meeting with clients, I always have butterflies in the stomach. First impressions are everything. It doesn’t matter how many e-mails or conversations I’ve had beforehand. That first meeting usually sets the mood for the rest of the project.
The first meeting almost always is where I’m meeting a potential client. It’s informative for me as the architect and for the owner.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about that first meeting. It doesn’t matter what type of building project. New construction or remodeling, a house or an office, I usually need the same things.
Survey and Existing Drawings
I need a copy of the Plat of Survey. This is a legal description of your building’s location, footprint and other site specific information. Usually, this drawing with notes is something you received at the purchase of the property, residential or commercial. The document is drawn to a specific drawing scale. That means I can use a special ruler called a scale to measure objects on the sheet. SO, DO NOT ENLARGE OR REDUCE IT! Make sure the copy you give an architect was copied at 100% it’s original size. Also, if you have any existing drawings of your building, you should bring them to the meeting. They are a great asset!
History
Let me know what you know about the building. Don’t hide the fact that repairs or other modifications were done as a Covert Operation. The new work may affect the existing. If there’s been flooding or other problems, I need to know about them. Duct tape is wonderful except when it comes to building repair…
Let me know anything else special about the building. Was it used for another purpose in the past? Is there any buried treasure?
Wish List
The first phase of design can be the most challenging. We don’t design! We need to do a bit of problem solving. Why are you doing the project in the first place? Without naming any building elements, tell me what you’re looking to accomplish. (My _______ are moving in… I don’t want to see them every time I turn the corner…)
I want a dining room with a view to the north, I need more storage space, I like being outdoors, I really want a workshop, etc.
Time
This first meeting can take some time. So, plan to block out a few hours. It’s better to make the time early on, than miss something important that we needed to discuss.
Questions
Have questions for your potential architect. Think about things that matter to you. ”Where did you go to school?”, “Why did you become an architect?”
And yes, you should be discussing what’s expected from this project and the architectural services. Also, you should discuss budget and your time frame.
I hope this helps give perspective for that first meeting with an architect.
photo credit: fholgado
Rework – Book Review
This post will contain the first official book review on blueprintfordesign.com. I’m sure this review might ruffle some feathers.
The book I chose to review is Rework by Jason Fried and Heinemeier Hansson. These are the fellows who created Basecamp and are the founders of 37Signals. I had heard quite a bit about the book amongst the design community and was excited to read it. Once I received the book and started reading the “reviews” from so called “famous people” my opinion began changing. Here’s the quote that amused me most.
If given a choice between investing in someone who has read Rework or has his MBA, I’m investing in Rework every time…a must read.
- Mark Cuban, co-founder of HDNet and owner of the Dallas Mavericks
Quoting Wendy’s father from the movie Peter Pan (it’s my daughter’s favorite right now), that’s “absolute poppycock.” If I’m going to judge this book by it’s cover, which I’m not ashamed to admit that I do, I wouldn’t have read this book. But alas, I did.
The opening to this post may have seemed a little negative. That’s not entirely the case in my opinion of this book. I would say that I’m split in my decision if I like or dislike this book. For me, most of the content in the book seemed kind of obvious. It was nice to be affirmed that my thought process is similar to a successful company such as 37Signals.
The book is simple and short. It reads like a bunch of emails or short blog posts that have been compiled into book form. This mildly annoyed me. They claim to be writing in a conversational style (just like this blog post I guess). They also claim in the book that they cut thousands of words during the final edit. Due to the shortness and the lack of much explanation on their various topics, I felt like maybe they cut out too much. I actually think more would have been better in this case.
Much of the content in the book is their views on how to be a successful “starter” (their word for entrepreneur) in this postmodern business world we live in. I can think of a few of my past colleagues and bosses who are the antithesis of the concepts in Rework. There is talk of how meetings are toxic, business plans are rubbish, and that resumes are useless. They also write about the negatives of being a workaholic. This, I agree with wholeheartedly. Companies that expect you to work insane hours all the time and have unrealistic expectations of their employees annoy me, too. Recently, I was offered a job in which the person who recruited me informed me that my hours are 8am – 5pm. BUT, I would NEVER leave work before 6pm and that most likely I would work till 7pm each night. Who do they think they are? They are the kind of people who would keel over if they read this book.
Some good quotes from Rework.
- What do you really learn from mistakes? You learn what not to do again, but how valuable is that? You still don’t know what you should do next. (pg. 16)
- Interruption is not collaboration, it’s just interruption. And when you’re interrupted, you’re not getting work done. (pg. 104)
- They often include at least one moron who inevitably gets his turn to waste everyone’s time with nonsense. (pg. 108 – talking about meetings.)
- When good enough get’s the job done, go for it. (pg. 113)
- If you merely replicate competitors, there’s no point to your existence. (pg. 149)
- Accounting is a department. Marketing isn’t. (pg. 193)
- A lot of companies post help-wanted ads seeking “rock stars” or “ninjas.” Lame. (pg. 253)
- Inspiration is a now thing. If it grabs you, grab it right back and put it to work. (pg. 271)
If you’re looking for a quick read that may inspire you some as a business owner, check out Rework. It might not be earth shattering, but it’s certainly worth checking out.
Weekly Town Crier
After a long hard week, enjoy this list of random links that we feel you may want to check out. Some may involve design, some may involve small business and others may just be something random we find interesting. Keep checking our site each Friday to find out what inspires or interests us. Feel free to email suggestions.
Follow us on Twitter.
Join our Flickr group.
Everyone should know about this art show.
Once again, that amazing feline.
They’re watching… (Besides your friends and family stalking you on facebook, look who else is listening in.)
Seattle Sketcher is Matt’s hero.
Terrific post on improving your self image…online.
Mmmm chicken stir-fry recipe.
If you love artichokes as much as Matt does…
How to spot a deadbeat client.
Some nifty WordPress Plugins.
Nice business card…
Should you share your pricing publicly?
Just finished reading Rework
Matt thinks this song is a bit black and white with lots of greys…