Building without scope of work is a recipe for disaster. Scope of work in construction is jargon for a recipe.
You start building when you have scope of work under control. Doing so without one is a recipe for disaster. And that might be a very expensive mistake when it comes to construction in the Bay Area.
(For disclosure, correct scope of work is the reason HomeWiP had been founded in the first place – this is how we bring value to our clients, saving at least 10% on overall project costs and tons of time.)
The importance of scope of work in construction is similar to importance of a recipe when you are in the kitchen. What exactly are you building?
Imagine starting to prepare a pumpkin pie for the first time without reading and following the recipe.
What could go wrong?
You might find out you are missing a necessary utensil or accessory – say, baking sheet or foil.
You might find out midway that you are missing an important ingredient.
Both will require a trip, or two, to a store. And a pause in your cooking activities.
If you are just missing salt or sugar, this will be a quick trip to a nearby supermarket. What if it is something less mundane like brown sugar or ground ginger… might take a longer trip, right?
What would a pause mean for the end result? Unclear, but there is a chance that it might turn out completely different from what you were expecting. It might not even be that tasty. Ever had to toss anything you just baked into the compost? (Read: Quality)
You thought it will take half an hour, while in reality it took three. (Read: Time)
You thought the ingredients should not cost a lot, after all it is just a crust and a pumpkin, right? Now suddenly you have to account for all the spices and two types of sugars. Have you ever managed to buy half a spoon of grounded nutmeg? (Read: Costs)
Now, let us get back to construction – before you start, you need to make sure you have all the ingredients and the “full recipe” that includes all the steps.
When building, a missing material can easily throw your schedule off by weeks. If it was not on construction schedule, you might not have the right pro available to complete the task (and these pros are in demand as you might guess) or have to pay higher labor costs for change orders. If something like a mini-split HVAC system or kitchen cabinets is not specified and ordered in advance, the delivery time can be months.
Guess what, we are talking time, quality and costs again.
You start building when you have scope of work under control. Doing so without one is a recipe for disaster. And that might be a very expensive mistake when it comes to construction in the Bay Area.
P.S. Now, some people might even get wrong heating up the pre-cooked pumpkin pie. Same in construction: going modular is not changing anything. You still need to know your scope and be able to compare things apples to apples. But this is a different subject. For another post.
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