Employing a construction inspector is especially important in the process of bringing the house into life, and harmonizing the different stages of construction. The work of the inspector could be useful not only for the client, but also for the architect and the building contractor. The client could be at ease, knowing that he is getting his money’s value. The building contractor could get clear instructions about his tasks and could employ his preferred methods. The architect/ construction inspector can participate in the building -process, making sure that everything goes according to the original concept.
A consturction plan for the builders works like the sheets of music for an orchestra: everybody knows what they should play.
Before certain stages of construction, it is worth discussing the task. It could happen that the architect considers his plan to be ‘quite obvious’, but in reality the building contractor needs further explanations. Different people can interpret the same things completely differently, even without realizing their mistakes. This is why it is worth discussing the details multiple times. If the contractor wants to substitute one material with another, he also has to let the inspector know about his intention, as soon as possible.
During a construction, workers of different trades are following each other quite quickly, that is why it is recommended to check their work before covering it up with the next layer. At this stage, correcting possible mistakes is still quite easy. For example in the case of a reinforced-concrete coping, we can simply add some more steel if needed, before pouring concrete on the surface. In the same way, waterproofing could be corrected before coverage. The work of tradesmen, following one another, should be synchronised, otherwise mistakes will accumulate.
It is quite important to maintain a good relationship with the building contractors, although it might be challenging at times. In order to be able to solve the occuring problems effectively, everyone involved in the constuction should try to have a positive and flexible attitude. The architect/ construction inspector needs to see how some of his ideas could actually be realized in practice. Considering all these, our buildings will be a lot better, and the solutions used during construction will be a lot more practical, safer and economical.