Communication fundamentals
New home construction requires a great deal of interaction between the home builder, architect, landscaper, and the water shape contractor/designer. Quite often this is not the case, however. A lot of money and time is wasted by not allocating sufficient utilities for the pool project (e.g. electrical, gas lines, automation, audio/video (A/V), plumbing (sewage), and boiler (heater to be shared with the home).
Pool designers and contractors need to be involved early in the design process, but are usually called into the project too late. Various elements of the water shape that interact with the building envelope all need to be addressed and planned in detail, prior to building the home. By not including the pool designer/contractor early on, it will always result in additional costs and an inferior product for clients. In fact, in some rare occasions, it may make sense to construct the pool and retaining walls prior to building the home. For these instances, a surveyor is an essential component of the team to make sure the pool is in the exact location and elevation, as there are no visual references from the soon-to-be constructed home.
The project manager
Every project (and team) should have someone in charge of the overall site, day-to-day operations, and logistical co-ordination. It is important the client understands who the project manager
is. In all cases, try to avoid jobs where the client wants to run the project as if they are the general contractor. They simply lack the skillset to manage and co-ordinate the project. Further, client co-ordinated projects will almost always run over budget, take longer to complete, and be of lesser quality then those managed professionally.
It should go without saying that profit margins on these projects will also drop. A single project manager can ensure the continuity and flow of the work is properly regulated. It is easier for professionals to co-ordinate with like-minded professionals when it comes to scheduling and logistics. Large projects can be extremely difficult to manage and construct without an excellent project manager. High-net-worth individuals will always have someone who acts as the go-between. This can work positively or negatively depending on their abilities and attitude. In all cases, frequent communication is the key to a successful outcome.
A project manager should be experienced and very organized. Depending on the job, they will need to co-ordinate any number of the following requirements as part of the pre-build process:
- Perform/organize grading plans, surveying, and archeology reports to obtain site permits and bonds;
- Arrange city pre-site inspections;
- Determine engineering needs;
- Schedule and arrange for arborists and tree hoarding/removal;
- Seek approval from neighbours and determine time of work restrictions, while keeping construction noise to a minimum;
- Arrange site access, street parking, and material handling zones (including time of year road weight restrictions);
- Properly handle dust mitigation, contaminated soils, and drainage, including the installation, of runoff silt barriers;
- Arrange utility locates, upgrades, and corridors;
- Deal with conservation/historical societies, homeowner associations, project notices, and safety precautions;
- Site set up, including hoarding/temporary fencing, signage, waste management, on-site toilet, generators, groundwater, blasting mats, construction offices, fuel storage, and dewatering systems; and
- Schedule and arrange for electrical inspections, building department inspectors, collaboration with various government agencies, as well as scheduling the work crew and sub-contractors.
