Unlike most Architects, I initially do not have a negative opinion of the General Contractor until I get to know them and develop a working relationship. During the last 4 years of my professional career as an Architect, I have met all sorts of General Contractors and Construction Managers; all men. I’ve even befriended some of them. In fact, one of the GC’s I know was my professional reference when I was seeking new employment.
And there are some that I don’t like and hope to never work with again because they were incompetent and have a bit of greazy character (yes, i am aware that i spelled it with a “z”). But I’ve never met one that was annoying like the current project that I am working on. On top that, the GC is a woman. She works with a partner, a man who comes off as a grouch but is not too bad to deal with. His female partner, on the other hand, is supposed to be the organizer and the one who administers the paperwork.
Anyways, I get an email from her asking about a plumbing fixture that was recently approved by the client. I forwarded it to her. She then emails me again asking about the plumbing fixture for the other bathroom. I responded, that she can find the information in the sketches that we had issued previously. She replied to with the dumbest statement ever uttered by a GC. Read below for the actual transcript:
GC: What is being used in the bath?
LFA: It is specified in the sketches.
GC: Send it to me please. You need to send me cuts and specs. I shouldn’t have to go through drawings to find this stuff.
I couldn’t believe she said that. I didn’t know how to respond at first. I put the email aside but returned to it to prepare a response. I wrote out a response, which went a little something like this:
“…As the GC you are supposed to look through drawings to find the information you are seeking. If it’s not in the drawings then the architect will provide you with the information you are seeking.”
But instead, I responded with the following; K.I.S.S. (Keep It Short Stupid).
LFA: We never changed the tub filler for the other bathroom. The specs/cut sheets were issued with the sketches.
She did not follow with a response. Then again it was almost 6pm.
La Femme Architecte 