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Architectural “Check Sets”

BulgarBlogger

As architects we often set internal deadllines se we can review the progress of our construction documents. Yes- mistakes and omissions are always a reality of practice, but we often forget the word “progress” when reviewing such sets. We often review incomplete thoughts or documents and judge them as harshly as finished products. 

Why don’t we just step back and realize that what we are producing is a work in progress and not everything we are reviewing is the end all be all unless we are formally issuing for a project milestone such as BID? As we coordinate MEP and Structural, our attention can’t be focused on trim or paint (for example) yet we comment on uncoordinate items anyway - as if our team somehow was extremely negligent? 

 
Mar 2, 18 1:31 pm
Wilma Buttfit

That's funny. I've thought the same thing. Think about this, firms want detail-oriented people, and that is what detail-oriented people do (can't see the big picture, which is ironic).

Mar 2, 18 1:42 pm  · 
2  · 
SneakyPete

We always hurt the ones we love most.

Mar 2, 18 1:44 pm  · 
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BulgarBlogger

i love how when you finish coordinating major items the question is- “why doesn’t this drawing align with that drawing on the sheet?” Ugh fml

Mar 2, 18 1:48 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

All those redlines make it look like you are working hard. What if you said, "Yup, looks good." You look like you don't give a rip. 

Mar 2, 18 4:48 pm  · 
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Non Sequitur
What other purpose would my red Lamy fountain pen, conveniently loaded with high quality red ink, serve if not to mark up check sets?
Mar 2, 18 5:23 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

I use green or blue. Red hurts my eyes.

Mar 2, 18 7:03 pm  · 
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Nothing beats a fat black Sharpie.

Mar 4, 18 7:43 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

Except when endorsing checks.

Mar 4, 18 8:07 pm  · 
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archanonymous

Except a fat blunt.

Feb 7, 21 9:19 am  · 
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arch76

An image in turning over and over in my mind on its journey back to Silence. I see only a small part of it, but I can feel the power. It is a living spirit, bearing gifts. I am making marks in honor of its passage.

-Reese Williams

Mar 2, 18 7:50 pm  · 
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Wilma Buttfit

You know it looks good when someone picks at something petty. It's as good as praise.

Mar 4, 18 7:31 pm  · 
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OneLostArchitect

I love how no one checks shit in our office... then I get into shit when something goes wrong. I’m Not perfect, but sometimes your eyes go blind to certain things when working on a project for so long. 

Mar 4, 18 9:02 pm  · 
3  · 
archanonymous

my office either. I end up pestering people to check my work, then they comment on my spelling and shit that doesn't matter. thanks alot.

Mar 5, 18 10:18 am  · 
2  · 
mcaulkins

Oh, this ^^ so much. Id ask about some rough design element I'm trying to figure out and my boss would go all laser-focused on some part of the drawing not related to what I was doing asking if the text was the right scale or what it this leader line doing here.

May 16, 19 9:21 am  · 
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AlinaF

That's your punishment. They purposedly try to find something wrong even if it is the tiniest thing to exact their revenge on you for wasting their time with dubious questions.

May 19, 19 4:51 pm  · 
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Wood Guy

In my previous roles I checked a lot of plans. Spelling errors do matter, and will be corrected, even if your drawings are otherwise perfect.

Feb 7, 21 9:27 am  · 
1  · 
∑ π ∓ √ ∞

I had someone "correct" my spelling of "brake metal". They were the office know-it-all, so I took great pleasure in outlining the term, and whence it was derived.

Feb 7, 21 10:29 am  · 
2  · 
Wood Guy

B3, haha--that's a classic. I was cursed with the ability to spell, though it is eroding the more I use social media and autocomplete. I'd trade that skill for many others. Being the office (and forum) know-it-all is a cross to bare....

Feb 7, 21 11:03 am  · 
1  · 

*bear

Feb 7, 21 1:40 pm  · 
3  · 
Wood Guy

It started as a typo but I thought it would be funny to leave it. Really ;-)

Feb 7, 21 4:07 pm  · 
1  · 

Sure, you say that now ... ;-)

I half suspected it was on purpose, but it could have also been a test.

Feb 7, 21 4:40 pm  · 
2  · 
Medusa

At my old office, I was tasked with doing a feasibility study for repurposing a mid-century building at a university. I was reading the building assessment report that was done by my firm about a year prior. The report referred to "effervescence" issues no less than 50 times within the document. I felt relieved that I didn't have any major water intrusion issues to deal with, but the building instead was suffering from excessive bubbliness. Spelling and word usage matters.

Feb 13, 21 2:00 pm  · 
1  · 
archi_dude

It’s because those reviewing are generally from a time when drawings were done with paper and pen. Things wouldn’t end up on a sheet unless it was physically drawn that way and drawn correctly. So explaining “oh that layer is still on or oh yeah that legend is just a placeholder or I haven’t bothered aligning those plans yet” doesn’t really make sense to them becuase they are coming from the experience of drawings things intentionally, imagine someone hand drawing saying those same things to their boss. Even though the end product of architectural drawings are the same, the process of  how you get there is entirely different from their era, so they get pissed and think why would you intentionally put incorrect legends and unaligned plans on a sheet? 

Mar 5, 18 12:14 am  · 
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∑ π ∓ √ ∞

Please. Don't try slipping me a brown M&M.

Mar 5, 18 12:52 am  · 
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archinine
I don’t think me or my colleagues judge check sets near as harshly as major issuances. It’s very understood that it’s a work in progress up to 100% CDs, and depending on the client, possibly a (design) WIP up until things are being installed.

But yeah of course I’m going to redline major elements that need fixing, like overall layout, sheet organization, line weights, schedule formatting/column info, wrong tag families being used etc if I see it early on. One less thing to deal with later so we can focus on the design detailing and coordination elements as those get more finessed and are the focus in the later issuances. And there’s also catching things early, like a font type, so you don’t have to go back and edit 300+ wrong versions and make sure they align etc, catch it when there’s only 30 incorrect usages. May seem minor at the early stage but it adds up when you’re trying to get a major set out the door later.
Feb 15, 21 2:06 pm  · 
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