Hello Everyone!
I had a recent experience that I'm sure is not unique to me. However, it is one that's been bugging me, and I was hoping to hear some other opinions.
On one of my residential additions, the contractor texted me about 30 minutes before I was heading into a very important client meeting, asking to move a door. Simple, right? However, the image they texted me was of a jack and jill bathroom that was not part of the original plans. Somewhere in the midst of framing, the decision was made to redesign the lavatory/bath/closet layout between two bedrooms. To make this work required moving one of the bedroom doors.
The layout change was not something that was brought to me. Zero idea if this came from the client or the contractor or a family friend. What I do know was I was furious that this was brought to me in this manner and had to be addressed immediately as the framer was on site.
Granted, the owner is more than welcome to make these types of changes. It's their project and they have to make things work for them. However, as the architect, this hit me in an unexpected way. I can't figure out if I'm upset with the way this was handled, or if there's a feeling of disrespect given the amount of time spent with the client previously, or if it's just ego.
Not helping the situation is the client opted at the last moment to swap out the contractor from one I've worked with on multiple projects to one I've never heard of because they assured the client they could work within their budget. Which terrifies me on a whole other level. It also did not help that this was dropped in my lap at a time when I couldn't stop and give it thought.
Any thoughts? I've been chewing on this for the last week.
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Larry Paschall AIA
Spotted Dog Architecture
Dallas TX
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