Several people have told me lately that what construction needs to cure its many quality and efficiency problems is to revive a job first associated with Medieval cathedrals: the master builder. I agree, and I believe I have the perfect candidate: You.
Most definitions describe a master builder as someone with the vision to take—and even better, conceive—a project’s design, combine that with deep knowledge of building science and materials, and then wield the organizational skills required to direct the building’s construction. They don’t have to know every nuance, but their skill set must be vast and fairly deep.
We don’t have master builders today. Instead, our system relies on architects who envision spaces that give engineers migraines, big builders who hand off all construction work and most quality control to subs, and LBM dealers who theoretically exist to sell products but find themselves dragooned into managing projects. Given such fractured responsibilities, it’s no wonder construction is barely more efficient than it was 70 years ago.
You could argue that construction is too complicated today for any one person to be considered a master builder (though a couple dozen builders are certified as such by the NAHB annually). But consider this:
• You are your local community’s expert on both new and tried-and-true products that fit your community’s style, price, building codes, and climatic requirements.
• You are counted on by all parties to spot design errors.
• You run your own engineering tests or work with partners to make sure the building plans are structurally sound.
• You manage projects.
• And frequently, you do the framing and/or interior installation work.
About the only things you don’t do are create the original design and finance the project. But wait: It’s still common in the Upper Plains States to walk into a lumberyard and have a staff member design a house for you. And there are dealers across the country who help finance projects.
In other words, you’re like the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz.” You’re already smart and multitalented; it’s just that others haven’t recognized you yet.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that you will get official recognition. In construction, you are to architects and builders what a sherpa is to a mountain climber. So, I have a stealth proposal that won’t elevate your status, but it should improve construction overall and make your life easier, too.
I suggest you hire and promote in-house home designers who can produce a plan from scratch or offer to turn an architect’s or builder’s rough ideas into a finished product. Doing so generates several benefits:
• Your knowledge of codes and engineering standards will slash the number of errors in the drawing and save you time having to search through other people’s work for potential disasters.
• You’re in position from the start to insert new, innovative, more appropriate, and potentially higher-margin products into the design.
• Even if you don’t put in new stuff, you will have a better chance of specifying products you stock and processes (like manufactured components) that you produce.
• You’ll be able to design the project in such a way that it maximizes your company’s ability to deliver goods and install products.
• Odds are, you’ll continue to serve as a project manager, but now you’re working off of plans created by fellow staff members.
The result? Less work for the architect, reduced pain for contractors, and potentially more profitable sales for you.
In effect, what you’re doing is becoming a master builder without acquiring the title. You won’t have the authority, either. But let’s face it: On lots of projects, there’s a distinct lack of desire by your so-called partners to take on certain but necessary jobs. That’s why tasks like doing take-offs, rounding up subs, and keeping an eye on things often falls to you.
It’s only reasonable that, if you’re going to be a de facto master builder, you should seek to take on a few more seemingly low-level responsibilities. The result won’t be Medieval cathedrals, but your community is likely to end up with better places to live.
