Mechanical systems are one example. “With green building coming to the fore now, especially in California, a lot of people are willing to spend more” on solar, geothermal, and other energy-efficient technologies. But many architects still leave a hole in their plans where the mechanicals will go, expecting an engineer or subcontractor to plug in a system. “For $5,000,” Maran says, “we could get an energy consultant who could not only design the mechanical system, but could also give options on overhangs and orientation, and who often won’t add to the bottom line.” These days Maran advises his clients to “set aside some time, especially in the early stages, for decision-making and really allow time for the effort that takes. The value of that quiet time in advance is unbelievable, especially [later] as the money is rolling out the door.”
Andrew Goldstein, a Boston-area custom builder, also advises his clients to slow down. “One of the biggest mistakes that consumers make is that arbitrary date when they want to move in.” Thanksgiving will come again next year; short-run thinking should not govern the construction of a building that will long outlive its owners; and the time stress generally peaks during the finish stage, which is no place for hurried work. The discussion also gives Goldstein the opportunity to address a deeper issue: “The notion of the owner being an important element in the process,” beyond simply supplying funding and a program, in “how they’re perceived by the workers on the job. If the owner comes to the job and doesn’t acknowledge them out there working on cold, rainy days,” Goldstein says, “I think, ultimately, that project won’t be done as well as one where the owner comes across as caring about the people on the job and how they’re doing.”
The economic gap between construction workers and custom home clients is too big to ignore, but Goldstein’s employees and subcontractors approach their work as professionals. “Most of them start a project with a love of the craft and give the owner a free pass. They don’t really resent him for the class he represents. There’s a real graciousness out there.” That goodwill does not always run both ways, however. “There are some clients we’ve had who really believe that everyone is out to get them,” Goldstein says. Others take the crew’s efforts on their behalf for granted. Some are plain spoiled. Goldstein’s craftspeople aim not simply to meet professional standards, but to create something unique and transcendent. Customers who fail to appreciate that can undermine the whole process. Client attitude is crucial. “How well it’s going to come out,” Goldstein says, depends on “how well people do their jobs. It’s not all that mechanical stuff, it’s how the relationship works.” For Goldstein, that relationship begins with a few choice words from a builder who is also a skilled instructor. Class dismissed.
