God is in the Details

I do agree with the idea of God is in the detail. Particularly in relation to how things join. I mean it's all about trades meeting trades, as much about planes meeting planes. It is important to draw sections through tricky bits and how planes, materials meet. You cannot rely on one trade  solving an issue with another, unless they are sharp. You should (or the architect should) should have an awareness of tricky/clumsy areas. Do a sketch or detail drawing or it'll rear it's head sooner or later...Material to material, plane to plane, structural member penetrating planes, services affecting everything...you need to be aware of the three dimensional issue or it'll compromise you and probably cost you or at worst, look awful. 

Standard for plumbers, I am afraid.  They like to run hot and cold services next to each other with no insulation because it is quicker and they don't give a **** about whether you have to run the tap for a minute to get water at the correct temperature.  I am sure there are exceptions but none have worked on my sites.

I suspect that in this case it was self-done not a plumber.

On 14/04/2018 at 18:47, caliwag said:

I do agree with the idea of God is in the detail. Particularly in relation to how things join. I mean it's all about trades meeting trades, as much about planes meeting planes. It is important to draw sections through tricky bits and how planes, materials meet. You cannot rely on one trade  solving an issue with another, unless they are sharp. You should (or the architect should) should have an awareness of tricky/clumsy areas. Do a sketch or detail drawing or it'll rear it's head sooner or later...Material to material, plane to plane, structural member penetrating planes, services affecting everything...you need to be aware of the three dimensional issue or it'll compromise you and probably cost you or at worst, look awful. 

Do you have any specific examples of this? What situations call for such detailed drawings? 

Well, I cited an example, above, of materials and varying trades, meeting in a dormer construction...in that case the poster resorted to the forum readers for some solutions...fair enough: don't recall any feedback. To be honest every fitting out job where more than one trade or material meet up, requires consideration and at least a scale sketch...plainly trades people with experience will resolve such situations with varying degrees of success. A client wanted a fitted seating area in a bay window, along with some side shelves, so this required some drawings to resolve varying heights, then how fabric met up with a ceramic tiled back (for example)...sure you can work it out as you go along but that may involve ripping out some work to adjust.

Some architects (fussy you may say) hated cover strips (which frankly are a bodge to hide an ill-considered junction ). My boss would at the design stage would say of a detail 'if you can do without a line (in construction detailing)your winning'...he would secretly randomly inspect detail drawings. I can cite more, but I'm sure you catch the drift, and can think up your own situations.

My in-laws built their own place from a Scandia supplied frame only. The fit out was done by my FIL. He was a very deep thinking and logical person and posed the question regarding the insulation of what was a fully pumped circulating hot water ring around the whole house. Hot water was there at the turn of the tap. Unfortunately it was also there at the turn of the cold tap and although cooler obviously you could never make a cold water based drink without having a filter type jug in the fridge. The in-laws sold the house after 20 years and that issue with the non insulated supply pipes for both hot and cold annoyed him until he passed away last year.

It does go to prove that the planning detail for even such seemingly mundane situations will haunt/annoy forever.