A missing dimension on a foundation plan almost cost me a job in Albuquerque

I was working on a set of foundation plans for a custom home build in Albuquerque last month. The architect sent over the initial drawings, and I was detailing the footings. I got through the whole thing, sent it to the contractor for review, and thought I was done. He called me back an hour later, his voice tight. He said, 'Xena, the west wall footing is missing a critical dimension. The crew is on site ready to dig, and they can't start.' I opened the file and sure enough, I had only called out the length, not the width. It was a simple oversight, but it would have meant a wrong pour and a huge delay. I told him to hold for ten minutes. I pulled up the original architect's notes, found the spec, and added the 18-inch width callout right there on my tablet. I sent the corrected PDF back before he even hung up. He said it saved the schedule. Has anyone else had a close call with a missing dimension that almost shut a job down?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosebennett19d ago

Totally feel that! I once labeled a whole elevation with the wrong scale, like I was designing a dollhouse. The contractor called asking if the windows were really only six inches tall.

ben1319d ago

Missing a dimension is a big deal, but calling it a close call seems off. That's a basic error that should have been caught in your own check before it went out. Relying on the contractor to find it puts them in a tough spot. Good on you for fixing it fast, but the real lesson is to slow down and review your own work more carefully.