PSA: Stop letting subs work off verbal RFIs without written confirmation

Had a concrete crew pour a wall 4 inches short last month in Austin because the foreman said the architect okayed a change on the phone. No email, no paper trail, just a $12k mistake. How do you handle verbal changes from field guys who don't want to wait for the formal process?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan1001mo ago

I mean, everybody's focused on the subs and the foreman, but what about the architect themselves? If they're giving out verbal approvals on the phone without sending a follow up email, that's a huge red flag on their end too. Maybe it's just me but I'd be having a sit down with that architect and telling them flat out that any change from now on goes through the formal process or they're covering the next screw up. And honestly, the foreman should know better than to take a verbal okay for something that changes the dimensions of a wall, that's like basic common sense in this business. A $12k mistake is a hard way to learn that lesson but at least it's not $50k.

king.eric1mo ago

Last year I had a drywall sub punch a 2 foot hole through a fire rated assembly because the GC's assistant said "just get it done" over a crackly walkie talkie while he was standing in a porta john. Turned out the architect never signed off on it and we had to rip out and rehang 40 boards at our own cost. Now I bring a stack of preprinted change order forms to every site meeting and if someone says "just trust me" I hand them a pen and say "great, then put your name on this." The funny part is how fast people start typing up that email when you make them sign something.

thomas_sanchez1mo ago

Buddy of mine had a similar deal happen on a job site in Houston last year. The bar joist supplier changed an anchor bolt pattern over voicemail and the erector went with it, ended up with three rows of joists that didn't line up with the deck layout. Took two weeks and a bunch of callbacks to fix it, and the supplier still tried to dodge the blame.