Yogi Berra—Construction Guru

“ I never said most of the things I said.”

• I recently stumbled across a list of quotes from America’s favorite folksy philosopher, Yogi Berra. Yogi was a pretty good ball player, to be sure, but is equally famous for his twisted tidbits of wisdom. In reading through these, I found them simply profound and profoundly simple, pertinent to all walks of life, including construction. In the article that follows, I’ll sprinkle in a number of his sayings as they apply to the subject at hand. They’ll be identified by the preceding notation (RY), denoting Relevant Yogi-ism.

DIY projects may not end up saving you time and money in the end.

• I have a friend. He’s a very capable fellow, with a curious mind, advanced degrees, and a can-do attitude. When he set out to build a new home for his family, he decided to be his own contractor. He relished the challenge, and wanted to save money on the home by eliminating the contractor’s fee. He finished the home, it’s beautiful, and he’s justifiably proud. He confided, however, that he had no idea how hard it would be, and has a new appreciation for general contractors. In fact, he said he’ll hire a contractor next time, convinced they’re worth every penny. (RY) “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”

• My friend freely admits he didn’t really understand what a contractor’s job entailed. He had watched some construction before, it didn’t look too hard, and good contractors seemed expensive. Perhaps you’re planning a building project of your own, have had the same thoughts, and are trying to decide whether to do the work yourself, or hire a professional. To assist you, I’ll attempt to describe the various responsibilities of a general contractor. I hope this helps you decide which way to go. (RY) “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” 

• Contractor responsibilities include the following:

• Code compliance—there are many complicated regulations governing construction, administered by federal, state, city, county, and even neighborhood authorities. They govern such things as lot setbacks, solar access, bulk-plane requirements, egress, structural design, drainage, work hours, aesthetic design, lighting, building height, parking spaces, and many, many more. Mistakes can be extremely expensive. (RY) “I don’t want to make the wrong mistake.”

• Scheduling—running even a relatively simple construction project is like being an air traffic controller at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on Christmas Eve. In other words, there’s a lot of activity from a lot of people that must happen at precisely the right time, or it’s going to get very ugly. The task involves managing material selections, coordinating material delivery, and proper sequencing of all the building trades to keep them out of each other’s way. (RY) “I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early.”

• Selecting the Team—subcontractors are the specialty trade companies who perform a large percentage of the work on construction projects. While many general contractors have their own crews to perform general construction work such as demolition, framing, and finish carpentry, there are often dozens of crafts that are so specialized as to require experts in the field. This would include excavators, electricians, plumbers, painters, and carpet layers. These trades and related material suppliers are divided into 16 major categories by the Construction Specification Institute (CSI), and all of these 16 categories have many subspecialties under them. In fact, there are thousands of categories. Each of these subcontractors and suppliers will provide an important product or service on your project. Selecting the right one to be on your project team is critical. In theory, they should all play well together. (RY) “In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is.”

• Budget Control—the general contractor has the ultimate responsibility for controlling project costs, and bringing the job in on budget. With hundreds or thousands of cost items involving dozens of suppliers, this is harder than it sounds,   One definition of a construction budget—a wild guess carried out to two decimal places. More than any other issue, this is the one that separates the best contractors from the rest. Even a great contract may not protect you if the contractor accidentally slipped a decimal point or overlooked something important. An accurate budget is hard to establish even for a seasoned veteran with an intimate knowledge of construction. (RY) “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”

• Quality Control—this, also, is the general contractor’s job. Since there is no standard quality specification for various aspects of the work, the contractor must set and enforce the standards. For example: the strength of the concrete, the smoothness of the drywall, the tightness of a joint, the durability of the paint, etc. Some of these standards are visible to the homeowner. Most of the important ones are not. (RY) “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

• Risk Management—construction is a dangerous business—physically, legally, and financially. It is the contractor’s job to protect the homeowners from all of these risks, and more. This includes securing or requiring many types of insurance from all involved parties—general liability, automobile, performance bonding, workers’ compensation, builder’s risk, materials in transit, and others. If the proper controls are not in place, unsuspecting homeowners could find themselves liable for worker injury on the jobsite, having mechanic’s liens filed on their property, or having their foundation fail. (RY) “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

• Interpret Design Intent—while most architects do an excellent job of detailing design intent on paper, both on blueprint drawings as well as written specifications, many construction activities require some interpretation by the contractor. Not everything that can be drawn can, or should, be built. (Have you ever seen an Escher painting?) One famous architect told me he was only responsible for the aesthetic concepts—it was the contractor’s job to figure out how to build it! Falling Water, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most famous architect, should rather be called Falling Down, because it is. In spite of the fact the contractor, against Mr. Wright’s wishes, secretly installed much more steel in the concrete than Mr. Wright specified. (RY) “You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn’t enough, in the second half you give what’s left.”

• Warranty—while most products and subcontractors will warrant their material and workmanship, it’s not always easy to sort out responsibility. Did the tile crack because it was defective, installed incorrectly, was the underlying structure at fault? There is no winner in The Blame Game. If you have a general contractor on-board, it doesn’t matter to you who is at fault, because ultimately it’s his responsibility. (RY) “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

• After hearing all this, if you determine to build or remodel your own home, great. I know it will come out just fine and we can still be friends. (RY) “This is like déjà vu all over again.”

• Special thanks to Mr. Berra for his inspiration. You can view his official website at   www.yogi-berra.com

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