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Now I’m Beginning to See What Virtual Construction Consulting Looks Like

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Just Because I Can’t Touch it Doesn’t Mean That I Can’t Help Fix it

It’s amazing what has been made possible with computers, smart phones and the internet. Virtual construction consulting is just one of those things.

The topic of virtual construction consulting came up several months ago when I was talking with a friend, who lives more than a thousand miles away, about his construction project. He and his wife bought some property that belonged to an older lady and the buildings had fallen into disarray. As we talked, I found myself wanting to go help him fix things.

The problem was that thousand-mile commute.

This is when the whole virtual construction consulting thing began to take shape. We began talking through the different things that needed to be done. I shared some of these construction issues in a couple of previous posts. One was what to do when you have a construction problem but don’t know what to do about it. Another was about how to make rafters long enough when you don’t have a “board stretcher”.

Today we’ll discuss a different project.

The problem we’ll be discussing today begins with rotting posts that are supporting (or not) an 8’ overhang.

Here’s the list of issues that we will address.

  • Roof support posts set inground aren’t supporting the roof because they are rotting.
  • Roof sagging due to lack of support because of rotting posts.
  • Header at the roof eave is not adequately attached to the posts or sufficient size to carry roof load.

Roof support posts set inground aren’t supporting the roof because they are rotting at the ground.

To fix this problem, there needs to be adequate concrete support under the bottom of the posts and then you need to fasten them to the concrete with post base brackets that will reduce the likelihood of future rot.

There are a couple of options for this. First is to remove the 4×4 posts, dig a hole outside of the concrete slab, pour new concrete piers and set the posts in brackets on top of the piers. Second would be to move the posts in and set them in post brackets on the existing concrete slab.

Moving the posts in would be the simpler and less expensive of the two options. It would mean no digging, no forming and no pouring of concrete.

The downside to consider is by moving the posts in, there will be more roof extending beyond the support beam.

With the current overhang only about a foot…this won’t be a problem.

Roof sagging due to lack of support because of rotting posts.

This problem will be fixed by moving the posts in and setting them on the concrete slab.

By stretching a string line down the outside bottom corner of the rafters from one end of the roof to the other, there will be a straight line that will be a target when reinstalling the posts.

The roof can be supported temporarily by 2x4s while the posts are being moved and reinstalled.

Header at the roof eave is not adequately attached to the posts or sufficient size to carry roof load.

Currently the header is a single 2×6 nailed to the side of the 4×4 posts and spanning approximately 8’. Code says that a header carrying a roof and spanning 8’ should be twice this big.

The single 2×6 will need to be removed to allow for the moving of the posts. Once the posts have been reinstalled, the salvaged 2×6 can be attached back to the 4×4 posts. Then a second one can be attached to the first. After both are in place and nailed together, carriage bolts can be installed through both 2x6s and bolted to the 4×4 posts.

An additional action that can be taken to assist in strengthening the roof is the removing of the 1×6 fascia board and installing a 2×6 in its place. This will help carry the roof load by distributing the load between the rafters.


This is today’s virtual construction consulting.

There are more in-depth instructions that we could go into, but to keep this post from becoming too long, we’ll stop here.

If you or someone you know has some construction questions that a virtual construction consultation might be able to give you some “support” with, leave a comment below.

What if the Rafters Aren’t Long Enough to Reach the Ridge Beam?

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We Explore Other Solutions, That’s What

A couple of weeks ago we talked about a construction problem and what to do about it. This problem involved rafters not being attached to the ridge beam properly and a possible solution. That solution required the rafters to be long enough…which they aren’t.

So, now what do we do?

We still have the same problem of the rafters not being connected sufficiently to the ridge beam and how to fix this.

The previous plan was to take the top end of the rafters loose from the ridge beam on both sides of the roof, cut them to fit against the side of the ridge beam, drop them down and fasten them to the ridge beam.

This second option is going to require more “undoing” than the cutting and dropping of one end of the rafters would have. However, using this solution, we will not have to do any work to the half of the roof where the rafters are sitting on the ridge beam.

It’s going to require the removal of the metal roofing panels and the wood purlins from half of the roof. Anytime something is “undone” or removed it takes time that isn’t being spent on “doing”. However, as is normally the case with repairs and remodels, “undoing” is a part of the process.

Avoiding the undoing was the biggest benefit of the previous solution.

One of the issues that started the construction discussion was that there is some roofing missing from the building. It just so happens that the roofing that is missing is on the same side of the roof that needs the rafters fixed. This means that some of the “undoing” is already “undone”.

What does this new option consist of? –

  1. Removing the balance of the roof metal (salvage for reuse if possible) –

Remove the existing fasteners (nails or screws) from the roof metal. If they are screws with rubber washers and the washers are in good condition, the screws could be saved for reuse. If they are nails, or screws with missing or damaged washers, throw them away. If the sheets of metal are salvageable (not bent, deteriorated or having holes) save them for reuse.

  • Removal of the roof purlins (salvage for reuse if possible) –

Pull the nails or remove the screws that are attaching the existing wood 2×4 purlins to the wood rafters. In the pictures, most of these purlins appear to be in good shape. As long at they are not split, broke, rotted, or too warped or bowed, salvage them to reuse.

  • Removal of the existing rafters (salvage for reuse) –

Remove fasteners (nails, screws and/or carriage bolts) that are attaching the rafters to the ridge beam at the top and the posts at the bottom. Save the carriage bolts and nuts for reuse.

  • Relocating the salvaged rafters –

Flip the rafters end for end putting the bottom at ridge beam. This is so you can use the existing bolt hole in the post and put a new hole in the rafter. Sit the top of the rafter on the ridge beam, next to the rafters on the other side of the building. Attach the two rafters (both sides of the ridge) together and attach the moved rafter to the ridge beam. Drill a new bolt hole in the rafter at the bottom and attach it to the post.

  • Install the salvaged purlins to the top of the rafters –

Attach the 2×4 wood purlins to the top of the rafters matching the previous purlin layout. This should allow for salvaged roof metal to be installed using the exiting holes from the previous fastening.

  • Install roofing metal to the roof purlins –

Starting at the eave of the roof, install the first sheet of roofing metal making sure to align the corrugations with the panels on the other side of the roof. Assuming those panels are laid out correctly. Install the panels with washer headed screws to seal the holes and prevent leaks. Install the next panel above, overlapping so that rain will drain properly preventing leaks. Continue this process overlapping each new sheet over the one next to it the width of one corrugation.

  • Install new ridge cap (due there not being any existing) –

The ridge cap will lay over the ridge of the building and be screwed to the corrugations of the roof panels on both sides of the ridge with washer headed metal to metal screws.

One additional thing that may need to be done with this solution is to add some additional support posts under the ridge beam. This is due to the rafters sitting on top of the ridge rather than being attached to the side of it. To determine if and how many post would be needed, we need to look at the code book and determine the current spans.

As it is with any construction project, there are numerous options. The important thing is to look at them and determine which one best fulfills your needs.

The “Job List” Is One of the Foundational Building Blocks of a Successful Construction Company

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Now, What’s the Purpose of This Building Block and Why Does it Matter?

Recently we discussed the importance of building your construction business on a solid foundation and how paperwork is outside of most contractor’s comfort zones. I know, I know paperwork is not a very exciting topic, but neither is concrete. And we all know how important concrete is in supporting a building. The same is true for paperwork and your business.

As we discussed previously, one of the three foundational piers is administration and finance. One of the building blocks in that pier is a Job List which offers valuable information for forecasting the company’s financial needs and production plans.

Wouldn’t it be helpful if you knew –

  • Which types of work were consistently the most profitable
  • How you were doing at meeting your financial goals for the year
  • When you should have the signed projects finished to stay on track
  • How well you’re doing at getting proposals signed
  • What the average price of your projects are

The Job List is an Excel spreadsheet that lets you gather and track information. It has preset formulas determining and sorting the information you need to make your business more profitable.

This document provides information for –

  • Creating and recording project numbers
  • Tracking project bid amounts
  • Tracking dollars of signed proposals
  • Tracking dollars collected from projects
  • Percentage of jobs signed
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe for doing signed projects
  • Projected date work should be done

This list can seem overwhelming but doesn’t have to be.

Here is an example of what the Job List spreadsheet looks like.

Let’s go through the document and break it down into smaller bite size pieces.

Creating and recording project numbers – Having a numbering system can help you sort projects so that you can review which types and size of projects are the most profitable and what you do the most of. It may be that your most profitable ones are not the ones you do the most often. Having this type of information can help you to focus more of your attention on the right kinds of projects for you.

This Job List is a place to list project numbers in conjunction with the size and types of the projects as well as their chronological order. This document provides the numerical part of the project number specific to each project. The other portion of the project number is determined by job specific parameters not included on this document.

Tracking project bid amounts – Our Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal system provides the dollar amount for each project. Once a proposal has been finished, the information specific to that project is entered into the appropriate cells on the spreadsheet. This information includes Job Number (column E), the Customer Name (column F), Description (column G), Bid Date (column H) and the Project Amount (column I). Regardless of the system you use for preparing proposals, you should have a dollar amount that could be entered into this document.

As each new project amount is added in the project amount column, the total project amount at the bottom will update giving you a total dollar amount of the proposals you have done to this point in the year. Based on your company’s past history, this dollar amount should give you a clear picture of where you are in relationship to meeting your financial goals for the year. We will explain this further with the tracking dollars of signed projects.

Tracking dollars of signed proposals – Once a proposal has been accepted, the accepted dollar amount should be entered in the signed amount column. Initially this amount should be the same as the amount in the project amount column. Sometimes the dollar amounts of projects are changed due to change orders. This can be either an increase or decrease depending on the change order(s).

As each new proposal gets signed the dollar amount of the signed proposal should be entered into the correlating cell in the signed amount column. Just like in the project amount column, as each new amount is entered in the signed amount column, the total dollar amount at the bottom automatically updates giving you a total of work you currently must do.

With the total of the signed amount column and the total of the project amount columns, you should be able to get a clear picture of where you are financially in relation to where you want to be at year end.

Let’s say your goal for the year was to generate a gross revenue of $400,000.00. Using the example, you can see that as of December the 12th you were at $352,877.66. This is getting close, but not quite there. If you compare the signed amount to the project amount ($664,381.27) you will see that the signed amount is 53.11% of the project amount. Based on this percentage, to get the signed amount to $400,000.00, the project amount would need to be $754,000.00.

This kind of info is helpful when looking ahead to the future.

We’ve covered a lot here today. In our next post we’ll pick up at tracking dollars collected from projects.

I hope you’ve found this helpful. If you have questions, feel free to put them in the comments below and I will answer them.

I Know That I Have a Construction Problem…Now What Do I Do?

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Just Knowing That There’s a Problem is More Than Half the Battle

As we go through the daily actions of living our lives, we become oblivious to things on the periphery. This is especially true of things outside of our expertise. This lack of awareness includes things like construction if you’re not actively involved in the building industry.

When there is a situation that catches the attention of someone who is not a construction professional, it begs the question of…what do I do?

If you know someone who is in construction, you could ask them. But what if you don’t know anyone or don’t trust the ones you do know?

This is where virtual construction consulting comes in.

We discussed virtual construction consulting previously. Today we’re going to actually do some consulting.

The question:

There’s a gap between the tops of some of the rafters and the ridge. Some have short boards fastened to the sides of the rafters sitting on top of the ridge. Some have hurricane clips attached to the rafter and ridge “supporting” the rafter.

This doesn’t look right. Should it be like this?

NO IT SHOULDN’T!

This is an example of – whoever built this did not know how to construct things properly.

The problem:

In construction everything needs to be supported to transfer the weight of the building to the ground. You can’t just put a board up in the air and let go expecting it to stay. Gravity will win.

According to the residential building code, rafters should not be more than 1 ½” offset from each other on the ridge beam. The rafters should be fastened to the side of the ridge beam. The ridge beam should not be less in height than the cut end of the rafter.

Without getting off into the weeds of engineering, just know this…

The rafters are supporting the ridge, not the other way around.

The question:

What is the most cost-effective way to fix this problem?

There are several ways that this could be fixed, but the primary point is cost-effective. Without going through all the scenarios here today, let’s focus on my recommendation.

The goal is to get the rafters attached to the side of the ridge.

The answer:

To do this, it will require disconnecting the rafters from the ridge beam, cutting the rafters to the correct angle to fit against the side of the ridge beam and then lowering the rafters down to align the top of the rafters with the top of the ridge beam.

Before starting it must be determined if the existing rafters are long enough to be cut at an angle and still reach the side of the ridge beam?

This will be determined by measuring from the bottom end of the rafter to the top corner of the ridge beam. This will be the length needed. Then measure from the bottom end of the rafter to the top end of the rafter. If there is enough length to make this cut, then this will work.

Once the length question has been affirmatively answered then the actual work can proceed.

Starting at one end, put some temporary support under a section of rafters. Disconnect the rafters from the ridge board, then begin lowering the rafters one by one to align with the top of the ridge beam.

Once you’ve done this, the rafter can be attached to the ridge beam by nailing at an angle through the end of the rafter on both sides into the ridge beam. Or the rafters can be fastened to the ridge beam with rafter hangers.

Continue this process from one end of the building to the other, doing rafters on both sides of the ridge beam as you go. This is critical because you need to keep equal pressure on both sides of the ridge beam to keep it centered in the building.

If there is siding on the gables, it will need to be removed so that it can be recut to match the new roof slope.

With the information I have, this appears to be the most economical way to fix this problem.

Knowing that there was a problem was the first half of the battle.

The second half is the physical fixing part. Now it’s up to you to put your tool belt on and go to work or hire a qualified contractor. Either way you now have some written instructions for this project.

Why is One of the Most Important Parts of a Construction Business Avoided So Much?

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Because Admin and Finance are Out of the Contractor’s Comfort Zone

Most trades people like doing physical work, not paperwork. They like building things, not sitting at a desk making proposals or putting numbers in spreadsheets.

Avoiding paperwork is one of the biggest reasons construction companies struggle to stay in business.

They may be the most skilled craftsman out there but they consistently struggle to keep the business afloat. This includes things like –

  • Losing money due to under bidding projects
  • Not enough money to pay taxes
  • Can’t afford to have repairs done to the company pickup
  • Projects running over budget
  • Upset customers due to poor communication
  • Disconnection with production crews due to poor communication

An example of this is an email I received just this past week from a foundation repair contractor.

“I need help with all aspects of the business end of the business, and definitely with organization and systems. It’s easier for me to pick up a house than it is to figure out what to charge for doing it.”

All these problems can be solved with a good foundation that includes paperwork.

Whether it’s a dislike for doing paperwork or simply not knowing how to do it, paperwork doesn’t have to be as scary as it first appears.

It requires doing something different. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always got. (Variation of a Steven Covey quote) This reminds me of the Geico commercial where the group of young people choose to hide behind the chainsaws, rather than getting in the running car.

Recently we talked about the importance of building your business on a solid foundation. I told you that this foundation consisted of three piers, one of which is Administration/Finance. Let’s break this foundational pier down and see what it’s built of.

Administration – The process or activity of running a business or organization that includes but is not limited to –

  • Computer Systems
  • Team Member Records
  • Team Member Policies and Benefits
  • Office Support
  • Office Maintenance
  • Information Archiving and Distribution
  • Data Processing
  • Communications
  • Contract Preparation

Finance – The management of money that includes but is not limited to –

  • Budgeting
  • Invoicing
  • Cash Flow Forecasting
  • Financial Reports
  • General Bookkeeping
  • Accounts Payable
  • Taxes
  • Banking

Each of the things listed here has a mix of administration and financial aspects. A good example of this overlap is the Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal, which we’ve previously discussed in a series of blog posts and podcasts.

As we move forward discussing this foundational pier, I will share some of the different documents and processes that we’ve developed and regularly use at Timber Creek Construction.

The first one we’ll discuss is called the Job List. This is an Excel spreadsheet that serves several purposes, some of these are:

  • Generating consecutive and project specific job numbers
  • Tracking current total project bid amounts at present
  • Tracking current total signed projects at present
  • Tracking current total collected projects at present
  • Percentage of jobs signed
  • Percentage of dollars signed per dollars bid
  • Percentage of dollars collected per signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects bid
  • Average dollar amount of projects signed
  • Average dollar amount of projects collected
  • Projected timeframe needed to do the work based on annual revenue goal
  • Projected date work should be done based on annual revenue goal

We’ll dig into the Job List deeper next time.

I know, I know…this seems a little scary, but it doesn’t have to be with some help. Just remember that if your business doesn’t have a good foundation, it may not stay standing.

Check back in later to learn more about the Job List.

It’s Christmas Time and This Is the Most Wonderful Time for Giving

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However, Proposal Systems are Not What We Normally Think of When We Think About Giving

Giving is an interesting word. For such a small and simple word, I had no idea how complex it was. In the Meriam-Webster dictionary there are sixteen different definitions with several sub-definitions for the word give. This is just as a verb, plus there are additional ones for uses of nouns, etc.

Just like the large number of definitions for the word give, there are a lot of great ways of giving.

One way of giving is the traditional wrapped presents under the Christmas Tree. And who doesn’t look forward to getting together with the people we love and sharing in the excitement of unwrapping that unknown gift?

Another great way of giving is sharing our knowledge and experience.

In my forty years in the construction industry, I learned some things. 😊 After struggling trying to figure out how to do accurate proposals, communicate clearly with customers and prepare a production budget, I knew there had to be a better way.

While a lot of construction companies are great at “constructing”, they often struggle with the business side of things. There’s a lot more to owning and operating a construction company than just building.

Unexpected costs, changes to projects and poor communication plague the construction industry.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

That’s why I developed the Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal system. This proposal system will give you the documents and instructions needed for preparing proposals that communicate clearly and accurately with the customer, while allowing you to be profitable.

This system includes templates for:

            Bid sheet – A Word document with all the construction sections and individual items already listed out with space for filling out the scope of the work to be done, dimensions, materials, locations, etc.

            Worksheet – An Excel spreadsheet with all the construction sections and individual items already listed out with optional overhead and profit markups already inserted in the appropriate cells.

            Estimate – A word document with spaces to fill in the pertinent information, i.e. customer’s information, what will or will not be supplied by the contractor, the scope of work, the estimated price for each specific element and a total estimated price.

            Proposal – A word document with spaces to fill in the pertinent information, i.e. customer’s information, what will or will not be supplied by the contractor, the scope of work, the proposed price for each specific element, a total project price, payment arrangements and project duration.

            Contract – A word document with spaces to fill in the pertinent information, i.e. customer’s information, list of referenced documents, construction funding information, property specifics, project start date and legal terms and conditions.

            Proposal-Contract – A word document that is a combination of a proposal and contract in one.

It also includes:

            Data Base – An Excel spreadsheet with prices for material and labor for a wide variety of specific construction tasks. This information can be copied and pasted to the worksheet.

            Instructions – Complete and comprehensive instructions for how to use this system and put it to work.

            Example documents – Complete Bid Sheet, Worksheet, and Proposal for a hypothetical construction project.

Back to the spirit of giving –

I want to give of my experience and knowledge because I want to see more successful construction contractors and more happy construction customers.

So, this Christmas we’re giving by reducing the $497 price of our Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal system by 80%.

The Christmas price is only $97!

This reduced price will allow contractors to give clearer more accurate proposals to their customers.

If you know someone in the construction industry that you think would like the chance to save $400 on this proposal system…give them the link to the Blueprint for Building a Better Proposal or give them the link to this blog post.

We also have a free document you can download called the 7 Bid Mistakes. It will walk you through the common mistakes that cost contractors a fortune and how to avoid them. And because it’s free…we’re giving it too.

Why In the World Would I Want to Turn My Blog Posts into Podcasts?

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It’s Simple Really…To Help More People Build Their Dreams

As a society we are moving at a faster and faster pace. This leaves less time to do all those things we’re trying to do and we’re trying to do a lot.

Add to that, the overwhelm of information that’s out there. It’s hard for people to find the time to read no matter how great the content is.

I’ve been writing two blog posts a week now for almost seven years. Even though they’re short, most people don’t take time to read them.

Of the 31 active subscribers, 8-12 people open them regularly…4-6 click and read. That’s a lot of information not being used.

This can be a little depressing.

Granted, I don’t know how many people who aren’t subscribed read them, but still…

Multiple times I’ve considered quitting. It takes a substantial amount of time to write, edit, find pictures and publish each one. I’ve often wondered if I should be spending my time on this.

Here’s the bottom line…if my message helps one person build their dream…it was worth my time.

Early on in my blog posting I talked with several people who told me they simply didn’t have time to read them.

This is exactly why I listen to audio books and podcasts. I can consume content through my tablet or phone while driving or doing other things.

Okay…we agree, an audio version of my blog posts would increase the likelihood more people would get my message.

I’ve thought about this for years but…it’s the time issue again. It’s going to take time to figure out how to do it, learn how to do it, then actually do it. I don’t have time. So, I just put it off.

Putting it off is easier, but you don’t accomplish much by putting things off.

I’ve been talking with Nic Natarella at AdWise Creative about turning my blog posts into podcasts.

Even if I have Nic do this, there are still decisions that need to be made…and decisions take time.

Not to mention I’m a recovering perfectionist and I struggle with wanting things to be perfect.

I had a conversation about this with my friend Shep this past week. He said it will take some time, it won’t be perfect, but it’s not going to get done if you don’t do it.

He’s right.

So, what are we going to do?

We’re going to move forward.

It’s going to take some time. It’s not going to be perfect. We’re going to do it.

Whether building a building, a business or a life, the hardest part is the early planning. The thing to remember is…it won’t get done if all you do is plan.

I want to help construction companies searching for business solutions and customers who are overwhelmed by the construction process.

I want to help both achieve their dreams by providing businesses with systems and training while educating and assisting customers through the construction process.

Podcasts will be a way for me to help more busy people accomplish their dreams.

I’m meeting with Nic today and we’re moving forward with this podcasting thing.

What If You Want to Do a Construction Project but Don’t Know Where to Start?

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That’s Where the Right Qualified Virtual Consultant Can Help

We all have our areas of expertise. One of mine is construction processes and systems.

These are a couple of things missing from most DIY construction programs on TV as well as many of the “do it yourself” internet videos. They can be helpful, but typically they oversimplify things and normally only give you a small snippet of the big picture of a construction project.

As a construction professional that has been doing this for forty years, trust me, there’s a lot more to it than a sixty-minute TV program or a five-minute video.

When I meet with a customer, I instinctively know what questions need to be asked and answered.

It’s different if you’re not a contractor and this is where a lot of problems with construction projects begin. Either from a “do it yourself” construction customer or when hiring someone who isn’t qualified.

The overwhelm starts and it often leads to corner cutting, things being done in the wrong order or completely left out.

Here’s some of the information that I gather early in the process –

            Measurements and dimensions, existing and new

            Building materials, existing and new

            Pictures of existing construction and pertinent areas involved in the new

            Design ideas, products and finishes to be used

The information gathered early in the process is important to the project moving forward as smoothly and economically as possible.

Asking and answering the right questions early in the process is critical to a successful project. Once you’ve determined what your dream project is, it needs to be broken down into categories. Then these categories should be divided further into smaller tasks.

Imagine a construction project as a giant puzzle with hundreds of thousands of pieces. These pieces need to be put together in the right place and in the right order. It’s hard when you don’t know what that is.

A qualified virtual consultant can help you put the right pieces in the right place.

I developed a list of categories and tasks that I use when doing a construction proposal so that I don’t overlook things. This “Bid Sheet” is where I gather the information that pertains to each specific task.

Here’s a small excerpt from my bid sheet template –

These are just three of the 17 categories of the construction process.

The next issue for the “do it yourself” construction customer is…what do all these tasks mean? What is included in them?

These questions prompted me to begin developing just such a list.

Here is a matching excerpt from it –

Once I have this explanation page finished, I will make a link available at the Solution Building web site.

This explanation page will be a good tool for a “do it yourself” construction customer, someone hiring a professional or as a helpful referral when talking with a qualified virtual consultant.

Virtual Construction Consulting…What’s That Even Going to Look Like?

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Pretty Much the Same as In Person, Except For the “In Person” Part

Virtual construction consulting…that’s an interesting idea. What is virtual construction consulting anyway?

Let’s start with construction. What is construction? Construction is the act or process of constructing. The art, trade or work of building. Construction is a pretty straight forward concept. Most of us are familiar with construction.

Construction is where I’ve spent most of the last 40 years. During that time, I’ve accumulated a substantial amount of experience and expertise.

Consulting…giving expert advice to people, or other professionals in a specific business or trade. This is a term that gets used a lot without giving it much real thought. The key to this is the word EXPERT.

Giving expert advice is something that I’ve been doing for my construction customers for years without realizing that’s what I was doing. This happens naturally. I find out what the customer’s construction desires are and share my expertise to help them achieve their construction dreams.

Virtual is a word that is currently used a lot. There are multiple definitions for this word, but generally at the present, it refers to digital media, computers and emulating the function of another system or device.

Virtual technology allows us to communicate, connect and interact with people around the world.

Virtual construction consulting removes the opportunity for “on site” instinct that comes from years of experience. For me it shows up without me even realizing that it’s happening.

The problem with virtual is not getting the “in person” feel for the project.

With “in person” consulting there is a limited number of people that can be helped due to distance.

This limit to the number of people I can help is what prompted me to consider doing construction consulting virtually. The question then is…what is it going to look like?

The biggest “virtual” hurdle to overcome is the 3rd party gathering of information. The not being able to get the in person feel.

Like any other problem we encounter there is a solution. It may take some out of the box thinking but it can be done.  

I’m currently working with a long-distance friend to provide construction consulting virtually.

We will continue to share the ups and downs of the process as we develop this virtual construction consulting service.

What Kind of Jar Do You Want to Use?

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This Needs to Be Determined Before We Start Putting the Rocks In

Most of us are familiar with the time/priority analogy of putting rocks in a jar. I first became aware of this in Steven Covey’s book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

If you’re not, here’s how it goes:

One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either.

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.” Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks.

Then he smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?” By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is:

If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”

Dr. Steven R. Covey, First Things First

I think this is a great example of prioritization.

This analogy uses a wide mouth gallon jar…but what if that’s not the jar we want to use?

This is where we need to start. What is the jar that we want?

Construction projects are like this. They are big jars filled with lots of rocks, gravel, sand and water.

A good construction contractor can help you through the process of determining what jar you want and then help you put the right rocks in, in the right order.

Too many construction customers don’t spend enough time in the beginning thinking and planning for their project. They see construction as a, go to the construction project store and pick something off a shelf.

Unless you’re buying a spec home or a trailer house, construction projects don’t work like that.

Sorting through ideas, designs, finishes, etc. is the time-consuming part. But if this part is done early on…the rest of the project will go much smoother.

This is why you need to decide what kind of jar you want before you start trying to cram in the rocks.