So we are getting close to completion, hopefully right within the expected schedule. The next critical step is to get clients’ and architects’ feedback on all aspects of the job. An important component of our weekly meetings is walking through the site. We encourage everyone to be as open and critical as possible, so that we can deal with any issues early. Of course, our goal is to have our standards exceed clients’ expectations, but there will always be places where there are questions, or where a fresh pair of eyes reveal small problems. It’s important to us to have that ongoing dialog so that the list of finishing touches – or punch list – is short.

The nagging problems which can sometimes crop up at the end of a project (a faucet that has a loose part, a door which has expanded with the change in season), can take a while to sort through, and the key to getting the project happily completed is to open punch listing often and early.