A misplaced decimal point on a foundation plan almost cost me a client

I was working on a set of residential plans for a new build in Austin, and I was rushing to get the foundation details out. I had the grid lines set, but when I was inputting the footing depths, I typed 1.5 instead of 15 for the frost depth in one key note. I didn't catch it, sent the PDFs to the builder, and he called me an hour later asking if we were building a patio instead of a house. My stomach just dropped. I had to call the client, explain the huge error, and offer to redo the entire foundation sheet at no cost. It ate up a whole afternoon and a chunk of my profit for that job. I've since started using a redline checklist for all my dimension strings before I hit print. Has anyone else set up a specific double-check step for critical notes like that to avoid similar disasters?

2 comments

2 Comments

jake_owens7d ago

Frost depth of 1.5 inches. That's wild. Can't even imagine that phone call. Your redline checklist is a solid move. I started having a coworker spot-check all my depth notes after a similar scare.

oliver_wilson497d ago

Wait, but what if that tiny frost depth was actually right for that spot? Jake_owens, sometimes the weird notes save our butts later!