This architect in Atlanta told me my detail drawings were 'just lines on paper'

We were reviewing shop drawings for a custom metal stair, and he pointed at my section view and said that exact phrase. I'd spent two days getting the weld symbols and clearances perfect. It happened in their office conference room, the one with the blue carpet. Has anyone else had a client completely miss the point of your work like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

bell.eric3d ago

What do you even say to that, "just lines on paper"? I guess the building permit is just a fancy receipt. That's the kind of comment that makes you want to hand him a blank sheet and say "knock yourself out." I feel you and @christopher_hunt, it's like they think the lines just magically appear and don't represent every single bolt and gap. Maybe he wanted you to build a tiny model out of popsicle sticks right there on the blue carpet.

christopher_hunt3d ago

Man, that's brutal. I had a contractor once call my electrical riser diagram "pretty scribbles" during a meeting. Those lines are literally how you avoid hitting structural steel or running conduit through a beam. It feels like they think we're just making art for fun, not showing exactly how to build the thing. What did you even say back to him?