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If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a complete and coordinated construction plan set worth? Arguably, the most critical components to any project are the construction documents.  Plans, specifications, engineered calculations, supplemental instructions, requests for information, narratives, addendums, sketches; the list goes on.  These documents are used by thousands of […]

  Over the past few years, there have been frequent discussions with our clients related to what we are seeing in the market when it comes to material and subcontractor pricing. Since the pandemic, material pricing has been an extremely volatile part of our industry. These changing conditions have required everyone to adopt various strategies […]

Holland, Ohio, May 9, 2023 – The Douglas Company proudly announces the completion of HarborChase of Shaker Heights, a new assisted living and memory care community located within one of Cleveland’s most affluent suburbs, just eight miles from downtown. The Douglas Company served as general contractor for the $22.2 million community. Co-Developers, Confluent Senior Living […]

When it comes to anchoring building components in wood-framed structures, there are two primary options to consider: conventional hold-down hardware and new tie-down offerings from either QuickTie or CLP. While both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, the trend in the framing world seems to be pushing more toward the new tie-down systems. Conventional hold-down […]

This year marks 10 years in the industry for me, which on one hand feels like 20 years, and on the other, it feels like just yesterday I was graduating college. I was recently asked “What do you enjoy about construction?” so this made me take a minute to reflect on the past 10 years. […]

Twenty years ago everyone would ask me why I didn’t do development on a personal basis. Development is different from construction. I understand the risks of construction, but I don’t understand those of development very well. So I would Forest Gump my way through it, thinking “Stupid is as stupid does,” knowing I am not […]

This week basketball practice started for my son’s 1st-grade team, The Clippers, whom I get the opportunity to coach. At first glance, outside of the very dissimilar physical differences, I thought I was in one of our weekly subcontractor progress meetings. Four kids locked in and focused on having a productive practice. One kid did […]

Some of the best teams in sports history had some Hall of Fame individual players on them. But if you don’t have a collaborative group working toward the same goal and carrying their weight, finding success can be elusive. The same goes for preconstruction planning and execution. Owners/developers first need to align with the best […]

Have you found yourself saying “It’s just not like it used to be”? I hear this a lot lately and if I am being honest, I have said it a couple of times myself. It seems like challenges just keep on coming. First, we had the Covid lockdowns, then the lumber shortage, now inflation, and […]