Putting a scope and a cost to a defect
Once a defect is identified, the next question is usually what it will take to correct it. In settlement discussions, mediation, and trial, the scope and cost of repair are often among the central issues. Both questions depend on a clear understanding of what is wrong and where.
de Haan & Associates generates conceptual repair scopes and cost estimates as part of our field work. Gregg de Haan, our founder and principal, specializes in preparing repair scopes, cost estimates, and complex defect reports.
Cost questions also arise outside of repairs. Disputes over change orders, extra work, and project costs turn on the records kept during construction, and we analyze those records for litigation purposes as well.
What a conceptual repair scope is
A conceptual repair scope describes the work needed to correct the conditions found. It identifies the affected areas, the assemblies to be removed and replaced, and the general sequence of the work, without the full detail of construction documents. It may also note where further investigation is needed before the scope can be finalized.
A scope is only as reliable as the investigation behind it. Tying each repair item to a documented condition helps every party see why the work is included and where it applies. It also makes the scope easier to adjust if new conditions are found.
The scope then drives the estimate. A change in one, such as a wider repair area or a different detail, flows directly into the other. Conceptual scopes are especially useful early in a dispute, when the parties need a realistic picture of the work before detailed repair drawings exist.
Repair cost estimates grounded in field findings
Our estimates follow from what we observe and document at the site. We generate comprehensive field reports, photo documentation, conceptual repair scopes, and cost estimates promptly. A scope built on a thorough investigation tends to hold up better when others review it.
Our associates are active in the building trades and are familiar with current building materials, the same materials a repair will use. Our investigative specialties span the envelope, the site, and the building systems, so a scope can address the trades a repair actually involves.
A defensible estimate is generally transparent. Each line can be traced to a condition, a quantity, and an assumption, which lets other parties review it on its merits. Clear assumptions about access, sequencing, and protection of adjacent work also help reviewers compare estimates fairly.
Change order, project cost, and RFI analysis
Not every cost question is about repairs. Some concern how a project was built and paid for. We perform comprehensive change order, project cost, and RFI analysis for litigation purposes. Those questions turn on project records as much as on the building itself.
Change orders record changes to the scope, price, or schedule of a contract. Requests for information, or RFIs, record questions raised during construction and the answers given. Read with the plans and the project costs, they can show how a design evolved in the field and why.
Our associates are well versed in the construction documentation process, which is where this kind of analysis begins. Plans, specifications, and project correspondence give change orders and RFIs their context.
Use in settlement, mediation, and trial
Repair scopes and cost estimates support each forum in which we provide expert witness services: settlement conferences, mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and trial. Our goals in any dispute are clarity and accuracy.
In a negotiation, competing scopes and estimates are common. When each line can be traced to a documented condition, the parties can focus on the items that genuinely differ.
We are retained by attorneys, insurance carriers, building owners, homeowner associations, and contractors in California, Arizona, and Montana. Each of those clients needs the same thing from an estimate: a clear link between the work and its cost.
What we examine
- 01Documented defect conditions and affected areas
- 02Repair work across the trades involved
- 03Change orders
- 04Project costs
- 05Requests for information (RFIs)
- 06Construction documents, plans, and details
What you receive
- Conceptual repair scopes
- Cost estimates
- Change order, project cost, and RFI analysis for litigation
- Comprehensive field reports
How the work proceeds
- 01
Field investigation
Our field personnel identify and document the defects that the repair must address.
- 02
Conceptual repair scope
Gregg de Haan prepares a repair scope tied to the conditions found.
- 03
Cost estimate
The scope is carried into a cost estimate, prepared promptly.
- 04
Presentation
Scopes and estimates support settlement conferences, mediations, arbitrations, depositions, and trial.