Viewing the Invisible
By Ken VanBree
The emergence of good quality inexpensive digital cameras in the last few years has added a new tool to the tool chest of builders and architects. Cameras can be used in construction to save time and improve quality by providing the power to view the invisible. A few examples will illustrate my point.
One silicon valley executive I know was extremely impressed with his architect, because the architect carried a digital camera everywhere he went, and used it to save his client time. The demands of a job with a global manufacturing company kept the executive constantly on the move. He had limited time, during which he and his wife could meet with their architect to discuss the remodel of their San Francisco home. Many decisions needed to be made during their meetings in order to move the project forward. The architect selected light fixtures, faucets, vanities and other architectural details from suppliers he had visited around the world. He took photos of these elements and showed them to his client on his 17-inch Apple PowerBook. He would superimpose a photo of a wall sconce on a picture (or a CAD rendering) of a wall and say, "I think this lamp would go well here, what do you think?" If the answer was yes, the sconce was added to the project, and the composite photo could be used later to ensure that the right sconce was installed in the right place by the lighting installer. The architect was using photographs to show his client something that did not yet exist. In essence, he was allowing his client to view the invisible future wall sconce.
Contractors often use photographs to do the same thing. A contractor I work with was visiting a client who had moved into their remodeled home a month earlier. The homeowner had installed built-in book- cases, and was looking for an electrical wire he could tap in order to power a light in the bookcase. Since the contractor had all of his construction images organized on the Web, he was able to use the homeowner's computer to access the images and show them exactly where the electrical power behind the bookcase was located. There was no need to cut into a finished wall (let alone the back of the built-in bookcase) looking for a wire that may or may not be there. Once again, photographs were used to view the invisible. The fact that his images were readily available on the Web, meant that he could satisfy the homeowner's request on the spot. No need to search for the photo when he got back to the office. No need to make a return trip to the client with photo in hand to answer the question about wiring. He saved himself time by accessing his images on the Web. He saved his client money by knowing where to open the wall in order to tap into the power line.
Architects and contractors aren't the only ones who benefit from easily accessible construction photos, homeowners can benefit as well. A year or so ago, I was installing a cutting-board rack on a wall in my kitchen. I was concerned what I might hit when I drilled into a wall that I knew contained water-pipes, drain-pipes and electrical wires. For esthetic reasons, the rack needed to be centered between two cabinets. I got out my stud finder to locate the studs, and sure enough, they were not anywhere near where the mounting screws for the rack needed to be. I knew that I needed molly bolts to ensure that the rack was properly mounted on the wall. I marked the location for molly bolts and drilled a small pilot hole. The drill penetrated the sheet rock and hit something solid. I was faced with three choices: I could continue installing the molly bolt and hope that I wasn't drilling into a water pipe or an electrical wire. I could look for the construction pictures that I knew I had taken to see what I had hit. Or I could abandon the project entirely. Fortunately, I knew exactly where the construction images I had taken many years ago were located. Within minutes I had the answer. The wall that I was drilling into was a shear wall. The drill had hit the plywood of the shear wall and not a water pipe. The area I was drilling into was free of pipes and wires, so I abandoned my plan to use molly bolts, and simply attached the rack to the shear wall using wood screws. Once again my photographs allowed me to view something that had been invisible not only to me, but to my stud finder.
Three properties are essential for a construction photo to be useful. It needs to be in focus and well-exposed, it must contain the subject of interest, and you must know where to find it. The first property, focus and exposure, is handled reasonably well by today's modern cameras. The other properties, composition and organization are dependent on the photographer. You can only use photographs to tell you what is behind a wall if someone took a picture of that particular wall before the sheet rock was installed and you know where to find that picture. Some contractors tell me that they can tear out a lot of sheet rock for what it would cost them to take and organize pictures of their project. That may be true during early stages of construction, when all they need to tear out is sheet rock. After adding tile, molding, paint, wallpaper or built-in cabinetry, the cost of opening holes in the walls goes up considerably. After the homeowner occupies the project, the cost of bringing in a crew to open walls, locate and fix wires or pipes, patch the walls, match the finishes and clean up after every stage can be substantial.
In future articles, I will give tips on the best techniques and equipment to use for construction images. For now, I will list 10 simple rules for taking and organizing construction photos:
1. Start with a great camera.
2. Decide what pictures you need to take.
3. Focus, focus, focus.
4. Expose your pictures properly.
5. Use a tripod instead of a flash.
6. Include markers and reference images to set the context.
7. Download and back up your images daily.
8. Organize pictures early and often.
9. Archive images for the long-term.
10. Be consistent from job to job.
March 2005 Builder Architect Edition Issue