“Let’s mock it up” is a catchphrase often used at Jackson Andrews Building + Design (JABD), where I work as a project manager. That’s because we’ve found that it’s easier for clients to understand a building detail or a final product by looking at a full-scale mock-up than by trying to decipher an architectural drawing. The problem we kept facing is that, without this visual aid, our clients often lacked confidence in their decisions and final selections.
We were first prompted to use this approach during a site meeting for one of JABD’s first renovations, when a client looking at the drawings for interior columns and archways was having difficulty picturing what the architect had envisioned. This left us with two choices. The first was to explain to the client that we were at a standstill until she could decide what she wanted to do; unfortunately, if she didn’t like it afterwards, we could redo it but would have to charge a fee. Our second option was to grab some scrap material and quickly assemble half of the column, which would allow us to show her what the dimensions and profile would be in full scale. We knew the costs involved to do this were minimal, while the clarity it would provide our client would potentially save more time in the end. This approach would also give the client reassurance that she wasn’t committing to a building detail she might not like and potentially would have to pay an additional amount to redo.
It worked like a charm. The client felt confident with the design and knew exactly what the finished product would be; the carpenter knew that—as long as he followed the mock-up—he would only have to do it once; and JABD now had a hard sample that all involved—contractor, carpenter, and client—were accountable to.
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