Steve Werney generated a construction quote for our neighborhood recreation center's grant application this summer. We feel extremely lucky to have worked with someone who knows so much about construction but has the patience to explain what will and won't work to those of us who don't.
Steve offered his free expertise, knowing that we had no control over choosing a final contractor should the grant come through. I expected to be on his backburner as a result. Instead, he made himself available at my earliest convenience.
At the center, he patiently walked with me from one end to the other as I tried to articulate the often-conflicting desires of park department staff and a handful of interested neighbors. We worked off a plan put together by a designer, but it lacked specific details like measurements that would have helped a contractor come up with numbers.
He looked at our budget and was immediately able to identify portions of our project we would not be able to afford. He offered alternative options to stretch our money: recommending we demolish less concrete than we'd thought we'd need, for example. He was honest about what he did not know. (We had considered adding a "living roof.") His practical advice was easy to understand, and not once did I feel like he wanted to leave early.
Over subsequent days, I sent him at least three sets of changes, all of which he absorbed. He gave me advice on prioritizing portions of the project and walked me through a way to mark up the design in a understandable way.
Steve returned a detailed quote when promised. This being a collaborative project, there were more changes, and he made those on the quote, too. Thanks to his reckoning, we were able to turn in a grant application based on realistic numbers instead of dreams. read more
