Blueprint Bluepers: Our Newest Construction Cartoons

We are truly excited to announce that we have two new construction cartoons on Blueprint Bluepers, our construction humor website.

The first one is called The Beagle Bulb, and was inspired by a very curious spec error.


Our second new cartoon is called Wet Dog, which was based on the bad placement of a scupper.

Our construction cartoons are 100% original and are based on errors actually found while performing construction drawing coordination reviews. Please visit Blueprint Bluepers for many more fun and unique construction cartoons.

Why do we create construction cartoons?

For fun! We believe that humor is not only amusing, but also a great stress reducer. Please see our main cartoon page for more info and check out our artist, Chaise Payan.

Is it OK to share Blueprint Blueper cartoons?
Yes, please do. We offer a printable version on the Blueprint Blueper website or you can link to an image in our photobucket album at http://s288.photobucket.com/albums/ll194/nigro_bucket/.

How to pronouce our company name, the Nigro Firm, Inc.

If we had a dime for every time someone saw the word "Nigro" and paused in confusion, we would be billionaires. People are nervous about how to say our name without sounding "politically incorrect." And granted, our name can be confusing. So, we decided to give you a little help.


Nigro is a southern Italian name meaning "black." Most Nigros immigrated to the US in the late 1880's, like many immigrant populations. And here is how you pronounce it:

First Syllable: Ni, is pronounced with an "i" sound like in the word "high" or "pie."
Second Syllable: gro, is pronounced exactly like "grow."

Put it all together and it is like "nigh-grow."

So, next time you see our company name or you meet us, you can skip the dramatic pause and just belt out a salutation - "Hello Nigro's, nice to meet you!"

The Nigro Firm Demystified: Why We Do What We Do

What Makes the Nigro Firm Tick?

We perform construction document coordination reviews, which may sound complicated, and it is, but it is worth it. We honesty get fulfillment from what we do and believe a good review can be a powerful tool for maintaining good relationships and preserving resources.

A typical day of work, when a project is busily being reviewed for coordination errors, is a good day! Having the opportunity to really help this world be a better place is tremendously rewarding. Knowing that we can help prevent the waste of time, money, energy and materials, while preserving valued relationships and providing peace of mind, is the best reward for our work that we can imagine! It makes it fun to get up in the morning and leap into work! We have enjoyed 17 years of these types of good days!

Most people who use our services (construction document coordination reviews) hear about us by word of mouth from an associate, friend, boss, etc. And this is one of the best ways to find folks to work with. However, word of mouth can be a slow form of communication and since we believe in the value of our service so much, we have been trying to think of ways to spread the word faster and to more people. So, the Nigro Firm hosts three distinct web sites, authors a blog, and mails out a bi-monthly newsletter to try to help people understand what we do, who we are, and why we do what we do. Please tell everyone you know about the work we do, so together we can change how construction documents are presented, and together we can reduce tremendous waste and build smarter.

Our cohesive review team works hard to meet the challenges of performing coordination reviews. We are motivated by creativity, opportunity, and progress… and we work with integrity, enthusiasm, efficiency, insight and perspective. Our goal is to enrich and improve ourselves, our clients, and our world through the pursuit of excellence!

Integrity

Passion

Knowledge

We really believe this stuff… it’s not just lip service. Find out for yourself. Give the Nigro Firm a call. Try us out, send us a sample project, we will look over it for free, just so you can get an idea of how valuable a coordination review can be.

Featured Construction Projects: Irvine Apartment Company, North Park

Small Town Meets Big City, Planned Urban Villages

Cozy villages with a quick commute? Yes, trendy villages and apartment communities are sprouting up in many choice California locations to provide residents get-to-know-you type intimate communities with convenient access to everything “the big city” has to offer.

The Irvine Apartment Company has been providing California residences with high quality apartment communities for many years and make certain they work with the best from the construction drawings to the last brick laid around the community fire place.

The Irvine Apartment Company Ensures a Quick Build Time

The Irvine Apartment Company knows what Silicon Valley renters want in apartment community living — high quality, high-tech living at just the right price. The Nigro Firm commends the Irvine Apartment Company for choosing to commission a construction document coordination review for many of its’ projects including various North Park projects (The Laurels, The Redwoods and the Sycamores) and more recently two buildings at The Park at Spectrum.

A High-Tech Village with Coffee!

North Park in San Jose has everything Silicon Valley residents could want, including a five acre park and a Starbucks! Of course, since North Park is in the Silicon Valley, they also include the technology that residents demand such as high-speed internet, in-home alarm systems, internet cafes, multi-media conference rooms, Wi-Fi access in community spaces and cardio theatres.

Village and Urban Community Trend

Communities like North Park are becoming increasing popular with renters and buyers, since they offer a close community or village type atmosphere, which is generally almost impossible to find in a large city. They offer more than a subdivision; they are more like an autonomous community that may include amenities like community gardens, daycares, gyms, retail shops, dry cleaners, markets, sports clubs and even wine tasting. Apartment communities like The Village at Irvine Spectrum Center also include abundant community space where residents can get together and get to know each other, like pools and wading areas, BBQ pits and grills, demonstration kitchens, banquet facilities, yoga and dance studios, and media rooms with big screens and surround sound.

Most new villages also offer a variety of housing choices from small one bedroom units to “estate homes,” which may include up to three bedrooms and a family room. This range of home choices supports a diverse community, from seniors to singles to families, much like a “real” village.

It Takes a Village

Not only does it take a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to raise a high-quality apartment community. A design/construction village of forward thinking architects, motivated developers, top notch builders, and construction document reviewers like the Nigro Firm to help provide the most clean and buildable drawings possible.

To learn more about the Irvine Apartment Company, click here.

Explore North Park Apartment Village in Silicon Valley, click here.

Discover The Village at Irvine Spectrum Center, click here.

To see more projects that the Nigro Firm has reviewed, click here.

Impact of a Construction Drawing Coordination Error

An ounce of coordination error prevention is worth a ton of the cure.

One coordination error, two or three… that would be walk in the park…we usually find hundreds…Here is the story of one, a particularly troublesome one.

As you know, construction drawing coordination errors, whether seemingly minute, manageable or indefinably gigantic, can have quite an impact on your life. If errors are not caught on paper before ground breaking and material delivery, you may notice a few things: costs skyrocket, delays paralyze your crew, tensions rise, inboxes overflow, tempers flare, your cell phone rings every five seconds, and you just might begin to forget what your family looks like.

Maybe you have already been there, but if not, an example may help explain how this can happen.


Recently, we found an alarming coordination error that involved a large number of doors and windows that would not fit into the openings designed for them! Luckily, we found this chaos inducing error on paper - imagine the mess it would create if it were not discovered until the windows and doors were delivered and the exterior walls were built.

As you know, material procurement for commercial projects is not as simple as waltzing down to your local Home Depot… and if the size is wrong you cannot return to the store for an easy exchange. In many cases, the doors and windows are custom made and finished (wood/metal types, glazing types, etc.) and cannot be returned. To make matters worse, the days, weeks, or even months for costly replacement doors and windows to be built and delivered can cause some real problems… you can’t secure the building easily without doors and windows, right?

Or even worse… what if the openings have to be reframed? Sometimes you cannot change the size of the doors or windows due to egress codes or other requirements. Reframing can be a major (and expensive) hassle and may involve a ton of rework that most people would be willing to give their right arm to avoid. And remember, we are not talking about a few windows — we are talking about hundreds!

To top it all off, this rework and/or re-ordering is done at “non-competitive,” “non-bulk,” “non-discount” rates. Regrettably, it can become quite painful. Needless to say, we were happy to be able to help those involved with this project steer clear of this potential fiasco.

How do you avoid this predicament?

Has something like this ever happened to you? Well… don’t let it happen again! To avoid these potential nightmares and gain peace of mind, a simple coordination review by the Nigro Firm is the perfect solution.

For other examples of coordination errors click here.