Scoville & Associates, Inc. provides construction expert-related services to attorneys, businesses, and private individuals to support their efforts to resolve disputes.
Knowledge And Abilities That You Should Expect From Your Construction Expert
1.) Focus:
Not trying to be an attorney. Sticking to the contracted assignment. Impartially identifying the relevant facts and letting the attorneys apply them to the law. Highlighting the irrelevant early on so effort is not wasted on it.
2.) Common Sense:
People are more interested in the practical than the technical. As presented, if it does not make sense, there is a problem.
3.) Critical Thinking:
Determining the priorities. Figuring out, in detail, what happened versus what should have happened where, and why. This includes construction defects and failures.
4.) Communication:
Explaining what happened versus what should have, clearly, and in simple language, text, and graphics.
5.) Experience:
Knowing the overall process of design and construction, the secondary processes, and parallel processes. This includes accounting and cost estimating.
6.) Who does what?
Understanding the roles and responsibilities that each participant fulfills and carries under customary circumstances versus this project.
7.) Detail Orientation:
Careful analysis of the integration, completeness, and accuracy of communications, building documents (plans and specs.), codes, local ordinances, design criteria, and required project records.
8.) Detail Orientation: Written agreements
For contract documents: design and general contracts, change orders, subcontracts, materials purchase orders, shop drawings, other submittals and required testing reports.
9.) Accounting:
should have gone.
10.) Use of Time:
Evaluation of planning and scheduling (critical path activities), and their communication to those involved.
11.) History:
Recording and clearly documenting, current conditions and related pre-construction conditions and records.
12.) Understanding A to B to C:
13.) Teaching Skills:
Helping people to understand unfamiliar information is perhaps the most important skill of all.
Primary Areas of Expertise
Project design and construction management
Healthcare design and construction
Multifamily projects
High end and monumental residences
Residential renovations
Water intrusion
Construction defects
Life safety system integration
Secondary Areas of Expertise
Geothermal HVAC Systems
Codes And Related Statutes
Permitting, Both Building And Zoning
Roof And Flashing Issues
Weather Caused Damage
Services And Deliverables I Provide In Completing My Assignments
Up Front Claim Reviews
Photographic Records
Written Reports
Graphic Presentation Of Information
On Site Tours
Depositions
Testimony
My hands on construction skills that add depth and perspective to my construction expertise are:
Concrete
Carpentry
Interior Finish Systems
Doors and Hardware
Windows
Plumbing
Electrical
Comments From Clients
We had a long running problem with cracks forming in the ceiling of our house. After others tried and failed to fix the problem, Steve Scoville quickly showed us exactly what was causing the problem in our house and explained exactly what needed to be done to fix it. Because he took the time to explain the engineering behind the problem, I felt like we understood exactly what was happening and why it was happening. Mr. Scoville also provided us with a comprehensive budget and then stuck to it. Even though the project took several days, he was always very careful to minimize disruption to our family and clean up after himself. Best of all, his fix worked. We are very pleased with his work and are sure he would be successful in whatever work he undertakes.
I hired Mr. Scoville as an expert witness for an ongoing litigation case involving damage to my property caused by a developer in Circuit Court for Davidson County. Mr. Scoville has been an excellent consultant on the matter, with his years of experience in the field proving to be invaluable to my case. He is prompt, professional and extremely thorough. I would highly recommend Mr. Scoville as an expert witness in any case involving construction projects.
He is an excellent construction advisor who was very helpful to me in a recent successful remediation of a university student housing deal. My company has used him numerous times when faced with facility, construction and capital expenditure issues in projects financed by our insured bonds. In my student housing workout Steve came in to assess and make recommendations about structural problems with sagging floors and weakened braces in a number of buildings which needed to be fixed for student safety and in order to reopen rooms, improve cash flow and to bring the buildings into compliance for sale to an investing group. Steve has a wide range of contacts in the industry and in combination with his attention to detail and cost was able to put together an extremely cost-effective solution. After assessing the damaged buildings, he discussed them with an engineer who drew up plans to correct the structural flaws, discussed solutions with the housing project’s management company, developed an RFP for local contractors; personally interviewed, negotiated contracts and managed local contractors to undertake the work (at a fraction of estimates provided by large national construction and management companies) and was extremely responsive to my company’s concerns. His services are reasonably priced and he was a pleasure to work with.
Associate Clinical Professor of Law Housing Law Clinic Vanderbilt University Law School
WHAT WE DO
We Love to Hear From You
Contact!
Email:
Steve@ScovilleandAssociates.com
Call:
615-476-4933