Punch list math finally clicked after a framing walkthrough in Phoenix

I tagged along with a senior PM on a punch walk for a 40-unit townhome build and noticed he logged defects by dollar impact, not just severity. Turns out a $300 drywall fix can block a $12,000 closeout payment longer than a $4,000 HVAC issue that's already contracted. Has anyone else started sorting their punch lists by cost-to-close instead of just marking things as major or minor?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

thea_carter5d ago

Man, talk about a lightbulb moment that took me way too long to see. My first few months on the job I was basically just walking around slapping red stickers on anything that looked crooked, feeling like a hero. Then I found out the electrician had already agreed to fix his stuff in writing, but that tiny bathroom tile issue with no one assigned to it was the actual project killer. Cost-to-close is the whole game now, and honestly it makes me feel real dumb for ever thinking major was just about how bad it looked. Still, gotta admit, sorting by dollars feels way more grown-up than my old method of guessing how mad the client would get.

3