Hold for Clarification: By Others

It’s vague. It’s everywhere. And somehow… it always ends up being your problem. In this Hold for Clarification minisode, we unpack the deceptively simple phrase “by others”. It’s the ultimate scope escape hatch that turns responsibility into a guessing game. From missing anchors to design components no one carried, we dig into how two words can create massive gaps in coordination, pricing, and accountability. Leave feedback for Brian and Alex ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ LINKS: Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buildableish.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/buildableish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/Buildableish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildable-ish/⁠⁠Show Notes The phrase assumes: Everyone knows who “others” are Scope is clearly defined somewhere else Someone else is definitely handling it  In practice, it becomes: A scope dodgeball match A coordination black hole That one detail no one picked up  Takeaways: Name the responsible party Provide design criteria (loads, performance, etc) Cross-reference drawings and specifications If it matters, don’t leave it to “others”  “’By others’ is just the grown-up version of ‘not it’”   This episode is part of our Hold for Clarification series – short dives into the phrases that sound helpful but create chaos in construction documents.