AWCI’s Excellence in Construction Quality Award honors the AWCI member contractor(s), manufacturers and suppliers who participate in a quality construction project.
The Grand Del Mar
San Diego, California
Brady Company/San Diego believed they were worthy of AWCI’s Excellence in Construction Quality Award because of their focus on teamwork, safety, productivity and quality—and the judges believed they were right. Because of Brady’s dedicated, loyal and extremely hard-working team, they were able to accomplish visionary developer and San Diego legend Douglas (Papa Doug) Manchester’s dream of creating a golf destination resort to rival Augusta National in Atlanta. The Grand Gold Club, his highly acclaimed Fazio designed golf course and resort, accomplished this dream. As a result, Brady was part of building a masterpiece in San Diego that guests can enjoy by indulging themselves in luxury.
The Grand Del Mar has a Mediterranean style architecture and design, complete with white Carrera and dark Rossa Verona marble and specialty wood finishes throughout. The resort features 218 guest rooms and 31 special suites, six dining venues and 20,000 square feet of ballroom, chapel, salon and specialty shops. The recreational facilities include four heated swimming pools and a 21,000 square foot luxuriously appointed spa.
When Brady Company was selected for this $25 million-plus contract to be completed in 12 months, “Our team knew we needed a gold medal effort,” says Scott Brady, president and owner of Brady Company/San Diego.
Senior Project Manager Joe Triolo, who has been with the company for 24 years, planned and coordinated their trades to run smoothly with the other contractors. He describes the critical path areas starting with the project access: “This 24-acre project-site was located in the middle of an operational 18 hole golf course, the site was within an exclusive gated community, the club house was being remodeled, eight hospitality villas were being constructed simultaneously, and there was a single ingress and egress.”
Scheduling of all deliveries and heavy equipment arrivals was very important and a full-time job. Site access was a never-ending challenge overcome by teamwork and cooperation of all.
The structural/fire-rated design of the public area roof assembly required a team collaboration. An interpretation and solution was necessary that would incorporate specified components while still satisfying the UL design criteria, avoiding a delay by precise scheduling and hard work.
Due to the lavish five-star design of this project, attention to detail was always a top priority. Through the entire construction process, the design was evolving and being polished, creating the need for overtime. More than eight months of effort was put into selecting and finalizing the approval of the exterior plaster color. As designer Warren Sheets describes, “A squirt of raw sienna against a couple of squirts of burnt sienna, dollop of Venetian red, and a drop or two of raw umber got us there.” Many attempts at color matching, trying a variety of stucco products and developing plaster mock-ups took place before the final approved system was selected.
The mechanical, electrical, plumbing, architectural and interior design phases were coordinated closely with the closing up of walls and ceilings. There was plenty of pressure on the drywall, plaster and other finishing crews.
There is a large quantity of standard and elliptical arches, a few domes, an intricate groin vaulted hallway and an imaginative variety of soffit and ceiling details. Brady Company performed large amounts of highly detailed work in short periods of time. Brady used overtime throughout the project for his company and the other contractors to ensure timeliness.
Extended lead times on the state-of-the-art energy-saving spa and pool equipment caused this bunker area (surrounded by E & D wings) to become nearly four months behind schedule and as a result, there were large portions of unfinished work that had to be accelerated—overtime again became a necessity to get the job completed.
Brady’s final challenge came late in the project when they agreed to extend their work to complete the plaster finish on the ancillary buildings and site walls, which were not in their original contract. This caused numerous changes in scheduling, parking and overall completion of Brady’s original scope.
Brady Company performed the $25 million-plus contract worth of work in 14 months, with manpower peaking at nearly 300. A team of Brady’s most senior and talented leaders was assembled to perform the complex and high quality project. Through creativity, innovation and teamwork, Brady delivered a winning performance in completing this challenging project. Through an effort of constant communication between office and field staff, the Brady got the job done and maintained a strong, lasting relationship with their client, Papa Doug Manchester.
Participating AWCI Member Manufacturers & Suppliers
Architectural Foam Supply, Inc.
Armstrong Ceiling Systems
Brady Construction Innovations, Inc.
ClarkWestern Building Systems
Clinch-On Cornerbead Company
Dietrich Metal Framing
Georgia-Pacific
Grabber San Diego
James Hardie Building Products, Inc.
Hilti, Inc.
Larsen Products Corporation
National Gypsum Company
Niles Building Products Co.
Radius Track Corp.
Senergy (BASF Wall Systems)
Stockton Products
USG
Williams Brothers Corp. of America
