The senior drafter who made me redo a basement plan over a door swing

I was 2 years into drafting at a small firm in Columbus when this guy with 30 years in the trade sat down next to my desk. He pointed at a basement egress door I had drawn and said the swing was wrong, it opened into the utility room instead of away from the stairs. I told him it met code and no one would care, but he made me redraw the whole floor plan over that one door. He said a drafter who ignores how a door actually feels to a homeowner in a tight stairwell is just a line robot, not a designer. I was annoyed for the rest of the day, but now 5 years later I check every swing like it's a habit. Has anyone else had an old-timer correct something small that ended up being your best rule?

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1 Comment

lucas_grant831mo ago

Door swings feel like the kind of thing nobody notices until it pokes you in the gut every single time you use it. Redrawing the whole plan sounds extreme, but maybe he was trying to teach you that details build trust with clients, even dumb ones.