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Just realized my boss was right about BIM model LOD 300 vs 350
He told me six months ago that I was wasting time modeling every single conduit run at LOD 350 before the structural was even locked in. I argued it saved rework later. After two change orders on a medical office in Austin that cost us 12 grand in re-modeling, I finally see his point. Now I stop at LOD 300 until the slab is poured. Anyone else get burned by modeling too deep too early?
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eva_thompson17h ago
Funny how everyone's got a "brick wall" story about going deep too early but those clash detection wins BEFORE concrete gets poured save WAY more than they cost. Ray's got a point about locking in a frozen grid - if you're waiting till slab pour to start detailing, you're playing catch-up instead of steering the ship.
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jana_hart183d ago
Starting modeling the MEP at LOD 350 before we even had final wall layouts on a hospital job last year. Had to redo half the plumbing and nearly all the ductwork when the structural grid shifted. Boss wasn't happy and neither was my weekend. Now I stick to LOD 300 for coordination until the concrete is at least 90% of the way there, then bump up the detail once the major trades are locked in. It saves a ton of headache and change order paperwork.
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ray_miller843d ago
Oh come on, that's way too cautious. You're wasting time holding back when you could be getting ahead of problems. LOD 350 early is exactly how you catch those structural shifts before concrete is even poured. If you wait until 90% concrete is done, you've already lost the chance to influence the structure. Half the value of BIM is running clash detection and feeding that back to the architect and structural engineer while they can still make changes cheap. Your weekend got wrecked because you modeled off bad info, not because of the LOD level. Next time lock in a frozen structural grid agreement with the team before you dive in. That saves more weekends than playing it safe with LOD 300.
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