Those in the Chats know I've been working on making a new community center. This job has sputtered along for over six months, and has involved all manner of inspections, committees, reviews, etc. Well, we're at the end stage - and boy, did I drop the ball!
The short version: I failed to review the trim details, and did not allow for (among other things) the 12" wide trim around the doors in setting my boxes. The result? Lots of major re-work.

Bad news: This is a long post.
Good news: There are lots of pics.

Bad news: Stuff I've been doing forever wasn't good enough.
Good news: I learned something.

I'll start with a light switch. Here is is, after the trim was installed:




Note that the trim is flush with the wainscotting. An attempt to camouflage this goof ALMOST worked:





The exit signs were another problem area. First, my hole before the trim went up:




Once the trim went up, you can see the problem (paint spray makes it hard to see the line):




This pic shows the solution ... a large backing plate behind the signs (forgive the poor picture quality):





Finally, I had to re-hang the bathroom lights. Rather than using the usual 4" box with mud ring, I was forced to use 1/2" "pancake" boxes and some MC to deal with the framing, etc. The fixture - as seen in this "before" pic - allowed absolutely no 'wiggle room' for an off center box:



Once again, the prints did show the fixture centered over the sink.

Yikes! That reminds me of myself. I never read the assembly instructions for anything (those are for lightweights). If I added up the countless hours that I've spent doing things over again, I could write a book.

I also never stop and ask for directions. My wife loves that one.

I had a similar experience only it wasn't my fault but because I called the forman and lead hand on their "mistake", I got the job of fixing the mistake. ( the mistake being they moved the location of a receptacle and cable jack without approval and without checking the details of the prints.)

To make a long story short, receptacles and cable outlets do not work well when located in the space a sliding wooden door is going to occupy when said door is open, especially when something is plugged in!

A.D

I spend too much time checking architectural drawings for thickness of wall board, width of trim, height of shelves, width of horizontal slats and starting elevation, mirrors, murals, walls that don't reach the ceiling, walls that don't reach the floor (it's true), width of cabinets, etc. I still get it wrong, but I'm getting better at fixing it.

You have my sympathy.

swap out that ivory 3way with a white one

Sorry, H ... Ivory was specified.

I've learned the hard way to, as I'm nailing up my first switch box to the king stud at the door holler to the GC "Say, your not using big trim are you?"

I've failed to properly visualize tile backslashes with embarrassing results too.

There have been several switches on the wrong side of the door though only one of them I will claim as my own.

Switch on the wrong side of the door is an ancient problem... renovating our 1914 place we found the original installers placed all three bedroom / living room switches on the wrong side of the door... and come on, if you have a door in one corner of a room, how likely is it the hinges will face the room instead of the corner? They _always_ put the switch in the corner...

I always seem to land water heater circ pump receptacles
directly behind the heater, or obstructed by some major duct
or pipe. Without fail....

I spent a few days moving boxes on a job. The "designer" (read:idiot) decided it would look nice to have 8" trim and casings around the doors. Did I mention that he did this after the job was in finish?

"Designer"? Ohhh you mean "DECICRATOR"!!!( I think that is how it is spelled).
A.D

My former employer had a GC/realtor who would bend over backwards to make a sale.

More than once we arrived at finish to find a completly redesigned kitchen. Of course we were never told.

Said employers standard technique in these cases was to destroy the drywall and add a huge change order.

Sorry if I am late on this but it points out a problem my wife always complained about in the house building biz. Why do trades try to patch around a problem and not just tell someone the first time they see it?

Her classic example was a house she was walking for another super.
The original problem was a truss misplaced, it left a 2x4 sticking out in a corner. The drywaller drywalled around this protrusion, the trim carpenter did a beautiful job of boxing it with crown and the painters painted it. Nobody said "what is this board doing here? None of the other 100 houses we built had it". Something that might have been a 30 second problem became a major repair because nobody said anything. If these trimmers or drywall guys had pointed out your box placements were a problem the fix would have been easy.
She even went as far as to reward people who pointed out a problem that was not in their trade.

My wife used to paint all the door swings on the floor at framing time along with the placements of ceiling fans, TV/phone outlets, "carpet or tile?" and anything else that would help the trades that came along after that. She said it also helped the customer visualize what they were looking at on the pre-drywall walk.
A lot of problems were avoided

Reminds me of a job we did with my old EC. The woodworker changed the dimensions of the custom cabinets without informing the GC (I forget if the customer changed them or if this was simply a goof).

We had installed a box for the over sink sconce for "X" centerline, and while the cabinets were being placed discovered that "X" was now +/- 7" out of line.

Yes, we can change the box location.

No, it was installed according to the original prints.

Yes, this does constitute a "change".... sign here please.

Just finished one the other day, small cabin in the woods, drawn with a 6 foot vanity in a corner of the bath room. I installed the light fixture box 3 feet out of this corner, on center with the vanity. Fast forward to the trim out, the light and GFCI are off center!! I inquired with the GC(home owner) and was informed that she had decided to shorten the vanity to 4 feet, " is it going to be a problem?" she asked. My reply was no problem just sign this change order, and call the sheet rockers to fix the hole. Gotta love those GC home owners!