# LDD-23 · Build Rules + Constraint Discipline

> **Status:** 🟢 LOCKED.

## One-line intent

A repeatable system, not custom architecture — protect primary spaces, simplify everything, document everything.

## Why this matters

This is the doc set's meta-LDD: how the rest of the LDDs should be applied during construction. Without this discipline, every decision becomes a one-off conversation between owner, architect, and trades — and the design intent drifts.

## Locked decisions

**Constraint discipline framework**

Everything must justify itself through:

- Function
- Experience
- Operations

**Failure conditions** — reject if:

- Aesthetic-only
- Complex without benefit
- Not scalable

**Priority order**

1. Operations
2. Experience
3. Construction
4. Aesthetics

**Final rule**

If it doesn't earn its place, it doesn't exist.

**Build rules**

- Protect primary spaces
- Simplify everything
- Document everything
- Straight installs
- No improvisation
- **Photo verification required**

## Open items / requires engineer review

- **Documentation system** — where do photos live? Shared drive, GitHub, dedicated build management software (Procore, BuildBook)? Pick one before construction.
- **Decision log** — every field change, RFI, and substitution should land in one record. Define the system.
- **Inspection cadence** — owner walks? Weekly? Per-trade?
- **Quality gates** — pre-pour walk + photo set; pre-drywall walk + photo set; pre-finish walk + photo set. Lock cadence.
- **Punch list strategy** — by trade vs by zone?

## Cross-references

- → All other LDDs — this LDD is the meta-rule applied to everything else.

## Cost drivers

The constraint discipline is mostly **labor and time**, not material:

- **Documentation overhead**: 3–5% on owner-rep time during construction. For a 12-month build at $4–6K/mo owner-rep time = **$15–30K**.
- **Photo verification system** (camera, drone, cloud storage): $1–3K.
- **Decision log software**: $0–2K (Procore is expensive; a simple shared Notion or Google Doc is free).
- **Quality gate walks + punch labor**: ~$8–15K across the build, depending on inspector or owner-rep involvement.

**Likely-case rollup: $20–50K for project management discipline overhead**, baked into the $130K permits/GC line.

## Air-gap concerns

1. **The hardest LDD to enforce is this one.** It only works if the owner (you / your friend / Peter the builder) actually says "no" when a trade improvises something during construction. The temptation to say "good enough" is constant. The Photo Verification Required rule is your weapon — if it can't be photographed and documented, it's not done.
2. **"Operations" as #1 priority is the right call.** Most custom builds put Experience or Aesthetics first; the cost shows up in years 5–15 when operational pain compounds. This priority order is a 30-year-thinking commitment.
3. **Field-improvisation pressure is highest during HVAC and electrical rough-in.** These trades are accustomed to "we'll figure it out in the field." The exposed-ceiling philosophy (LDD-12) and conduit routing rules (LDD-09) are most likely to be violated unless inspected daily during rough.
4. **Documentation pays back during ownership.** Photo + tubing map + manifold label + zone documentation = year-15 maintenance is straightforward. Skipping it = year-15 forensic work behind drywall.
5. **No mention of construction sequencing.** The constraint discipline names the rules but not the order of operations. A build of this complexity benefits from a Gantt that explicitly sequences the slab pour → radiant → flooring → spine wall threshold dependency chain.

## Diagram

(no dedicated SVG — this LDD is meta.)

## Status

🟢 **Green — the rules are right.** Pick documentation system + owner-rep cadence before ground breaks.