Is On-Site Graffiti Destined to Become a Lost Art?

When you walk homes under construction in any given production builder’s community, there is one aspect of the builder and trades’ communication process that often goes unnoticed… and perhaps doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

It’s that shorthand language that naturally evolves between the site supervisor and trades in the field. It is used to illustrate and reinforce certain construction expectations, to highlight the details of installation, or identify fixes that are needed. This language is usually crafted with the aid of a paint spray can or an over-sized permanent magic marker. The situational canvas for this jobsite graffiti includes almost any building material within the home that is ultimately destined to be covered up – the slab, foundation walls, framing, sheathing or housewrap, and even the plumbing or ductwork.

The benefit of this form of construction communication has been institutionalized by some builders through the creation of standardized language abbreviations with easy-to-use spray paint templates. For others, it remains a simple and spontaneous art form that is often designed to overcome language barriers and features distinctly individual builder and community practices. This highly intuitive and extremely common in-the-field practice has a long history of being woven within the typical everyday construction process, dating back generations.

However, is this destined to become a lost art? As we look to the near future, we see the advancement of better construction quality management practices within the homebuilding industry and the emerging use of digital technology and AI technologies such as camera- or image-based object detection, LiDAR-based object detection, and speech-to-text reporting of on-site issues.

With the implementation of this new technology upon us, and even further developments on the horizon, it is easy to imagine that the days of the spray can and marker are numbered. But even with technology in our back pocket – literally – we may want to make sure that we keep at least one can of spray paint around, and maybe a few of those fat magic markers, as these traditional, spontaneous communication techniques will always have a place as a valuable, humanistic part of the process.