There are many questions one should find answers to before starting a building renovation project:
- What’s the objective of renovating the interior space or building?
- Why now?
- How will it be beneficial for the client?
- What is the pain point of the client?
- Who will occupy this commercial space?
- How will this space be utilized?
- How should the property’s value be maximized with the minimum amount of capital investment?
- What are all the economic and physical obstacles to overcome?
When all such questions are properly analyzed, only then you can create a prosperous project for the client and move forward to finding a renovation partner for your commercial building. A renovation partner is commonly known as a general contractor or a retail contractor. There are many construction companies that also hold expertise in building renovation. In renovating a building, complete responsibility is borne by the contractor. Thus, it becomes necessary that few things should be considered while selecting your building renovation partner. The below-mentioned discussion includes some things one should consider prior to selecting a building renovation partner.
· Proper Communication
A good construction management company is one that properly discusses all the aspects of a renovation project with its clients. The building renovation contractor should intently listen to the clients and the contractor’s aim should be clear so as to understand the needs of the client. In the absence of any clarity, it will become very hard for the renovation contractor to fulfill and exceed the expectations of the client.
· Experience
Renovation of a building means enhancing the looks and design of an existing building. This work can’t be performed by any new contractor and an expert contractor should be hired for the renovation work. You should hire a contractor who has gained experience by helping different clients in the previous years. An experienced contractor will bring extra depth to the approach by usually anticipating the client’s needs before being realized by them.
· Transparency
One thing you should understand is that every construction company is created in a similar manner. The difference is because of transparency and it plays an important role at the time of evaluating the costs and obtaining the essential comfort level together with the contractor. In case you get an exceptionally lower bid, ask the reason for it because the construction companies offering lower bid might be specifying finishes of inferior quality. A wide cost variance often indicates that every bidder is understanding the capacity of work in a different manner. If the document provided to the potential building renovation partner is unclear or leaves room for clarification, then you will most likely receive an incorrect response.
· Precise Understanding
It is the duty of the renovation contractor or construction company to meet you personally and clarify all your doubts by asking you questions. This will help the contractor to precisely understand the requirements of the project and the costs will be estimated in the most accurate way. If you are unaware of the specifics, don’t hesitate to ask for suggestions; else, you will fail to differentiate between an acoustical ceiling tile of $1 and a ceiling tile of $5. The simple analogy you can use to understand this is consider two different grocery bags weighing 5 pounds each. One might contain a filet mignon and another, a flour-bag of 5 pounds. While the weight and size of both the grocery bags might be the same, the quality and content are clearly distinct when a bit deeper is dug.
· Educated Decisions
Most of the renovation projects have a long wish list. No doubt your wish list may also be lengthy – surely for the good reasons. The reason for such a long wish list is that some renovation projects have cultural impacts, some have regional impacts and some even have a multi-generational impact. These wish lists are mostly based on emotional viewpoints and lack the understanding of the construction process. This is when your building renovation partner should provide you proper education and knowledge about some of your irrational wishes. Your contractor should make you aware of the costs of doing the renovation work. A better contractor will start by asking you whether your wishes are needs or just wants. When this thing is clear, your project will move to the next phase.
Some examples of educated decisions are as follows:
- If a highly priced HVAC system saves energy costs in the long run, then it will be a much better option in comparison to a cheaper one.
- To add stamina and value, a vinyl floor looking like tile and having a warranty of 25 years will be a better option.
- On the hood of a commercial kitchen, a sensor (on/off) will be a better safety investment.
· Ask Questions
You should not be satisfied with just a few qualities of a renovation contractor. Your commercial building will be renovated to meet the expectations of the clients and tenants, so you should ask your contractor different types of questions until you are completely satisfied. There are many questions to ask, including the following:
- Does your estimate contain every bit of detail? If not, what have you not included yet?
- How much do you usually charge for renovating a building like this?
- How much do you usually charge for renovating a building with materials of the same quality?
- Do you have any value engineering recommendations that will help in saving money?
- Based on your design, what are the problems/issues you foresee?
- What maintenance cost could be anticipated because of the selected finishes, materials, appliances and HVAC systems?
- How much experience do your subcontractors hold in handling similar kind of projects?
- Will it be possible to meet everyone appointed to handle this project?
There are many other questions to ask, but these are some of the mandatory questions you should ask to make the renovation of your commercial building a success. If the above-discussed points are considered, you will surely get help in selecting a contractor or construction company for the renovation of your commercial building.
