Most commercial buildings start off as blank spaces with 4 white walls, and with each new tenant comes a new ‘office build out’ to make the space fit with their exact needs. This type of project generally includes a lot of back and forth between the tenant and landlord.
Build outs can include any structure, improvement or system installed within a building with the overall goal to create a space that works for a particular company’s needs. This does not include building the exterior of the building, but often includes plumbing, electrical units and other extensive interior elements.
Important Elements To Identify Before You Begin Your Office Built Out
Before starting an office build out you must identify:
- What improvements need to be made?
- Who is responsible for paying for these improvements, the landlord or the tenant?
- Who is going to do the work? Will you hire a general contractor to oversee production and keep up with timelines, budget, and overall project?
- Is anything installed up to the current tenant to remove at the time their lease ends?
What’s Your Budget?
Budgets will vary considerably for office build outs, and may have a lot to do with who’s funding the build out, the landlord or tenant? If the landlord is paying they maintain more control over decisions than the tenant, which can ultimately create some issues. If the tenant pays for the build out they have all of the control over who gets hired and what materials are used.
Sometimes the landlord pays for some costs but not others, for instance they may pay for ductwork materials but not for the actual installation. It’s important to know all of these details from the get-go. A general contractor can help ensure all ducks are in a row before actual construction begins.
The greatest determining factor to overall build out costs is what the space looks like from square one. Equally important, how much work needs to be done to transform it into the space you need? For instance, if walls are getting knocked down and electrical or plumbing elements are being added, total costs will go up.
Will You Hire A General Contractor?
With so many different elements to the overall build out your best bet is to hire a general contractor to manage the project and all of the sub contractors. After looking over your property they will know the best recommendations in regards to the best path to take, people to hire and ways to stay on budget while fulfilling your most important needs. Even something as simple as how many HVAC systems need to be installed can create issues without the guidance of a general contractor that’s already seen it all.
Avoiding The Time Crunch
Everyone goes into a project build out with a specified time frame, but it’s important not to go into a project with too tight of a time frame. When unrealistic expectations are brought into a project it puts everyone on edge and people take shortcuts just to get it done on time. In the end, the quality of the office build out suffers and you don’t get what you envisioned from the beginning. Taking a little extra time to complete a project the right way will pay you back in numerous ways.
Don’t Forget The ‘Wow Factor’ Elements
Modern offices are commonly incorporating workspace for individual “heads down” work, as well as another space for group collaboration. By adding an inspirational group think room where every wall is a writable surface you add an element that will improve workplace efficiency and creativity. In our modern world every square foot should serve more than one purpose in order to be considered a productive use of space.
What sort of elements can you incorporate into your build out that will serve multiple advantages?
The Importance Of Building Codes
All buildings must be up to local code or else your entire project could become suspended in time or hit with a bunch of fines. A general contractor helps keep you up to code every step of the way. With so many sub contractors working on one project it’s no easy feat to manage every last task and building code.
PCI offers unmatched general contractor services for interior office build outs. Let our expertise improve the efficiency and overall outcome of your project build out.