5 Tips for Avoiding These Commercial Construction Remodeling Pitfalls

Many business owners are finding that remodeling their business can lead to a more efficient workspace, attract more customers and generate additional revenue. As a result, hotels, restaurants, retailers, theme parks and many other types of businesses around the country are remodeling their businesses with a fresh new appearance. And while renovating an existing business is often less costly than new construction, anything from under-estimating, short delivery timelines and inexperienced workers can cause remodeling costs to spiral out of control. Avoiding these 5 pitfalls will help ensure your commercial construction remodeling project is a big success.

1. Under-estimating construction budget

While planning an effective budget is no guarantee of success, under-estimating the budget is a recipe for disaster. There is nothing worse than running out of funds in the middle of a commercial remodel. When this happens, you will need to come up with additional cash, ask the lender for a loan or an extension, or wait until funds are available.  And if you’re a restaurant or retailer, this could mean keeping the doors closed until the remodel is complete. In addition to labor, construction costs, permitting fees and other costs, your general contractor should include at least a 10% contingency in the budget to cover any unexpected costs that may arise during the remodeling project.

2. Overly ambitious remodeling timelines

Just like improper budgeting, overly ambitious timelines can turn any remodeling project into a nightmare. Depending on the scope of the project, the general contractor will estimate the length of time required to complete each phase of the remodel such as flooring replacement, wall tear-downs, plumbing, painting and any other work required for the remodel. Naturally, business owners want to get the remodeling done as soon as possible. But some will push their GC to cut their timelines. This can cause problems when the GC cuts corners to get the job done or isn’t able to deliver in the shorter timeline.

3. Unexpected building issues

Whenever you’re undertaking a commercial remodeling project there is always the possibility that there will be unexpected issues with the building. And the older the building, the more likely there will be problems. These problems can include plumbing issues, illegal electrical wiring, mold, and termites, to name a few. Contractors that have experience remodeling in your industry and building style will plan-ahead for these types of issues. But even the best planning can result in a big hit to the contingency budget.

4. Not communicating regularly with the general contractor

When hiring a design-build commercial contractor for remodeling your business it is important to communicate regularly with your point-of-contact. Without effective communications and regular status updates, you have no way of knowing if the project is in line with your vision. Waiting until the renovation is nearly complete could make it very difficult and costly to make changes to the design if it doesn’t match your expectations.

5. Hiring an inexperienced contractor

You might like the low price, but you may not like results when using an inexperienced contractor to save money.  Whether you are remodeling a restaurant, hotel, theme park or any other type of business, choosing a commercial contractor that has a demonstrated history of success for remodeling your type of business will often yield better results. This knowledge can also help improve your design and avoid making costly mistakes. And since contractors with experience have established relationships with skilled workers, suppliers and subcontractors, they are in a much better position to deliver a higher quality product at a lower cost.