What to consider when doing construction work to your business property
Doing any type of construction work to your business property is no easy feat. There’s a lot of things that need thinking about and considering before you go ahead and then when you do, there are plenty of things to do in order for it to go to plan.
If you’re looking at doing some construction work to your business premises then here’s what needs considering before you get started and a few tips for the process once it starts.
Set yourself a budget
Firstly a budget needs considering. For any sized project on your building, you’ll need to factor in everything when it comes to spending. It can be hard to predict how much everything is going to cost right down to the last penny, however, it’s worth making an estimation. This will help avoid any nasty surprises when you’re quoted more than what you expected in the first place. When setting a budget, think about everything you’ll need for the project. Will you have to move everything into storage and will you need to hire a temporary space for your staff to work?
The design and expectations you have for the work might need totalling up and certain materials could cost more than others. When it comes to budgeting, it’s always best to over budget because that way, you’re covering your company’s back should anything be more expensive. You should also cater for when things go wrong or when delays occur, which might mean that you have to fork out more money. Therefore an emergency fund may need to be set up in the event that that happens.
Make sure you have insurance
Having insurance is certainly important because it’s something that’s legally needed and if you don’t get the right insurance from what you have on your existing building to the construction staff working on the project, your company will be the one to face the fallout from anything that goes wrong.
Construction insurance is a must, and it’s worth doing your research to find which one is the best for you. You want to have the exact plan of the work that’s going to be done so that you can talk this through with the insurance providers and that will then give you an accurate quote for what needs covering. Getting insurance will bring great peace of mind to you and your organisation should the worst happen. Insurance is there to protect the company, and you’ll certainly appreciate it if it’s ever needed. Sure, the cost to pay for it might be high, but it’s better than what it would cost without it.
Check in with your neighbours beforehand
Whenever you do work on your own property, you’re most likely going to want to check in with your neighbours beforehand. Especially if it’s work that’s going to affect their daily routine or their view from the property. The same goes for your construction work on the business premises. Even if it’s something that’s not going to block any viewpoints or alter the view of your neighbours in any way, it’s good to inform them of the work being done.
Ensure that you’ve covered all businesses around your area that would be affected by the noise levels, any construction workers that will need access to the roads and pavements surrounding your building. It’s always a good idea to send this via letter and preferably with the proper letterhead of your company so that they know where it’s coming from. If there are any disputes, then this is something that you can raise and pursue with your lawyers. The neighbours around you are going to be more likely to agree if you’ve told them prior to doing the work than you not telling them and them finding out whilst you’re constructing.
Getting the right builders for the job
There are plenty of construction workers out there and builders who are likely to have a wealth of experience. But littered amongst these, tends to be those who are slightly haphazard in their work and might not be the best option for your construction requirements.
Word of mouth is usually a good way to find the best workers. Ask around other businesses who may have recently had construction work done to find out who they used and whether they’d re-use them. When looking yourself, be sure to check out their reputation within the building industry and read up on reviews and take a look at their previous portfolio. This will provide you with an idea of whether they are worth using or not. Try not to rush this part of the process as you want to find someone who matches up to your expectations. If you don’t and it’s a botched job, then you’ll be disappointed and worse off in the financial department.
Know what you want for the construction work
While looking for the builders, you want to know what you want out of this construction work. Whether it’s been decided on by the operations team or the heads of department, there needs to be a mutual understanding of what’s required and the expectations you’ll have in regards to the overall result. Note all this down before you go looking for designers and construction workers.
Get more than just the one input when it comes to generating a list of requirements and be sure to discuss it in-depth with the potential builders and designers you work with. You want to make sure that they’ll be able to provide you with what you need.
You’ll want to compare quotes
Once you’ve found a selection of builders and designers, the next thing you’ll want to consider getting are a range of quotes for the work to be done. They don’t need to know that you’re also getting them from several other companies, but it all ends up being beneficial for you if you fancy trying to haggle the cost of the work down.
Once you’ve got a price and picked the company in question, it’s time to draw up a written contract. This should be something that’s provided by both the company you’re working with, and one should also be provided by your company. This can usually be done by your lawyers and should also be in partnership with the construction insurance that you have.
Is temporary office space needed for staff?
One thing that tends to get forgotten about with construction work is what the situation will be for your staff members. Will the building still be functional to work in or will you have to find a temporary space? Fortunately, there are a few options to choose from when it comes to providing alternative ways of working.
Firstly, there’s paying for shared office spaces, which you can usually book out for a month at a time. These shared spaces may have no furniture, or they could at the very least, have desks. This can still provide your staff with a place to work, providing you supply them with a laptop or they can use their own. Remote working is another option, whether staff choose to do it from home or in a nearby coffee shop or on the move.
Keep someone onsite to report back
Over the course of the construction work, it can be typical to need some form of communication with those onsite and for anyone who’s in the company wanting an update on how things are progressing. That’s why it’s worth having someone onsite whose job it is to oversee the work going on and making sure everything is going to plan. Usually that will be your operations manager, but you may want to hire a site manager for the project itself if your ops team are too busy to assist. This site manager can get a round-up of the day’s tasks and can help with reporting back either on a daily or weekly basis. That way, everything can go to plan, knowing you’ve done everything possible to keep it on track.
Expect that there will be delays
And finally, when it comes to construction work, you have to anticipate that there may be some delays along the way. Things from supplies turning up late to human error, causing minor or major mistakes to be made. It can’t be helped, but as long as you’ve done everything you can, it’s up to the construction workers to keep their end of the deal. If you have a timeline of when you’d like it finished, it’s good to stress this to those involved but don’t expect everything to go to plan as it often can be delayed and you may need to reassess the situation if it doesn’t look as if you’re going to finish as originally planned.
Construction work is a challenge, but with the right considerations and careful planning, you will certainly encounter less problems along the way, and hopefully, your business will end up with a property that will only improve the success and functionality of your company.
