Commercial renovations are probably way more important than your average living space renovations. At the same time, these renovations are way more tricky and stress-inducing too. The reason why these are more important and needed than any other kind of renovations is that the commercial spaces undergo the maximum amount of wear and tear. Every other day, hundreds of people enter a commercial space, thereby increasing the chances of its damage and weakening ultimately calling for more repairs and renovative works done.
Coming to the idea of a commercial renovation project being way more stress-inducing than home renovations, it is easy to see why. Commercial spaces are generally bigger than homes. Moreover, the kind of uniformity and closeness to a specific theme that such a place requires is often not needed by homes or other structures that need renovations. This explains why you and many others might hesitate to step into the hefty task of carrying out commercial renovations for your business spaces.
We understand how hard it must be for you if you are planning on getting a commercial renovation done anytime soon. Hence, we have decided to list down the basic steps of carrying out such a renovation project successfully that can give you some idea of how to take things forward. Please note that we strongly suggest you hire professional commercial renovators instead of doing it all yourself and the checklist provided below has been developed, keeping our strong favor of hiring professional renovators intact.
Now, let us get into this without any further ado:
1. Assess The Structure Closely
Yes, you might walk into the same store every day and might feel like you remember every corner of it. But, tomorrow morning, go to the same commercial space and observe it and its surroundings with the eyes of a renovator or interior designer. Take along a notepad and a pen and slowly keep walking observing the structure and looking for the spaces and corners inside where renovations might be more needed than other corners. Try to figure out how renovating certain corners could affect the neighboring structures. You might also get some ideas along the way of observation that you would like to note down.
2. Educate Yourself on The Area’s Renovation Codes
The structure you are about to get renovated must be under someone’s authority. This means there are surely some set rules that you need to follow when planning its reorganization. It is best to try and get a hold of all these rules and then read them thoroughly. Once you have gotten the basic idea of what is allowed and what cannot be done, it is a good idea to go through the points you noted in your notepad in the above step and see if any of them needs rethinking.
3. Devise A Budget
Commercial renovations can devoid you of all your money if you have no idea of where to stop. There is so much that can be done and such luxuries can be added to your commercial space that it gets hard to define how much could possibly be the maximum expenditure for a commercial space’s renovation. This explains why you need to take a strong stance about how much you are willing to invest in your commercial space’s remodel and revamp. Always make a strict budget that you know won’t leave you with no savings for the rainy days in your bank account. It would be better to plan your renovation while keeping that budget in mind. Also, once you hire the right contractors, do not shy away from telling them your budget so all their decisions and suggestions to you for your project are informed by that budget. Having this said, we cannot emphasize enough on the importance of having a budget buffer, i.e., a separate amount set aside to be used for renovations if the expenses someone increase and there is no way to undo them.
4. Hire The Right Contractor
Once the budget is defined, go about the market and research some of the best commercial renovation contractors or contracting teams that suit your budget. Always try to find someone who has been tried and recommended to you by someone’s personal experience and try not to rely too much on what you see on the contractor’s social media accounts. Also, you might have to meet up and discuss your requirements with several contractors before you can finally find the one who you think would be perfect for your project. This can be the hardest and most important step of the entire commercial renovation project and the key is not to lose yourself in this one. Always be patient and try to listen to what the contractor has to say and then mutually arrive at what would best suit both of you as well as your commercial space.
5. Do The Paperwork
Never, we repeat NEVER ever start with the payments and renovations unless you and your contractors have the entire paperwork and signatures on the contract done and sealed. Do not trust anyone in this regard and always make sure to devise a proper code of conduct for the project to which both the parties agree. If you are given anything by the contractor to sign, always read it thoroughly and ask for clarification if required, before signing the contract. Once things are all legal and official, let the contractors do their job.
Depending on the nature of your contract with the contractor, the process hereafter would be more dependent on the contractor than on you. You just have to make regular visits to the site being renovated and stay in touch with the contractor to stay updated on what is up on the renovation site and what changes might have to be made to your project. We, however, suggest that you do not over interfere with the contractor’s job and let them do their thing in peace to achieve the best results of your investment. You’d thank us for this advice later and you’re welcome!
