Bank branch build-outs: vault, drive-up and the brand package

The vault door arrives on a flatbed and weighs more than the rest of the branch's millwork combined. Where it lands, and whether the floor under it was designed for it, is decided months before it ships. That is the shape of a bank branch project: a retail-sized space with a handful of heavy, security-rated pieces that have to be in the drawings before anyone frames a wall.

The vault and the rated walls go in first

A modular vault or a cast-in-place vault needs a footing or a reinforced slab, and the walls around it, the safe deposit room and the cash room carry rated assemblies and hardware the security vendor specifies. Bullet-resistant glazing at the teller line, ballistic panels in the counter, access-controlled doors between the lobby and the back of house, camera conduit and the alarm backbone all run in the rough-in. Our framing, drywall and glazing crews build those assemblies in sequence with the security integrator on site, and we photograph every rated wall before it is closed for the bank's own security review.

Drive-up lanes and the equipment vendor

A branch with drive-up service needs a canopy, lane geometry that fits the site and the stacking the traffic study calls for, pneumatic tube runs or interactive teller machines and the conduit and bollards that protect them. The vendor's equipment cut sheets have to be final before the site work is poured, because a tube run under a finished drive lane is a saw-cut and a repour. We manage the vendor's dates the same way we manage FF&E: receive, stage, install, test.

The brand book decides the finishes

Most branches follow a corporate design package: teller line millwork, lighting, flooring, paint, signage, the pod layout and even the coffee bar. Our job is to execute that package exactly and to reconcile it with the real building, where the column grid, the ceiling height and the storefront rarely match the prototype. Our millwork and stone crews build the teller line and the pods, which keeps the brand's detail in the hands of people who have built it before and takes a subcontractor lead time off the schedule.

Accessible stations behind rated glass

The accessible teller station has to meet counter height and reach requirements while keeping the same ballistic protection as the rest of the line. That reconciliation belongs in the drawings. So does the ATM, interior or drive-up, with its own power, data, lighting and clear floor space, and the accessible route from the parking lot through the vestibule.

Low voltage and the data closet

A branch runs on network: core banking, teller systems, cameras, alarm, access control, digital signage and often a small data room with dedicated cooling and a generator or UPS feed. The IT and security integrators each have requirements, and we get them into the electrical drawings during design coordination rather than adding circuits the week the racks arrive.

Banks announce branch openings. The date lands on the sign, in the press release and in the regulator's file. We schedule backward from it: security acceptance testing, vault certification, CO, then the bank's own move-in and cash delivery. A principal of the company is on the site through the build and is the person the bank's facilities manager calls.

We build branches for banks and credit unions across Texas with the owner on the job and the grand opening as the deadline. Send the prototype package and the lease plan our way and we will map the schedule and the number.

One last note on timing: the vault door, the drive-up equipment and the security package all carry long lead times, so the owner orders them the week the permit is filed and tracks each one to the day it lands on site.