Getting your business ready before construction starts

The day the dumpster arrives is a bad day to find out the point-of-sale system runs through a closet on the demolition plan. We have watched it happen. The building was ready for construction; the business was not. This is the checklist we walk through with an owner before a crew shows up, because the schedule protects the budget and this list protects the revenue.

Decide how open you will be

Fully open, partially open, moved to a temporary location, or closed for the duration. That single decision sets the phasing, the work hours, the dust control, the cost and the schedule. It should be made with the contractor in the room, because a phased project in an occupied space takes longer and costs more than the same work in an empty one, and the tradeoff is worth seeing in numbers before it is decided.

Map the systems before anything is cut

Power, data, phones, security, cameras, fire alarm, HVAC and water all have a path through the building that nobody remembers until it is interrupted. We trace those paths with the drawings and mark what is affected by each phase. Then the business plans around each outage window: a backup internet connection, a temporary panel, a portable unit for the server room, a tested plan with the alarm monitoring company. The point is to know the date and the hour of each interruption in advance.

Tell the staff early and specifically

A memo the Friday before does not count. Employees need to know which entrance to use, where to park, which restroom is open, where the noise will be and when, and what their workspace looks like during each phase. If people are moving desks or shifting hours, that plan is written and communicated weeks ahead. The owner on site holds a short standing meeting with the manager so the crew's plan and the staff's plan match.

Tell the customers the truth

Customers accept construction. They do not accept surprises. Signage at the door, a note on the website and social channels, and a clear statement of hours and access during each phase keep the relationship intact. A rendering of the finished space in the window turns the disruption into a preview. We can supply the phase dates so the message is accurate.

Protect inventory, equipment and records

Anything that cannot be replaced gets moved or sealed before the first wall comes down. Dust travels farther than people expect, and it gets into servers, medical equipment and merchandise. Plastic and negative air on the construction side, a locked and clean room for records and sensitive gear, and a written list of what moved where. This is a small logistics project of its own and it belongs on the schedule.

The week before construction and the week after are the loudest for the business. Moving out, protecting in place, and setting up temporary operations at the front; final inspections, cleaning, furniture and equipment install, and moving back at the back. Build both into the business calendar. A certificate of occupancy is not the same as a store that can trade, and the gap between the two is where an unplanned week gets lost.

We schedule the job backward from the day the business reopens at full capacity, not from substantial completion. Our own crews handle the finish trades and the FF&E installation, so the last week, when the floor is finished, the fixtures go in and the punch list closes, is on our calendar and under our control.

A principal of the company runs the site and takes the manager's call the moment something changes. Send the plans and your operating hours, and we will phase the work around the day you reopen.