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Wolgast Blog - Construction Trends, Tips and Information

Get commercial construction questions answered by a professional contractor sharing building trends, tips and information

Cory Sursely

Four Things to Know When Planning a Groundbreaking Ceremony

When building a new business or relocating, it pays to start your publicity early.  An inexpensive way to create buzz is to host a groundbreaking or a “kickoff” ceremony at the beginning of your project.  I’ve had clients who’ve broke ground both before starting a project or soon after a project has started, with construction being the backdrop during the ceremony.  We call it a project “kickoff” instead of “groundbreaking” when we renovate an existing building.

Tips to Pass a School Bond Election

We have found that there’s not a single formula to passing a school bond vote.  Every community is different in regard to their support of their school district, so each campaign needs to be tweaked and managed.  However, Wolgast's School Facility Specialists have discovered a couple of tactics over the years as former School Superintendents on how to give every bond campaign a better chance for success and offer their expertise as part of our Pre-Bond Services.

First, the most important aspect of a success­ful millage election is staff and community involvement in the planning process. With that said, the likelihood of the passage of a millage proposal is determined days and even months prior to the election.  The devel­opment of the bond proposal, the inclusion of groups that will be af­fected by it, along with the marketing plan and execution are all key ingredients that will help lead to a successful election.

Repurpose Your Commercial Office to Be More Modern

What Ideas Will Work for You?

Appearance is one of the triggers that leads to remodeling, but isn’t the only good reason to remodel.  Other reasons like efficiency, reorganizing unused space, right-sizing, and new technology can make a big difference in attracting or retaining talent, saving money and improving productivity.  Furthermore, modern designs that are created with goals of safety, appearance, efficiency, and increased focus or productivity can help you to make your space more useful for staff and enticing to clients.

Four Steps for School Boards to Plan a Construction Project

So, you’ve been elected to your District’s School Board and have four years (or so) to help make the best decisions for the students and staff. You likely anticipate facing many issues that’ll require research plus your life experience to decide what’s best for your School District. One of those issues could be the maintenance, remodel, rebuild or relocation of school buildings. Do you know where to start? Below, we explain the steps you should take to have a successful construction project.

Michigan Businesses Rely on Wolgast for Construction

For our 100th blog, I wanted to do a special feature about our roots and coverage of the great State of Michigan.  We have ties to resources and communities from unsalted coast to unsalted coast.  Even though we continue to add to our registrations and expertise within other states, we love the nuances of working within the familiar regulations of Michigan, from scheduling to accommodate anticipated weather patterns to known earth types of the Mitten State. 

How to Promote Your Business Move


 

Businesses move for many reasons - for example to accommodate growth, save money, get closer to consumers, or possibly secure a better value of a new building. Additional perks can also happen when relocating including improving your service and also advancing new growth. It’s all about using the move as a promotional opportunity. Encouraging your existing clients to move with you is a must, but you also want to attract new ones, so here are a few tips that will help anyone take advantage of their new business location:

Knowing Long Lead Items Early Speeds up Construction Schedules

Certain building materials or products that have to be ordered, imported, and/or manufactured specifically for a building can take longer than the natural progression of a construction schedule.  These are considered Long Lead Items (LLIs).  They commonly occur with pre-engineered buildings, elevators, generators, mechanical equipment that is heavy enough to need a helicopter lift, electrical switch gear, fancy finishes, or imported products to name a few.

A Guide to Relocating Your Business When the Time Is Right

In “Five of the Best Reasons for a Commercial Renovation”, I discussed why you should remodel now if you plan to stay at your current location.  In this blog, we offer tips on relocating your business/practice because your current location or building is no longer feasible to use.  Note:  if you own your existing space, it’s best to consult with your real estate agent to discuss the options regarding selling/renting your building.

Top Reasons to Relocate Your Business:

  • Traffic patterns change over time.  Perhaps you’re no longer in an active area and therefore, you aren’t readily drawing traffic to your business/practice.  Seeking space in an area that’s busier could help your bottom line; however you likely will pay higher rent than you're paying now. 
  • Your building needs a major update either to the structure/ infrastructure/energy efficiencies that exceed the cost of building a new building.
  • You need to expand your building to accommodate new equipment or additional staff, but you’ve run out of room or can't meet parking and zoning requirements.
  • You originally started your business in a house and now the maintenance costs have become too much and/or you can’t alter the space for efficient use.

4 Reasons Why the Preconstruction Phase Is Key to Project Success

For both Design-Build and Construction Management delivery methods, the start of Preconstruction Phase is Architectural Design and it’s a very exciting time for most building owners.  They love the ideas, options, and decorating aspects for their building.  And then, when drawings are done, the owner is eager to get to the other main event of Construction Phase.  But there is so much more happening during Design than they know and a lot more to be done before this Preconstruction Phase, “Pre-Con”, is complete.  This is also when the contractor gets organized to save the most time and money during construction.   

The Best Way to Speed up Your Building Restoration

Having a Restoration Company and a General Contractor on the Same Team
 

The team of  Wolgast Corporation and Wolgast Restoration was created to be a high level provider of full-service restoration services to deal with all of your challenges when mayhem strikes your building.  Wolgast Restoration specializes in residential and commercial restoration when it comes to structural damage from water, fire, wind, or other mishaps.  And Wolgast Corporation is a commercial contractor who has specialized in buildings of all shapes and sizes since 1948.

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