Wolgast Blog - Construction Trends, Tips and Information

There aren’t many businesses that remodel every six years, so chances are that if you’re currently ready for an update, you have the potential to save a considerable amount of money by investing in modern, energy efficient products and installations. 

Business owners can have a difficult time finding a contractor to complete small projects within their buildings.  Switching out doors, replacing trim, or hanging coat racks are projects that most general contractors put on the back burner as they are busy handling larger projects.  We believe, a business owner would want to use the contractor who built their building, or the subcontractor who was originally involved on the project when a change or repair is needed because these workers already know the building inside and out.  Hence, we created our Customer Service Request System (CSR) for our clients more than a decade ago.

The Design-Build approach to project construction puts one company in charge of a customer's entire project.  Which means, owners have a direct line of communication to one firm in providing all services needed to complete a project.  These services include master planning, engineering and design, scheduling, estimating, cost control, procurement, quality assurance, quality control, safety, construction and all other interrelated functions.  This approach is known to shorten the construction schedule as well as add value through the project.

The 2015 Michigan Energy Code, as directed by Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), went into effect Sept 20, 2017.  The changes to the code involve lighting controls of new commercial buildings and remodels with more than 50% lighting alterations in an effort to increase energy savings.  In a nutshell, different areas of a commercial building will need both sensors and a wall switch or dimmer to control lighting.

In 2015, there were roughly 53 million Americans¹ who were disabled either in mobility, in hearing, or with their vision.  Moreover, there are the aging baby boomers with special needs, mothers with strollers, and an increasing number of people using service dogs who each have different accessibility needs to public places.  Whether you are a restaurant, retailer, bank, medical office, or school (to list a few), you likely already have Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards to meet when you build a new building or remodel your existing one; however, if you aren’t already regulated by Title II or Title III, there are still benefits of planning your building for access to everyone, also known as Universal Design, which is different from ADA.  Some are considering Universal Design an emerging concept of good citizenship, much the same way LEED has done for reducing a company’s carbon footprint.  Compared to ADA which is mandated by the government to provide accessibility for disabled people within publicly used buildings, Universal Design is a choice that a building owner makes to include accommodations not regulated by the ADA to provide easy accessibility to everyone.

And Other Remodeling Insights

The idea of an “office remodel” covers a broad spectrum of happenings. We’ve completed those that are elaborate and include removing walls to change the layout of the floorplan and others that are as simple as

In order to maintain a stellar reputation as a professional contractor, speed, quick problem solving and meeting deadlines are critical.  The biggest complaint and almost a disappointing anticipation in our industry is that a job will take longer than estimated.  We strive to disprove that assumption on each and every project.  Here’s one way that we do that.

Uncommon (and Common) Reasons to Use Construction Management

One of our Construction Management (CM) clients recently stated that starting a large construction project is similar to drinking from a fire hose.  He has appreciated relying on us to help him through the process.  If you don’t know, CM is a construction delivery method where an owner hires both the Architect and Contractor on the team before the design process begins.  The Owner, the Architect, and the CM work together to identify the scope of the project, estimate the budget, and determine the schedule.  During the Design Phase, the Architect is responsible for creating the design based on the scope, and the CM estimates the budget needed for constructing it and coordinates the schedule.  During the Construction Phase, the CM finds the subcontractors and oversees construction through the Warranty Phase; the Architect offers checks and balances to ensure that their design is executed accurately and that schedules and budgets are met.  This method is typically suited for most large projects that either span more than a year, involve more than one building, or both.  It is also suitable for other types of projects in instances described below.

Benefits of Using CM

Companies that offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) for their staff members provide an opportunity for their workforce to have a vested interest in their success.  By virtue this creates a long-term incentive for employees to stay with the company and an eagerness to make the company even more successful.

As construction broker companies continue to pop up, they’re coming up short compared to a Design-Build – General Construction (DB-GC) Firm in many important areas for project success.  DB-GCs provide much more control over the schedule and the budget on your project versus a construction services broker.