Running a business · 10 guides
Commercial Builder: problems and fixes, explained by Lonnie
Lonnie Harrison is the only commercial builder member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- What pre-construction really is, and why it decides the project before anyone builds Most of the decisions that make a build-out on time and on budget, or late and over, are made before construction starts. Pre-construction is where those decisions get made on purpose. Pre-construction in plain termsDue diligence: finding out what the space is hidingEstimating while the design is still a sketchValue engineering and constructability review
- What actually drives the cost of a restaurant build-out in Dallas-Fort Worth Square footage is the least useful number in a restaurant budget. The condition of the shell, the kitchen and its systems, the costs outside the contract and the calendar decide what you will actually spend. The shell, the kitchen and the calendarStart with what the landlord deliversThe kitchen and the systems you never seeHow we pin down a real number before you commit
- The build-out is done: what you should have in hand before the final check is paid The last week of a build-out decides how easy the next ten years in the space will be. Here is what a proper close-out hands the owner, and what to do in the first year after opening. What a proper close-out puts in your handsWalking the punch list the right wayProof the space is legal to occupyThe binder you will reach for in year one
- The approvals a restaurant build-out needs in Dallas or Fort Worth, from permit to opening A restaurant needs more than a building permit. Here are the approvals a build-out in Dallas or Fort Worth typically goes through, in the order they tend to happen, and where schedules usually slip. Several approvals, roughly in this orderFirst question: is a restaurant allowed here?The building permit and its trade reviewsHealth department plan review comes before construction
- Hiring the trades yourself on a commercial build-out: when it works and when it backfires Hiring the electrician, plumber and drywall crew yourself looks like a way to save the contractor's fee. On small cosmetic jobs it can be. On a full finish-out, the coordination, permits and Texas lien rules land on you. Yes for small cosmetic jobs, rarely for a full finish-outWhat a general contractor actually does all dayJobs where running it yourself can make senseSigns the job has outgrown you
- Dental and medical office build-outs: the mistakes that push back the first patient A dental or medical office packs more plumbing, power and coordination into a small space than almost any other tenant. Most delays trace back to a handful of avoidable mistakes made before construction starts. Most delays start before the first wall goes upSigning the lease before anyone checks the plumbingBringing the equipment vendor in too lateForgetting the wiring nobody sees
- Before you sign: how to tell if a space can really become a restaurant A space can look perfect for a restaurant and still need a fortune behind the walls before it can serve food. Here is what to check, and what to ask the landlord, before your signature makes it your problem. A site walk and three documents answer most of itHas it been a restaurant before, and what did the last one leave?Can the kitchen vent through the roof?Is there enough power, gas and water?
- Before you hire a commercial contractor: the questions that separate builders from bidders Most commercial bids look alike until something goes wrong. A handful of direct questions before you sign tells you which contractor will still be answering the phone in month four. Ask about their work, their people and their paperworkHave you built this kind of space before?Who will run my job, and how often will I see them?Who handles permits, and what happens when the city pushes back?
- Architect first or contractor first? Choosing how to deliver a tenant build-out The order you hire the architect and the contractor decides when you learn the real price and the real schedule. Here is how the three common routes work and which one fits your project. The timing matters more than the orderThree ways a build-out gets deliveredDesign-bid-build: clean competition, late answersBringing the contractor in while the design is drawn
- You signed the lease and the free-rent clock is running: finishing a build-out on time Every week the space sits unfinished is rent paid on a business that is not open. Here is how a commercial build-out really runs, where the time goes, and how a general contractor keeps the opening date from sliding. The space is yours, and it is a concrete boxWhy build-outs run late, and it is rarely the constructionWhat to get in order before you call a contractorWhen to bring the general contractor in