Tips on doing a build out

I was wondering if anyone had any tips on doing a build out? Any items that you added to make your operation run smoother? Ex: We want to add an outside light to let drivers know there are deliveries waiting. Any suggestions would be great. Thanks

On the point of letting drivers know we have a remote door chime system to let them know. The person cutting and box out of the oven presses the button and it chimes (or barks in our set up) to let the drivers know deliveries are set to go.
As a fun point we have ours set to dogs barking which leads to the drivers singing “who let the dogs out” as the chime goes “woof, woof”
The chime is a lot cheaper thn setting up a light.
Dave

What kind of operation? Delco or full service? About how big? New construction, new finish, or total remodel?

PAY CASH! :mrgreen:

www.daveramsey.com

While stated briefly, Kris has the most valuable piece of advice I could think of as well.

Where are you located? Small town, suburbs, downtown? Are you looking at creating a delco (Delivery\Carry-Out) store or more of a focus on a dine in concept?

The answers to these questions will all greatly affect how you approach your build out, and what advice is most pertinent to you. However, regardless of the answer, barrowing money on a business like this is a recipe for disaster.

Probably the best step to take is to tell the forum a little more about what you would like to do and we can help find ways to accomplish what you want much cheaper than you may have expected. I know the forum has been valuable to me in this regard.

If it has not yet begun, then I highly recommend getting the building department out before any and all work for a pre-construction consultation/conference. Let him/her look at the space and let you know of any uncommon items that he will be looking at. It gives the inspector the message that you are serious about compliance, you get to see surprises before they become surprises, and your Gen Contractor can meet the inspector up front.

Do not under any circumstance whatsoever skimp/cut corners on insulation in walls and ceiling. You will hate yourself and pay $$$ eery month in added heat/ac bills and repairs.

And I’ll tag along on Nick’s response and suggest getting your county HEALTH inspector to walk through your plans as well. We had our’s in before even buying our current facility to give assurance that how we intended to build out the new kitchen etc. was going to pass their review. It was GOOD to do so as another outfit in town did not…and ended up having to rebuild bathrooms, reposition sinks and a whole string of not-cheap projects because they tried to “sneak” one by.

My advise on placing a “light” or some sort of signal to let the drivers know a delivery is “up” is NOT a good idea.

We did this in a store and found the drivers would circle around the store, divert to a convenient store for smokes(or whatever) or chat with friends around the corner until the “light” was lit. The drivers felt that they weren’t paid enough to clean, fold boxes, or sweep the floor. They were delivery drivers only.

My “two cents” and past experience.