So you've found your venue, raised some money, came up with a concept and you're ready to start building. Time to hire a contractor to oversee this part of your project. A contractor's job is essentially to oversee all the subcontractors who will be doing the actual building and make sure they do the job efficiently, expediently, with quality assurance, within budget and on time. Needless to say this process goes wrong, and while contractors often get blamed, selecting the right contractor in the first place is the key to successfully finishing the buildout as planned.
Say you have 5 contractors bidding on a job, and their quotes and timelines all differ slightly, how do you decide whom to hire? The devil is in the details. Take each detailed proposal and line it up side by side with each other so you can see what each contractor is planning for each part of the work. Usually the phases of the buildout break down into these categories:
Permits. Demolition. Floor, Walls, Ceiling. Windows. Electrical. Plumbing. Lighting. Carpentry. Finishes. Equipment (Installation).
Have the contractor break down each part of their proposal into these sections so you can compare what each phase costs and how long it will take to complete. If one GC offers $15k for demolition over 2 weeks, and another $20k for 1 week, then assume the latter will have more workers swinging hammers and removing debris. Is the $5k extra to save a week worth it if it saves a week of rent? Run the numbers.
Lining up each phase of the buildout will also allow you to see where the GC is clearly padding the numbers. Ideally the GC gets paid by adding their management fee, usually 20%, to the overall budget of the construction project. Incentives for on time delivery and other cost saving items can also be negotiated. However, there is a lot of available labor and GCs often cut corners, or underpay the sub-contractors to make extra money, and this will ultimately result in some aspect of the finished construction failing in ways that will cause nightmares later during an active operation: leaks, cracks in flooring, tilted bars, and lots of breakage from wear and tear that should last years but only survives half as long as planned.
What I'm suggesting is to literally line up each GC quote side by side with each other and going line by line and validating which action is being done for how much money, and how long will it take. This will quickly show you which GC plans to do what and how, and you will understand who is trying to cut corners, and who is being responsible and staffing the proper labor and planning for sufficient material costs.
Finally, as in all things, check their history. Look up their license, inspect their past work, get references and check them. Between knowing their history, and doing the actual work of comparing the quotes, you might have a chance at getting an honest, skilled GC who will not only build your venue on time and on budget, but might save you plenty by solving problems you did not even anticipate would come up!
