The Importance of Pre-Construction Work

We had a very productive meeting Sunday with a client whose new dental office build-out Denali Investments was hired to be the construction Owner Representative.  Sunday’s meeting showed the importance of doing diligent “pre-construction” work.  We met with the client, along with the project’s architect and general contractor.  With preliminary architectural drawings available for the meeting, we “visually walked” through the 3,400 square foot to-be-built dental office and fine-tuned where all electrical outlets, computer data ports, and telephone plugs will be located—over 120 specific locations  identified!  Additionally, we reviewed all mill work specifications and locations (i.e., built-in office cabinetry, administrative desks, op’s room storage, and staff kitchen cabinets) as well as confirmed where all sinks, water pipes, and drinking fountains will be situated in the offices.  With this new dental practice consisting of six op’s rooms, three offices, lab, sterilization area, consultation room, two ADA bathrooms, staff kitchen, and assorted closets and storage areas to be defined and finalized, this can be a lengthy process.  But it can be a crucial step for constructing a successful and cost efficient new office space.

This thorough review of the locations, finishes, and amounts of all of the dentist’s electrical, millwork, and plumbing needs can often save a dentist/office tenant large amounts of money in eventual construction costs.  After all, the more that can be finalized with the client and included on the construction drawings prior to the start of construction, the less “in-field” construction changes will then occur.  Changes on a piece of drawing paper take only a couple lines and a few hours of an architect’s time; changes once construction has started can involve much more money, sub-contractor and material delays, and sometimes necessitate re-reviews and new approvals by the local building department.  All could potentially be big problems for getting a project done on time and on budget.

Sunday we devoted over six hours to review the architectural plans, and then went to the actual vacant office rental space and walked through it with chalk lines drawn on the bare concrete floor to define where eventual dental office walls will be located.  But this six hours of weekend time—and the collaborative nature of the construction/design team, working with the dentist and the practice management consultant we had present Sunday—will likely save our dental client thousands of dollars and weeks in the actual construction schedule.  It was six hours of very well spent time!