The Commercial World ...

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jrannis said:
Usually lots of fixtures or track in a jewerly store. Sometimes the owner or GC wants to furnish the lighting. Inspect them carefully. Look for UL or similar testing lab labels. Sometimes you can put them up and then get into some change order dialogue about replacing them.
I would scope out another Kay's store and see what it looks like.
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Thanks, good suggetions. e/m
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
There will be a lot of intense lighting. Make sure you aren't responsible for focusing the track heads.
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I think that that's part of the responsibility of the EC, based on what I have seen in their requirements. e/m
 
Energy-Miser said:
Yes, the language is very restrictive, about when work can or cannot be done, level of noise, access and material handing as you mentioned. I thought for these reasons, perhaps there is a significant cost difference in doing mall work. e/m
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You should bid the job higher because of restrictions but that doesn't mean you will get it. Just like any other job it will probably go to the low bidder and that doesn't mean the low bidder will make money.

The most important thing to find out is if the GC has done many of these stores before. If they have already done a few of these they can normally help you out with any questions you may have. If it's their first one then they are in the dark just as much as you are.

Never get involved with a GC that's doing his first commercial job. If the GC knows what he's doing it will make your job much easier. Don't be afraid to talk to them and ask questions.
 
growler said:
You should bid the job higher because of restrictions but that doesn't mean you will get it. Just like any other job it will probably go to the low bidder and that doesn't mean the low bidder will make money.

The most important thing to find out is if the GC has done many of these stores before. If they have already done a few of these they can normally help you out with any questions you may have. If it's their first one then they are in the dark just as much as you are.

Never get involved with a GC that's doing his first commercial job. If the GC knows what he's doing it will make your job much easier. Don't be afraid to talk to them and ask questions.
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This is a very good point. With the out of town GC's though it has been hard to get a hold of someone, which is not a good sign to me. I figure if they are not into communicating now, they probably will not be very helpful at the construction time either. Occasionally I run into one that returns calls, emails, etc. e/m
 
Energy-Miser said:
This is a very good point. With the out of town GC's though it has been hard to get a hold of someone, which is not a good sign to me. I figure if they are not into communicating now, they probably will not be very helpful at the construction time either. Occasionally I run into one that returns calls, emails, etc. e/m
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Even if you do get "someone" from their home office to talk with you...
even if it is at length and even if it is helpful...

Don't count on any of that "communication" to be relayed to their on site GF.

FWIW, a high end in the mall retail store with a lot of specialty lighting (like the one you have referred to here) is (IMHO) NOT the sort of commercial work to be done by an EC new to this end of the industry.
 
BryanMD said:
Even if you do get "someone" from their home office to talk with you...
even if it is at length and even if it is helpful...

Don't count on any of that "communication" to be relayed to their on site GF.

FWIW, a high end in the mall retail store with a lot of specialty lighting (like the one you have referred to here) is (IMHO) NOT the sort of commercial work to be done by an EC new to this end of the industry.
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My crew has dabbled in commercial before, although never done anything fancy like this before. It will be a challenge for us to be sure, although seeing how the GC's low ball everything, we probably won't get the job anyway. e/m
 
You have been getting some great advice.

I don't run a company but I have run and worked on a fair amount of retail.

Any chain type retail store is going to be well practiced at sticking it to the contractors. If they provide details it is best to follow them.

I can not agree with this more.

The most important thing to find out is if the GC has done many of these stores before. If they have already done a few of these they can normally help you out with any questions you may have. If it's their first one then they are in the dark just as much as you are.
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I have been involved in a number of retail stores where the only 'new guy' was the GC, luckily the subs had all done the stores before.

If there is fire alarm work to do expect to have to hire the Malls FA contractor to do programing and any final connections to the malls system.

If this requires the fire alarm to be shut down the choices here are at night or higher fire dept guys to do a fire watch.

We have been hit $1,500 just to change the device descriptions on the fire alarm. (Change "Pull Station Store X" to "Pull Station Store Y" etc. )

The jobs will have to move quick, be quiet, and you will be hanging lights at the same time the floor is being done.

I like them but they can be stressful.
 
iwire said:
You have been getting some great advice.

I don't run a company but I have run and worked on a fair amount of retail....

... I like them but they can be stressful.
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Thanks Iwire. As you said the advice has been great. With all that's been said, i am prompted not to lower my bid too much so that I can fend off against all these contingencies. e/m
 
iwire said:
We have been hit $1,500 just to change the device descriptions on the fire alarm. (Change "Pull Station Store X" to "Pull Station Store Y" etc. )
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I really hate this part of the process. I have hired a FA company to do this, sometimes the specs require you to hire a specific company (Honeywell in my case). I'm almost floored each time I get a quote to do a job.

It makes me want to do the FA work myself. I have installed complete systems, but just don't like altering or programing an existing system. Too many hats to wear already.
 
SmithBuilt said:
I really hate this part of the process. I have hired a FA company to do this, sometimes the specs require you to hire a specific company (Honeywell in my case). I'm almost floored each time I get a quote to do a job.

It makes me want to do the FA work myself. I have installed complete systems, but just don't like altering or programing an existing system. Too many hats to wear already.
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If you think Honeywell is bad, have you ever gotten a bill from Johnson Controls or Schindler Elevator? They'll send you for a loop too.
 
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