7 sins of the business

We have developed the ‘7 sins of the business’ to help you
understand some of the important steps when you are about
to do a fitout or refurbishment.
You could say we have a lot of secrets to share over the past
25 years of building and furniture design plus installation.

The 7 sins are as follows:

not allowing enough time for the project

It’s not too early to get started, if you know you are relocating start replanning up to 6 months before. It will save you money; reduce the stress and you will have happier staff at the end. Different types of furniture have different lead times from 1 week to 8 weeks and never presume the building works will be finished on a selected date without confirmation in writing.

Fail to allow enough time and you will pay more for afterhours work; the details of the project will be lost in the stress of it all. This could hold up other trades resulting in a variation. You may not get that boardroom table for that important meeting.

lack of a detailed brief regarding the project

No brief means ‘flying by the seat of your pants’, the trades will not be sure of the work they need to do and when to do it. Work will need to be redone and the variation will start to add up.

Fail to do a brief - The head contractor will need to be constantly checking with you for more details, leaving you no time in the day to do your job. The variations will be at an all time high and the cost of the project will be hard to control. Defects will most likely be high due to the inevitable misunderstanding.

over budget

The only time the project will be over budget is because of unseen costs and not allowing some flexibility in the figures.

Make the time to get a costing for all the requirements, building works and furniture. Being over budget could impact on the cash flow and your ability to pay your invoices, who needs the stress?

not understanding the landlord / building Manager requirements

Most buildings have very clear guide lines for carrying out any building works, most if not all require approval to start work. Sufficient time will need to be allocated for the drawing at your cost.

Misunderstanding of the requirements will see added cost for the approval, delays waiting for the approval; delays access into the building plus delays in meeting the completion date.

unaware of the building code requirements

A qualified builder will inform you of the building code requirements and the need to have the job certified. If you have already signed the lease and were unaware that the building didn’t meet the building core, you have a problem.

The cost to fix the problem could be up to 50% of your budget, always ask if the building meets the code before you sign the lease.

unaware of the Australian standards for commercial furniture

We have seen overseas furniture more than double in the past 10 years and the Australia furniture reduced over 30%. Most of the furniture is not made under any standards and most is designed for the home office and not for the commercial market.

If you are not sure of the quality please ask, we give a guarantee on all of our furniture, because we know it’s fit for the purpose.

Not reading and understanding the building contract and furniture proposal

We would be comfortable in saying that 8 out of 10 clients don’t read the building contract to the point of understanding what they are signing. The same goes with the furniture Proposal.

It will take only an extra 15 minutes to understand what you are signing.

We would be happy to assist you, so please call us for advice or make an appointment to discuss your needs at NO COST OR OBLIGATION.