Leon Williams Contractors Blog: Go Build Tennessee

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The team at Leon Williams Contractors, LLC,offers complete general contractor services, including a full range of construction services, pre-construction consultation and site assessment, construction management, value engineering, and construction management. As a Tennessee based contractor and construction firm, we are well aware that our state depends on the skilled tradesmen that call our area home and we are extremely excited about the new opportunity related to a state initiative, Go Build Tennessee.

This new program is designed to encourage young people to become interested in the construction and contracting industry to help drive growth in the state of Tennessee for skilled tradesmen. According to the GoBuildTennesseewebsite, the following statistics offer detailed information about the current state of Tennessee’s trade industries:

Tennessee’s Construction Industry is getting older and the talent pool is growing smaller:

Thousands of men and women leave the trades every year, and there aren’t enough young workers to replace them. For Tennessee to continue to prosper, we have to start from the ground up.

  • The average age of a construction tradesman today is 50 years old.
  • For every five people who leave the trades, only one replacement is supplied by apprenticeship programs.

New Workers are needed in Tennessee to maintain the growth of the construction industry:

  • 6 million Americans are employed by a construction trade annually.
  • The construction industry is projected to grow by 22% through 2022.

Students interested in the trades don’t need a four year degree to make a great living:

Thousands of new jobs open up every year, and with training programs throughout the state, you can start earning a competitive salary with increasing benefits right away without worrying about student loans.

  • It will take 39% of college graduates 10+ years to pay off their student loans.
  • 87% of apprentices find jobs when they’re finished.
  • Qualified skilled tradesmen make an average of $50,000 annually.
  • Commercial construction tradesmen are paid on average 33% more per week than the rest of Americans.

Two and Four year degrees do offer opportunities:

While you don’t need a degree to get started in the trades, having a two year or four year degree does offer some advantages.

  • For those students who may want to further their careers and may be interested in architecture, the requirementsinclude a four year degree and to pass the Architect Registration Examination.
  • Individuals who have an associates or bachelor’s degree can make more moneyin the long run.
  • Workers with college degrees generally have lower unemployment ratesand earn more money than those with a high school diploma.

Leon Williams Contractors has worked with East Tennessee clients on a wide range of retail and commercial construction projects, including banks, medical facilities, commercial offices, residential projects, restaurants,and retail locations. Our team is committed to the growth of the trades in Tennessee and are looking for students who are interested in learning more about the opportunities that the Go Build Tennessee projectwill mean for our state.

To learn more about Leon Williams Contractors, the projects that we work on in Tennessee and the services that we provide, please contact us todayto learn how we can assist you with your next project.

 

Leon Williams Contractors Blog: Maryville Dog Park at Pistol Creek

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The team at Leon Williams Contractors, LLC,offers complete general contractor services, including a full range of construction services, pre-construction consultation and site assessment, construction management, value engineering, and construction management. Recently, the Leon Williams Contractors, LLC team was a part of the team that created the new Maryville Dog Park at Pistol Creek

The Location:

Located in Maryville, Leon Williams Contractors, LLC worked as a part of a joint effort between the city of Maryville, the Maryville-Alcoa-Blount County Parks and Recreation Commission and community leadership in Blount County.

The Specifications:

The Maryville Dog Park at Pistol Creek is located adjacent to the McCammon Avenue and McGhee Street greenbelt entrance in Maryville. Open from dawn to dusk, the area includes one acre for large dogs and a separate half-acre for smaller dogs.

The spaces in the Maryville Dog Park are fenced and feature entry corrals that are double-gated, which allows dogs to be taken off leashes before entering the park. Also included within the space are a pavilion, benches, animal waste stations and water fountains exclusively for dogs.

The Results:

In an interview with the Daily Times, Jordan Blankenship, supervisor and project and construction manager at Leon Williams Contractors, said the project took about two-and-a-half months and the biggest challenge was the weather.

“It was fun talking to the public and hearing what they wanted to see in the park,” he said. “One lady asked when Maryville was getting a cat park.”

The park was made possible by a grant from Radio Systems Corporation and was offered through the Legacy Parks Foundation. For more information about the Maryville Dog Park at Pistol Creek, including rules of use, visit http://www.parksrec.comor call 865-983-9244.

As a proud member of the Blount County community, Leon Williams, LLC has worked with clients on a wide range of retail and commercial construction projects, including banks, medical facilities, commercial offices, residential projects, restaurants,and retail locations.

To learn more about the advantages that Leon Williams Contractors, LLC can offer your retail or commercial construction project, please contact us todayto learn how we can assist you to drive greater value for your retail and commercial construction needs.

Leon Williams Contractors February Blog: A beginner’s guide to office renovation

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For many businesses, the idea of renovating an office space offers excitement about the possibilities that can be accomplished. From expanding an existing space to prepare for new employees to renovating a new location to meet the demands for products and services, the team at Leon Williams Contractorshave worked with business owners to design and manage office renovations that have helped drive growth for our clients.

A company that is looking for an office renovation partner may be beginners when it comes to planning out the extent of changes for their office designs. The design/build, pre-construction consultation and value engineering services offered by Leon Williams Contractorscan help ensure success for your office renovation in Blount County, Maryville, Knoxville, Lenoir City and East Tennessee.

Before you get started on an office renovation product, there are a number of factors that you need to keep in mind to help drive success for your renovation, including:

Plan Ahead

Before starting on your office renovation project, the best advice is to plan ahead for what your business is trying to accomplish. Are you designing the renovations to add staff, to offer more products and services or are you simply tired of the way that your interior looks? Planning ahead for the future of your business in one year, three years and even ten years in the future can help you determine the best plans for your office renovations. The design/build services of Leon Williams Contractorscan be incorporated into your planning to help decide the best use of your office space to meet the future demands of your business.

Assess your current property

If your current business property is older, having the team at Leon Williams Contractors engage in a site assessmentcan help save you money in the long run. Your existing building may not be up to code, which will necessitate updating of your plans for your office renovation prior to the beginning of work. In addition, while using existing systems might save you money in your upfront costs during a renovation, your business may be better served by updating to new systems to lower long term operating costs in your renovated office space.

Determine your budget

While it may be exciting to think about all of the changes that you could implement during your office renovation, determining your budget for your office renovation can help you prevent over-extending what you want to accomplish for your business in the long term. Extensive renovations to your office space need to be prepared with your future business goals in mind, especially if you determine that growth in your business means that you move to a larger space in the future. Decide if the renovations that you are making will make your building more likely to sell if you decide to expand your business operations and incorporate value engineering servicesfrom Leon Williams Contractors to find the best use of your office renovation budget.

Leon Williams Contractors have been designing and building for the commercial needs of Knoxville and East Tennessee since 1964. When your business has determined that the time is right for an office renovation, leverage the experience and knowledge of our teams to help you prepare your business for your future needs. For more information on how we can assist you with your office renovation requirements, contact the team at Leon Williams Contractorstoday to learn how our knowledge and expertise can be used to your advantage.