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Design Build construction offers many benefits over the traditional method.

How Design-Build Construction Can Improve Any Project

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For today’s commercial developers, the choice between using design-build construction services or using traditional methods can make or break a project.

Historically, architects and designers have been siloed in the industry, designing projects for their clients but often having very little say or supervision in their construction. The task of turning drawings and plans into real spaces has fallen squarely to the contractor, who is responsible for the interpretation of the technical plans, changing, tweaking and modifying them as necessary to deliver a finished product.

While this method has its advantages it also carries a higher risk of mistakes and disagreements among the designer, contractor and client.

Advantages of Design-Build Construction

Luckily, there’s a better way forward. Design-build construction represents a premium model for commercial construction. By letting designers and contractors collaborate from the start, projects can often be finished on time and on budget, with fewer costlier delays and overruns.

Design-build construction uses coordination from the start of the process to make better, more informed decisions as the work progresses. This relationship between the designer and builder makes projects more efficient by minimizing paperwork, delays and the time it takes to fix problems with intermittent communication.

But what if your project doesn’t require a complex new building, but instead just involves redesigning an existing space? Here, too, design-build makes sense. By planning all parts of the project up front, even jobs as simple as a restaurant renovation can be improved. A focus on collaboration eliminates delays arising from slow back-and-forth communication between independent designers and contractors. If design changes are necessary, the entire project team can be updated immediately.

We Can Help

Overall, the largest benefit of a design-build process is efficiency, and that benefits every job, not just the big ones. As a design-build construction firm, we offer more efficient and effective construction processes, saving our clients from the added expense of delays and budget mistakes. If you’re interested in working with us on your next project, contact Leon Williams Contractors today.

Design-Build Communication Advantages

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The success of commercial construction projects depends on teamwork and the ability of all the parties involved to cooperate and communicate. This doesn’t always happen.

In traditional commercial construction projects, a developer starts by hiring an engineer or architect to design a facility, and then puts it out to bid to find a contractor to build it. This model often leads to confrontational projects. If something goes wrong, the designer and contractor can end up trying to blame each other. If the plans are missing details or information, the contractor can request additional funds and/or time in order provide the additional work. Often the contractor is forced to play this game in order to have a competitive edge against other bidding contractors.

What is Design-Build Construction?

There is another way. Commercial developers can enlist the help of a design-build construction team — meaning a construction firm works with a designer from the start of the project. As Design-Build Institute of America notes, the design-build model can allow for a more streamlined, efficient construction process:

The owner manages only one contract with a single point of responsibility. The designer and contractor work together from the beginning, as a team, providing unified project recommendations to fit the owner’s schedule and budget. Any changes are addressed by the entire team, leading to collaborative problem-solving and innovation, not excuses or blame-shifting. While single-source contracting is the fundamental difference between design-build and the old ways, equally important is the culture of collaboration inherent in design-build.

Improved Teamwork and Communication

At Leon Williams Contractors, we’ve found that a design-build construction approach offers significant advantages to our clients in East Tennessee. It allows for a higher level of cooperation and coordination between the contractor and the designer.

A design-build construction team can make better, more informed decisions, improve the efficiency of work that needs to be done — and minimize the paperwork, delays, and cost of fixing problems that can result from coordination problems between two companies.

We have decades of design-build construction experience in East Tennessee. If you want to learn more about the advantages of partnering with a design-build construction team, contact Leon Williams Contractors today.

Don’t Trust Unlicensed Contractors

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When it comes to your new commercial project, who should you trust to do the job right?

If your business is looking to start a new construction project or to renovate an existing commercial building, you’ll naturally be looking to get the most out of your money. When weighing costs and budget, it can be tempting to just go with the lowest bidder.

If you make that choice without properly checking their qualifications, though, you’re courting danger. That cut-rate contractor might be unlicensed, and if you end up hiring them, you’re putting both the project and your business at risk.

Why is hiring a licensed contractor important?

So, what’s the big deal about hiring an unlicensed contractor? You’ll save some money, right?

Wrong. Hiring an unlicensed contractor for a commercial project is the same as writing a blank check. If something goes wrong, your business will be on the hook for damages and loss. If the workmanship is shoddy, you’ll have no recourse.

In the event of mishaps during construction, you want to be sure your contractor is licensed and insured, so that you are not held liable for accidents. For instance, if a contractor’s worker was injured on the job site, you would want to know that the contractor has insurance to cover the worker’s injuries. In the case of a major accident, this could become extremely costly financially.

When it comes to paperwork and record-keeping, hiring a licensed contractor will provide you with peace of mind that they are conducting business according to best practices and have passed all the requirements of the governing body overseeing commercial contractor licensing.

Experience and training

A licensed commercial contractor employs trained workers who have experience and skills that keep a jobsite safe and make sure the work is done under the supervision of highly qualified construction managers to avoid accidents and shoddy workmanship. The best licensed contractors also work hard to stay up-to-date with the best and most efficient construction techniques.

The bottom line is, if you are unhappy with the work of an unlicensed commercial contractor or they provided subpar work and skipped town, you’re just out of luck. Don’t be fooled, hire a licensed commercial contractor like Leon Williams Contractors, and always check references before working with any contractor. Ready to learn more? Contact Leon Williams today.

Shopping Malls are Changing

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Developers need construction flexibility

The retail apocalypse isn’t nigh. It’s happening now and shows no sign of stopping, forcing mall operators to rethink the way they do business.

Father and daughter spending a day in shopping mall

With more than 75,000 more stores expected to close throughout the United States by 2026, traditionally retail-centered commercial developments like malls are shifting focus to services and experiences, according to GlobeSt.com:

Mixed-use projects are stepping up to fill the void with underperforming malls. Live-work-play activities are animating retail centers, moving away from the islands of traditional retail.

These commercial pressures are encouraging developers and property managers to make creative choices, creating new malls experiences through diverse dining options, services and experiences. This can range from bowling alleys to grocery stores, gyms and dry cleaning — even incorporating nearby residential options.

Need for Experienced Contractors

As this new commercial playbook is being developed, developers and property managers will benefit from partnering with construction firms, like Leon Williams Contractors, that have a wide variety of commercial experience.

From transforming a former arcade and entertainment center, previously known as Thunderworld, into the elegant Foothills Church (FC) facility in Blount County, Tennessee, to building out new dining facilities at the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville and Chattanooga campuses, Leon Williams Contractors has decades of experience revamping spaces to fit new commercial needs. We’re also thoroughly experienced in building out new commercial spaces, including, most recently, three East Tennessee Which Wich® franchise locations.

Project Management for Any Need

Construction experience is just part of the equation. To be competitive, commercial construction projects must be completed on time and within budget, requiring consistent oversight of the construction management process.

To benefit our commercial clients, Leon Williams Contractors offers an extensive toolkit of services to trim costs while ensuring quality. This includes pre-construction consultation and design-build and value engineering expertise. Contact us to learn more.