The Blueprint to Successful Office Build-Outs: Communication, Budgeting, and Flow

What Makes A Successful Office Build-Out?

Ever walked into an office space that felt completely disconnected from the company's identity? Behind every successful workspace transformation lies a carefully orchestrated process that balances vision, practicality, and regulatory requirements.

In this revealing conversation, contractor Jeff Bass pulls back the curtain on what truly drives successful commercial renovations. Drawing from years of experience and his unique perspective as both a general contractor and city council member, Jeff emphasizes how critical it is to establish clear communication from day one. "Before anyone picks up a hammer, you have to know the why behind the build-out," he explains, highlighting how leadership, stakeholders, architects, and designers must align their vision before construction begins.

Budget realism emerges as the make-or-break factor in office renovations. Jeff cautions against the all-too-common trap of choosing the lowest bid, which often leads to endless change orders and budget overruns. "If someone tells you they're going to build out a fully furnished office for $30 a square foot, you need to start asking questions," he warns, advocating instead for transparent scoping and a built-in contingency of 10-15% for unexpected challenges. Working with consistent trade partners significantly improves project outcomes, as established relationships eliminate miscommunication and create workflow efficiencies.

The conversation takes a fascinating turn when Jeff discusses how office design directly impacts employee satisfaction and retention. Just as restaurant kitchens require thoughtful flow patterns, workspaces demand layouts that support natural movement and collaboration. Whether closed offices, open plans, or team-oriented setups, the right design reflects company culture while maximizing productivity. "The happier we are at work, the longer we're going to stay there," Jeff notes, underlining how thoughtful design translates to tangible business benefits.

Ready to transform your workspace into one that truly reflects your company's values and enhances productivity? Connect with us today to discover how we can help bring your vision to life while navigating the complexities of commercial renovation.

To learn more about Remodel Contracting visit:
https://www.RemodelContracting.net
Remodel Contracting
801 Alpha Rd, Ste 133
Richardson, TX 75081
469-831-5620

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to the Remodel Contracting Podcast,
where outdated spaces meet theirmodern makeover destiny.
Hosted by Jeff Bass, generalcontractor, home renovation
expert and guy who firmlybelieves your avocado green
bathroom has gotta go.
Based in the DFW Metro, remodelContracting is here to help you
level up your living spaceBecause, hey, you updated your

(00:27):
wardrobe, now it's time toupdate your home.
Expect more, live better.
Let's remodel.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
An office isn't just a place to work.
It's a reflection of yourbusiness identity and efficiency
.
So what separates awell-executed build-out from a
chaotic construction nightmare?
Welcome back everyone.
I'm Sofia Yvette, co-host slashproducer, back in the studio
here with general contractor andhome renovation expert, Jeff

(01:02):
Bass.
Jeff, how's it going?
Wonderful, Sofia.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
Thank you for having me here today, and home
renovation expert Jeff Bass.
Jeff, how's it going?
Wonderful, Sophia.
Thank you for having me heretoday.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
It's a pleasure to have you on and that's great to
hear.
Can you go ahead and inform ourlisteners what makes a
successful office build-out?
They're all dying to know.

Speaker 3 (01:19):
Absolutely Well, sophia.
As a general contractor, I'vemanaged plenty of office
build-outs.
I work with the same trustedtrades on a regular basis.
I'll walk you through somethings that work, some things
that don't, and how to avoid themesses that delay move-ins and
drain budgets.
The first thing that'simportant is communication and
clarity up front.
It all starts with a clearvision.

(01:41):
Before anyone picks up a hammer,you have to know the why behind
the build out.
You know what's the goal.
Is the goal better workflow?
Is it about creating clientface space that reflects the
brand?
Is the company growing andneeds to accommodate more people
?
You need input from ownershipand leadership early on from any

(02:01):
stakeholders.
You have to be on the same page.
Leadership early on from anystakeholders you have to be on
the same page.
That vision sets the tone foreverything that follows.
And, of course, your architect,your designer they should be a
part of those earlyconversations as well.
They help to translate thevisions into drawings and plans
and choices that we will followand we will actually build and

(02:25):
choices that we will follow andwe will actually build.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Wow, now let's get into things a bit more.
Jeff, can you tell ourlisteners what are the most
common mistakes businesses makewhen?

Speaker 3 (02:39):
planning an office build out.
Well, one common mistake andthis is something that you have
to think about early on, ofcourse is a budget reality check
.
That's where things can getsideways fast.
You know.
In addition to having thevision and the plan and the
right pieces in place to buildthat foundation for the project,
you need to have properexpectations for the budget.

(03:01):
A successful build out has athe budget.
A successful build-out has arealistic budget.
That means understanding whatthings cost in today's market
and building in a contingency of10 to 15% for the unexpected.
If someone tells you they'regoing to build out a fully
furnished office for $30 asquare foot, you need to start
asking questions, becausenumbers like that aren't
grounded in reality.
And that's a mistake thatpeople fall into is just when

(03:23):
talking to a contractor goingwith the lowest bid, because
what can happen there is thecontractor gets in and then you
feel you're pot committed andwhen those change orders start
rolling in and that scopeincreases, that price increases
and you're not having properlybudgeted for it, you're going to
wind up with an incompleteproject, project that's never
finished or a project thatdoesn't meet your vision.

(03:44):
So it's important to set theexpectations on the budget early
on as well.
I always make sure a clientknows a full scope before they
ever sign a contract and avoidsurprises and changes down the
line.
Another thing to do is make sureyou bring in the right team.
One of the biggest reasons thatwe tend to finish projects on

(04:06):
time and on budget is simple.
I work with the same tradesproject after project my HVAC
guys they know what I expect myelectrician and I already speak
the same language.
It's important to have thesetrades in place and trades that
you work with, whether it be theflooring crew, the painters,
even a data team.

(04:26):
We've all done this dancebefore.
We work together before, andthat kind of rhythm saves time,
it avoids miscommunication andscheduling and it lets quality
control without micromanaging.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
So those are some things to think about now let's
get into zoning laws andbuilding codes.
How do zoning laws and buildingcodes, how do zoning laws and
building codes impact officebuild-outs?

Speaker 3 (04:50):
That's a great question as well.
So you know cities like to gettheir fingers in everything, and
I know this from personalexperience as I currently sit on
city council in Garland.
I'm on my third term in citycouncil there, so I'm very well
versed in zoning and permits andanything having to do with the
city, which really, really aidsme in my business because I

(05:12):
understand both sides of theprocess.
You know, before you even haveany of those conversations about
what you're going to do, whatyour vision is.
You need to make sure that itmeets current zoning.
If it doesn't, and you're goingto wind up with permitting
issues, you're going to wind upwith stop work orders.

(05:33):
So it's important if you aregoing to do something that
possibly will affect your zoning, then you need to have those
conversations with the citystaff to begin with, and it
could go through quite a process.
I mean it could go.
It goes from city staff to plancommission to city council.
So it's not a quick process andnot an easy process, but a very

(05:53):
important process if you wantyour projects to ever get off
the ground and permitting aswell, you have to be able to
work with the permitting officeand understand the more you, as
a GC, understand that city'sparticular permitting rules, the
more successful you can be.
I actually have a project rightnow that I'm working on where

(06:15):
they came to me after another GCfailed in the permitting
process.
I went to the city and they said, yeah, another GC is already on
this permit, but it's not goingto work the way it's structured
.
I worked with that city staffand phrased everything properly

(06:37):
so that it fit the way thattheir permits work.
You have to be able to play thegame, and the better you are at
playing the game, the moresuccessful you're going to be.
So it's very important thatyour GC understands all of those
processes, or else they're justgoing to put the more
successful you're going to be.
So it's very important thatyour GC understands all of those
processes, or else they're justgoing to put the burden on you
and on smaller projects.
They'll do that a lot of timesand then you know what do you do
, where do you go.
This isn't something that youdo on a daily basis, so it's

(06:59):
important to have the right kindof commercial contractor who
understands how permitting works, how zoning works and that's
one of the huge differencesbetween commercial and
residential is having to dealwith the city on those things.

Speaker 2 (07:14):
Now final question for you today, jeff how can
office design influence employeemorale and retention employee?

Speaker 3 (07:23):
morale and retention?
That's a great question, sophia.
So office design, you know it'sabout flow.
So I do one thing.
I do also I do a lot ofrestaurant build outs and in
there it's important to haveproper flow in the kitchen.
I went to one.
It was a redesign from abarbecue restaurant to another

(07:45):
barbecue restaurant and the guyworking the the cutting the meat
he had to take seven steps toget to where the meat was kept.
You know, and if you thinkabout that, if he's walking
seven steps to grab a brisket,walking seven steps back and
then he's got to put it backagain, then he's got to come
back again, that's 28 steps.
How efficiently is he workingif he's having to take 28 steps
every time he does something?

(08:06):
So like in that case?
I redesigned the entire layoutof their service area for the
kitchen so that the meat wasstored right next to the guy
cutting the meat, so heliterally just had to turn.
So you went from 28 steps tozero steps.
And if you want to think thatthat doesn't affect your, you
know your physical health at theend of the day, how you feel,

(08:27):
how tired you are, or theexperience that the customer
gets being served the entiretime with you right in front of
them and not having to keepwalking back and forth.
All of those things matter, andin an office setting it does as
well.
Do you want a closed officespace with walls, ceilings,
doors?
Do you want an open officespace with cubicles where people

(08:48):
can communicate?
Do you want bays where you havea group of people together and
they work cohesively in the samearea?
All of these things matter, andit's important to understand
the culture of the businessbefore you start that process
again, so you can have thatclear vision right up front and
make sure your employee moraleand employee morale is directly
related to intention right, theretention.

(09:09):
the happier we are at work, thelonger we're going to stay there
.
If we have no reason to leaveour job, we're not going to
leave our job, and so morale isa big part of that employee
retention.

Speaker 2 (09:20):
Love it, Jeff.
We'll catch you in your nextepisode.
Have a fantastic rest of yourday.

Speaker 3 (09:25):
Awesome.
Thank you so much, Sophia.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
That's a wrap for this episode of Remodel
Contracting Podcast.
Ready to kick that 90s kitchento the curb?
For a free in-home consultation, call 469-831-5620 or visit
remodelcontractingnet.
Expect more, because your homedeserves better and, honestly,

(09:52):
so do you.