In your business budget, money is always a concern. It is especially so now with cost increases over the last couple of years. In light industrial construction, or construction of adaptable, smaller commercial industrial buildings, there are several ways to keep your construction budget in check.

You can often work with the contractor to select building materials that are more cost-effective, even with the increased costs of most materials. This doesn’t mean cheap materials; a good architect or design-build construction manager will let you know if the materials are much lower quality, which you certainly don’t want in your building. Those cheaply-made products can cause additional costs in the long run when you have to replace them. However, you can select quality materials that aren’t the most expensive and will last in your office or warehouse space.

Try not to change your building design or incur change orders. One of the most common reasons for going over budget with a building project is changing the design. Your contractor will have to rework the plans, and any change means that new materials will need to be sourced and purchased. The building crew may need to work additional hours to make the changes you request. All of the changes involved rack up the costs of the project.

Start by carefully working through the design with your contractor. Ask questions and be sure you know what the building will look like in the end. Remember that many architects and design-build contractors use software that can render a 3D image, and that will give you the best idea of whether the finished building will suit your needs. The more time you spend planning, the closer you’ll get to the building you want.

Hire the right contractor. Regardless of how much thought and planning you put into your building, there’s one thing that can always ruin an otherwise amazing project – a bad contractor. Interview several building construction companies and always look at the work they’ve done for others. A good construction team like Buildrite Construction will listen to what you want and provide you with thoughtful recommendations of how to make your light industrial building project flow smoothly, within budget where possible, and above all, give you exactly what you need in your office or warehouse space.

Want more? Read about Buildrite’s commercial construction services.