Have you been thinking about remodeling your restaurant or starting a construction project from scratch? Just as with everything else that involves being creative, daydreaming about the possibilities can be so much fun: Build a grand entrance here, install floor to ceiling French windows there… Visualizing how much more profits you’re going to have as a result is also exciting.

Not to rain on your parade, but there are also excruciatingly boring things that come into play, such as zoning regulations, applying for permits and licenses, and conducting due diligence.

What does due diligence entail?

         Due diligence is an essential component of every single construction project. Before anything can get started, you need to know whether the project is viable. For example, what if you love a site, but it’s marshlands and it wouldn’t hold a building? Or what if your budget is not adequate to cover everything your project requires? Or what if you have a winning bid, but it has gaping holes that could later result in delays in construction, or worse yet, litigation?

Also, due diligence is not a catch-all phrase to take care of the details. An adequate diligence will include several different aspects to delve into:

1. Site conditions due diligence: Is your site appropriate for what you want to do? Will your business need to expand and will you have the space for it? Is there a risk of sinkholes? Can you do the excavations you’d need to do? Are there any hazardous substances within the land? These are all things you’ll want to know before choosing a location.

2. Legal due diligence: Are your rights as a project owner covered under the terms of the contract? What happens if the labor or materials are subpar? What happens if your contractor skips town? What if somebody sues you for an act or omission on the part of the contractor? If there’s a lawsuit, could you litigate locally or would you have to travel to their headquarters in another state? Do you even know? These are all things you need to be clear on before you sign a contract.

3. Budget due diligence: The name of this one should be self-explanatory. However, it is very often that construction projects go over budget because either the Master Plan/Master Budget missed an important element, or due to someone’s oversight, or due to a natural disaster, or [insert unexpected event here]. This is also why it’s important to have a contingency budget; but even to set aside funds for one, you need to conduct due diligence to see what would be a list of foreseeable risks.

4. Risk due diligence: Do you know who you’re entering into a contract with? Do you know their history? Have you seen a portfolio of their work? Would you be able to place a mechanic’s lien in any of their assets? Are there warnings after warnings from people who have worked with them in the past and got burned?

Construction requires a lot of preliminary work before you can even get started. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Depending on your type of project, there may be additional considerations. You can do this on your own and hope you’re doing it well, or you can trust experts (such as, say, those awesome people from Eclipse Building Corp.) to do it for you. It might take a lot of time and effort, but it is always worth it. Don’t risk it. Give us a call and see how we can help you.

Welcome back to our blog! (Because you’ve been reading regularly, we hope!) Last week, we discussed issues that often lead to misunderstandings within the construction industry. The items are meant to be as a guideline of things to keep in mind before entering into a construction contract. That said, they are not meant to substitute legal counsel. So don’t be cheap and get a lawyer if you need one.

Today, we’re discussing alternatives to litigation. The reason these are so important is that (a) they’ll save you money, and (b) they have a better chance of preserving relationships with other vendors within the industry. At the end of the day, you never know what’s around the bend, and you might have to deal with some of these people again in the future.

Alternatives to litigation:

Pay close attention to that contract.

Often, people will only skim the pages, or straight out sign without reading. Or they read it, don’t understand everything, and sign it anyway. The reality is that it doesn’t matter what Joe told you. If you end up in Court, what matters is what’s on the contract. So don’t just ask for verbal clarifications. Get absolutely everything in writing and include it in the contract.

Also, you want to make sure there are no inconsistencies. For example, if Clause Number 5 refers to Addendum A, and Addendum A contains contradictory information that what’s on reflected on Clause Number 5, which one are you bound to if there’s a dispute? You can’t afford to chance it. Iron out all inconsistencies before you sign that line.

Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR).

You could always include a provision that in the event of a dispute, all parties involved to go mediation or arbitration instead of Court. Why? It’ll probably cost less and in the case of mediation, you’ll actually have a professional trying to steer the conversation into reaching a resolution. However, make sure you pay attention to who’ll have to pay for this. Are you guys splitting all costs 50/50, or is the person raising a concern responsible for all costs?

Talk it out

This one may make some people roll their eyes (especially attorneys), but the reality is that you have nothing to lose by trying to reach an agreement with the other side by simply having civilized conversation to see if you can meet somewhere in the middle. If you’ve talked to no avail, then do ADR or file your lawsuit.

Whether the issue is regarding payment, a failure to perform, or construction defect, the only winners in construction litigation are the attorneys. So think about it: even if you have the money to battle it out in court only on principle, would you rather go on vacation with your family, or pay for your attorney to go on a nice vacation with theirs? Because that’s the only real good that will come out of this.

You know what else is an alternative to litigation? Hiring us. I mean, there are no guarantees in this world, but at least we have the experience and expertise to back up our claims that we’ll get things done right. Contact us, and let’s talk.

So you finally made up your mind about getting started on your construction or renovation project. You hired a contractor, have a great project manager, and everything’s running smoothly… until there’s an accident or some sort of emergency right on your work site. Do you have a contingency plan to deal with it?

From natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods (which are pretty common in our beautiful Florida), to immature behavior like violence in the workplace (let’s be careful in hiring the right workers, please), an emergency can throw your project off course. Regardless, no matter how careful you may be, unforeseen issues may come up, so you might as well have a contingency plan to deal with them.

So what can you do to make things run as smoothly as possible (and diminish your legal liability while at it)?

1. Have adequate insurance: Contractor liability, general liability insurance, bid bonds, Worker’s Compensation, flood insurance… The list is long, and it’s crucial for you to understand what each of them is for, so that in the event that someone gets hurt while on premises, or a hurricane destroys what you’ve already built, you are adequately covered. Study each policy carefully; and if some of the terms go over your head, ask for clarifications from your broker and/or attorneys, and get everything in writing. 

2. Designate an A Team: Who’s in charge of contacting emergency personnel and all of those insurance companies mentioned above? When disaster happens, there’s no time for everyone to scramble, trying to figure out who’s in charge of what. Designate who’s getting each task done beforehand, and have all of those contact phone numbers and email addresses handy (everyone should have them saved in their number, or at the very least, easily retrievable from their email inbox). And don’t just tell them what they need to do. Train them properly.

3. Have a plan: Everyone on your team needs to know where your alarms, fire extinguishers and first aid kids are. Everyone needs to know what are the evacuation routes. Everyone needs to know who to contact if there’s a natural disaster that prevents them to report for duty or to ask about when it’s safe to come back to work after a site has been damaged. 

4. Make sure everyone’s accounted for: Always have a log of who’s working where, and designate someone who will do a head count after an evacuation. If someone’s missing, refer to that log and either go back for the missing person if it’s safe to do so, or let first responders know.

At Eclipse Building Corp., we make sure that your project is done on time, on budget, and minimize your liability by prioritizing our workers’ and contractors’ safety. If you’re planning on renovating or building from scratch, contact us. We’ll do things by the book for you.

Have you ever planned a family vacation, only to realize midway through that your credit card bill will go through the roof this month? Have you ever bought a pre-owned car, only to realize that it needs so much maintenance and so many replacement parts, you would’ve been better off getting a new one?

It happens. You plan, you save, the unexpected comes up. And while it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something similar could happen in construction, how do you know how much you should be setting a side as part of a contingency budget? And if you plan everything well, do you really need one?

How much to set aside?

         The amount that you should set aside for it will depend on the type of project and the likelihood of foreseeable risks occurring. The higher the risk, the higher the budget. There are several things you can do to avoid risks: Have great insurance. Have a business attorney review your contracts (for example, you want to have indemnification clauses in there in case someone sues you because of something a subcontractor or someone else did). Comply with codes and regulations, so that a cinder block is not falling on someone’s head.

All this said, regardless of how careful you are, there will still be things that pop up unexpectedly, and if you have money set aside to deal with it, you project will move along smoothly.

If I plan things well, do I really need one?

         Ok. Let’s say you planned everything down to the last brick you’ll need. You hired a reputable construction company, have a stellar project manager, and even an Owner’s Representative. How could anything go wrong, right? Then you get a hurricane watch, that not only delays your project, but when it actually hits your town, it damages portions of what has already been completed. Did you plan for that? What if everything gets flooded after one of the many typical thunderstorms we get during the summer in Tampa? What if you have several injured workers and your Worker Comp’s insurance rates go up? I could continue adding items to the list of things that are hard to plan for, but you get the picture.

The best way to plan for the known and for a list of potential variables is to hire an experienced construction company that has been around the block long enough to know how to deal with unexpected plot twists.

Eclipse Building Corp. can help you plan your construction or renovation with realistic expectations. We can also deal with all of the pre-construction issues such as planning and permitting, and post construction aspects, such as maintenance and warranties. Give us a call and let’s talk about your project. We will get you from A to Z beautifully, and on budget.

If you’ve driven on the 275 in the past year, you’ve likely noticed the black billboards with simple words in white: Water Street Tampa. Depending on your type of personality, you might barely notice them. Or you might see them, wonder what they are, and keep driving. Or you might be the most awesome kind of the bunch: When you got home, you looked it up online.

If you’re in that last group, surely you’ve seen the amazingness that awaits downtown. It’s not just that they’re constructing a new office building (where’s the fun in that? There are already so many). We’re talking about an entire mixed use complex that in addition to office space, will feature luxury hotels, apartment rentals, condos for sale, and even a portion of USF. It’s like a city within a city; but even better, because there are already so many restaurants, museums, libraries, and things to do downtown, that who’ll need a car?

What this means for the city of Tampa

         As discussed in our blog about the TPA airport expansion, new construction signifies a boom in the economy. And at the very heart of it all, as usual, is the construction industry. Think about the domino effect (the good kind) that a project like this one entails: the massive amounts of jobs for people working within the project: construction workers, all type of contractors, engineers, and architects. All the people who lease office space and/or rent or buy a home will have to eat somewhere: Hello, restaurants, grocery stores, coffee shops, bars, and farmers markets! Same goes for entertainment: All these people will still want to go to festivals, movie theaters, plays… No matter how you look at it, a project of this scale can only mean one thing: the construction industry goes hand in hand with a healthy economy.

Ok. So we’ll have a bigger international airport and a massive revitalization of our downtown area. This only means one thing: Tampa is booming. If there ever was a time to get started on that construction or renovation project you’ve been thinking about, it is now.

At Eclipse Building Corp. we’d be ecstatic to guide you through the entire process. Contact us and let’s talk about what you have in mind. Strike while that iron is hot.

Few things are more exciting than getting started on a project you’ve been dreaming about for a long time. You start thinking about remodeling, you come up with a concept, and talk about it repeatedly to people who are closest to you. So you decide to bite the bullet and get it done. But then you read stories about people who hired contractors for a construction job, only to get stiffed.

What can you do to prevent that from happening to you?

1. Do your research: I know, I know. We’re all busy. But unless you hire an Owner’s Representative to take the helm for you, you’re going to have to do your due diligence in finding reputable contractors. Make sure they’re properly licensed. Look for pictures of past projects, read a substantial amount of reviews, and see if they’ve ever been sued and why (a lawsuit doesn’t necessarily mean they’re not kosher. People in this country sue for everything. But if a company has a long list of previous clients suing them, you know they’re not trustworthy).

2. Get several bids: Once you’ve narrowed down your list of potential contractors, get a handful of bids from several of them and compare them. If something seems too good to be true from one of them, it is because it is. If they’re all over the place or have missing information, go with someone else.

3. Get it in writing: Don’t ever take someone’s word when it comes to big projects. Before agreeing to anything or making payment, draft a contract with all the desired terms. If they offer you their standard boilerplate agreement, review it with an attorney who’s specifically experienced in construction industry contracts.

4. Get a lien waiver: Remember how we mentioned lawsuits in point number one? If your contractor doesn’t pay their subcontractors, they can place a lien on your property. Doesn’t sound fun, does it? If the company you hired is legit, they should be agreeable to signing a lien waiver. While you’re reviewing the contract with a lawyer, make sure to ask about the waiver’s enforceability.

5. Ask to see their certificate of insurance: Not only do you want to make sure the work they do is covered, but also that they have Worker’s Compensation insurance for their employees. If someone gets hurt on the job, someone’s going to have to pay for it. By making sure the contractor has worker’s comp covered, you’re protecting your own pocket.

At Eclipse Building Corp., we have all our ducks in a row. Rest assured we’ll be able to do your construction or renovation project without a glitch. Contact us and let’s talk about getting things started – and finished.

How many of you remember being in college and trying to hang up stuff on a wall? Sometimes, it would hold up. Other times, you’d hit a beam and it was frustrating as hell trying to figure out where would be the right place to nail something.

Now that we are older and (hopefully) wiser, we know that behind all that plaster lies a covered world of wood beams, studs, insulation, and electrical wiring; and unless you want to run the risk of causing some damage, you better know where all of them are located. The last thing you need is to burst a water pipe while drilling into a wall. So what can you do to get things done and keep wires and pipes intact?

As usual, there’s an app for that.  

         But it’s not something you download. Walabots are a gadget that you physically install to your phone, then slide over your walls to see where everything is located. It’s exactly like taking x-rays of your home or business. And it doesn’t matter if it’s drywall or concrete, this nifty little tool gets the job done.

Now, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all Walabot for every type of project. Depending on whether you just want to install basic decoration in your home or whether you’re remodeling your business, there are different models to choose from.

How is it helpful beyond telling you where to hang a picture?

         Knowing where to hammer a nail is just where the fun begins. Using radio frequency (RF) waves and algorithms, Walabots also analyze materials, which is extremely useful in any renovation project. And here’s the gross part: if there are rodents or roaches inside your walls, Walabots will detect them too. And don’t you want to get rid of those critters before they affect your business?

Fun Facts

As if making your renovation project easier and more efficient weren’t enough, you can even use this tool to determine the composition of liquids. Wanna impress your buddies by telling them the exact alcohol content of their beverage? Scan it with a Walabot. Take bets first, to make it more interesting.

If you’re doing something minor, have fun with it. But if you’re thinking of remodeling your business, leave the logistics to the experts. At Eclipse Building Corp., we can take your vision to reality (and we’ll use Walabots when we have to).

Contact us, and let’s talk about your renovation project. You’ll be glad you did.

Raise your hand if you like having things completed on time. Also raise your hand if you’ve ever changed your mind about anything.

Every single one of us has made a decision, only to make modifications down the road. And that’s fine. But when it comes to the construction industry, each change of heart may result in significant delays and increasing your costs. So in order to stay on schedule and on budget, it is crucial that you brainstorm all possible outcomes and be as certain as you can be about how you want to proceed.

How a small decision can snowball into an avalanche

Let’s look at the ways you may be responsible for construction delays. Every time you take your sweet time in answering an email or phone call from your project manager or owner’s representative, you stall the project. Every time you want to switch around where a door or window goes, or change the location of the main entrance, or install extra windows, or just be an overall pain in the behind, you stall the project.

Imagine that you decide to install an ornate exterior door to a hallway, where before, the corridor would only serve as a connection from one room to the next. Now you have to consider fire ratings materials, exit sign and additional sprinklers installations. This means additional piping. You may then have to move the location of light fixtures if they are obtrusive of the new piping. You have to install new wiring for the new light fixtures.

All of this would mean having to purchase additional materials, having to pay for additional labor costs, and possibly having to push back your grand opening.

So before you begin your project, sit down with your team and be sure that once you give them the green light, you are good to go. If you have any concerns about what would be the most effective design, or whether a specific idea is viable, talk to us. With all of our years of experience, chances are we can provide a solution that will make you happy. Let us show you how.