• Building repairs

If you’re thinking about building renovation, you’re probably overwhelmed with all the things you need to consider and plan. Renovation work can be more stressful than building from scratch, thanks to the aspects you must include. But if you go into your project fully informed, you’re more likely to find the process easy to manage. 

So to help you, we’ve written a guide to getting started with your building renovation work.

Building Renovation vs Building Restoration

To begin with, let’s establish what we mean by renovation and how that compares to other construction work, like restoration. 

A building renovation project usually entails improving a property, as well as repair and remedial work. Renovation tends to take a property and enhance it by adding to the structure or smartening it up.

Building restoration typically involves returning a building to a prior state. Lots of buildings invest in restoration work if they have historic features that may have been covered up or fallen into disrepair. 

Another type of restoration work happens when a building has been affected by a disaster, like a fire or flood. We wrote a blog about fire and flood restoration, and you can read it here.

Starting Your Building Renovation

Getting started on your building renovation is the most daunting stage. This is when you map out your objectives, research planning permissions and source a reliable team of professionals to help you achieve what you’ve set out to do.

Your Objectives

What’s the reason for your building renovation? Are you updating the decor? Adding new floors to make space? Overhauling a building so it matches your brand profile? Whatever your motivation, you need to be clear about your goal. As your project unfolds, you may be distracted by things that come up – having a clear strategy helps keep you focused.

Planning Permission

If you are hoping to extend your commercial building, change the exterior dramatically, or your building is a listed building, you will need to find out if your plans require you to apply for planning permission. Commercial planning permission can be fairly complex, so enlisting the help of a professional is advised – we’ve heard of cases where new buildings have had to be razed to the ground because they didn’t comply with planning conditions.

Sourcing Professionals

To avoid serious mishaps like not complying with planning permission, you should use a reliable and trustworthy team of professionals to help you navigate your building renovation. When it comes to construction work, GI Sykes has decades of experience that can help complete your project quickly and within budget.

And it’s not just our expertise that means our building renovation projects are fast and efficient, it’s also our network of suppliers that prioritise our orders (thanks to our large order book!). We often get the best rates and a good supply chain so we can keep your costs within your budget and avoid delays caused by the supply issues that have plagued the construction industry for the past couple of years.

What You Need To Consider

You may have an idea of the work your building renovation needs, but there are some questions you need to ask yourself or a professional before you start booking contractors. These are; 

• Do you need to get permission from your landlord?
• Does your lease or tenancy agreement allow the scope of your project?
• Will you need to change the category classification of your building?
• Does your building renovation plan need an architect?
• Will you need planning permission?
• Who will do the work?
• What are your timeframes, and what happens if you have a setback or delay?

Once you have answers to these questions, you’re in a great position to start getting quotes from contractors. We recommend getting a few quotes from professionals and comparing their different aspects. Price is often the first consideration, but going with the cheapest quote doesn’t mean you’re making a good saving. Equally, the most expensive doesn’t guarantee quality. You should also look at things like reviews, case studies and accreditations. 

What Your Project Needs

Building renovations cover a broad range of services, from simple painting and decorating to adding a mezzanine floor. But even with a ‘simple’ reno, the organisation can be tricky to manage. It takes time and consideration, from booking your preferred contractors to clearing the space. That’s why using a company that includes a project manager is highly beneficial – particularly on large-scale projects.

GI Sykes has a vast team of professionals, each specialising in their respective fields. We’re able to tackle multi-skilled projects without the hassle of having to manage different contractors and timescales. Some of the services we provide are; 

Extensions
Extensions come in all shapes and sizes, and your type of building may require specialist skills. Our team of 65 skilled building contractors have worked on pretty much any type of extension you can think of, from industrial unit to retail to hospital. 

We meticulously plan your extension to ensure that we minimise disruption to your business and keep to the timeframe. Your dedicated project manager keeps the team to task and means you only have one point of contact to deal with.

Rendering

If your building renovation includes smartening up the exterior, then rendering might be on your list of required services. We use the most durable and quality silicone rendering systems, so you know that your investment will look as good in years to come.

Partitioning

Partitioning is one of our most frequently requested building renovation services since many clients want to customise their premises to suit their business. We can quickly create boardrooms, offices, break rooms and other sectioned-off areas with quality partitioning that helps to insulate your property.

Cladding

If your cladding looks worse for wear, we can clean and repair it so it looks bright and well-cared for once again. We can even respray it if you fancy a colour change or want to cover up faded areas.

GI Sykes: Your Building Renovation Specialists

So, if you’re looking into building renovation and don’t know where to start, hopefully, you’ve picked up some pointers from this article. But if you’re still unsure how to proceed, call us. We’re more than happy to talk to you about your project and get your renovation project underway.