UpClose & Personal - Massage Today

This month’s topic is the actual construction of your spa. If you have done your homework and have worked in conjunction with your spa consultant and interior designer or architect you should be well prepared. The more detail on the design and specs the clearer it will be to get bids that will not be susceptible to huge overruns and misunderstandings with the builder.

It's time to decide whether to choose a general contractor whose job it will be to coordinate the entire job including carpentry, electrical, plumbing, tile, painting, finish details, etc. or to be your own construction manager (general contractor) if you want to bid out and coordinate all of the subcontractors, do most of the pricing, purchasing, and scheduling yourself. You will have to also get the permits as an owner/builder. I would only recommend this if your job is a renovation and if you have construction or management experience. You will also be responsible for the quality control of your own job. This may also take away from your spa operation planning; but, could save you as much as 10% to 20% of the construction cost.

Whether or not you use a general contractor or not you will still be shopping for the best quality for the least price. You should get at least 3 bids from reputable general contractors, or if you are the general contractor get 3 bids from each subcontractor. If your plans and specs are well prepared the lowest bid will work fine.

However, if your plans are not well detailed a low bid could actually cost you more in the end if there are changes needed that are not detailed enough on the plans. For example if the concrete floor is poured and your floor drain is in the wrong place, the wrong size, or forgotten because the equipment was not specified there could be a major extra cost. Sometimes a low bidder can see that your plans are not clear enough and will come in with a low bid knowing he will get the job but make up for the low bid on the extras and change orders and at the same time not have to be accountable for delays. In any case make sure you know the hourly rate you will pay in case of changes. It is also very important to require a finished date with a penalty clause if the work is not completed on time.

You should time your construction to be finished about two to fours weeks before your opening so there is a little cushion and also a training period scheduled in. This gives an overlap that will give you the option to train in your own place if the building is done on time or if there is more time required for construction you still could do off site training. (It is much better to do the training on site) The extra cost of an offsite training facility rental should be figured into the cost of non-performance to be paid by the contractor. You should also keep an ongoing punch list of incomplete work and withhold a part of your final payment till such work is completed. There should also be a workmanship guarantee clause–-especially for plumbing, electrical, and mechanical problems that could arise as a result of improper installation or inferior materials.

Make sure that you completely understand your contract before you sign. If you have any questions that your builder cannot explain and you cannot understand, you probably should get legal advice before you sign. You should also have your spa consultant review your contract and final contract plans before you sign just to be sure. If you been very independently creative and have not hired a spa consultant from the beginning now is the last chance before very costly mistakes could be avoided before construction begins.

Another important bit of advice is to make sure the contractor is licensed and insured including liability and workman’s comp. It is actually legally possible that you could be liable for personal or property damages caused by a construction accident even if you are leasing the property.

Don’t forget to put up your ”coming soon” signs to let the public know what is coming; because, next month we will change gears and start to talk about the actual business operations master planning. .

John can be reached for comments at john@goldenratio.com