A Big House – What’s the Use?

We met with a potential client earlier this week who is looking to purchase a large single family home on about 20 acres of land in east central Indiana. (The picture here is not of the actual house, but it sure does look grand). The home was custom built in 1993 by a wealthy business owner in the area. The vision of the potential new owner is to convert the home, with its large indoor pool, tennis court, massive garage and beautiful outdoor gardens into an event space for weddings and corporate retreats. The plan is to advertise on “Airbnb” and “VRBO” to rent it out and cash flow the property. The plan sounds great on paper as the size of the property and amenities lends itself to this type of use. I can only imagine the amazing backdrop this would provide for one of those magical summer outdoor weddings.

The reason they called us was to talk about the code related items that they will face in converting this single family home to commercial use. There are several things that need to be done in order to properly convert the structure such as fire protection systems, ADA accessibility and the liability insurance costs associated with having large events at the site. We are not insurance experts, but we know that insuring a business like this will come with a significant price tag.

PDMi has the knowledge and expertise to work through the state and local building codes to help our potential client identify all of the items they will need to address with this project. Some may be costly and others rather affordable, but in the end they will have a fairly long list of changes in order to convert this single family home to a commercial space.

If you think your next project might have some building code issues, give us a call as we’d love to share our wealth of knowledge and help you through the process.

Batman & Robin

Batman & Robin – Night & Day – Salt & Pepper, these are all things that go together. They fit. One complements the other. It is the same with Design & Build, one completes the other. Too often today design and build are regarded as adversaries. They separately compete for the approval of the owner and/or the success of the project. This should not be! Just like Batman was not complete without Robin, the design of a project is not complete until it is built.

There are many benefits to the Owner when Design and Build are combined on a project. They include:

• A Team Relationship is established between the Design Professional and the Contractor which is built on trust and confidence.

• The Scope of the project is identified through the contract documents so that Cost and Schedule can be identified/verified/modified early in the process.

• The Design Professional becomes a Valuable Resource to the Builder during the construction process.

The Old Days of adversarial relationships which were formed by Architects/Engineers drawing blueprints for the Contractor to competitively bid must be reevaluated. If we, as Professionals and Contractors, desire to bring the best product to our clients then we must learn that Design and Build fit together.

Top Ten Reasons to Choose a Design Professional

Over the years, many of our ebits have taken a look at all the choices you face as you start a facility project. In other words – which, of the many items you have at your disposal, do you reach for to assure a successful project? This week we take a look at reaching for an “Engineer/Architect that you Know, Believe in & Trust” to be on your team.

Here are the Top Ten Reasons to reach for an Engineer/Architect for your next facility project…

Number 10: You need extra “horse power” to get those out of the ordinary projects completed.

Number 9: You need individuals with specialized skills on building codes, architectural design, engineering and construction management to supplement your in-house staff.

Number 8: You need political cover from the corporate “sacred cows” and all that jazz.

Number 7: You’re looking for Best Practices from someone who has served multiple clients facing similar problems across different sectors.

Number 6: You are looking for a fresh set of eyes that are not bound by daily routines.

Number 5: You are looking to validate ideas that have already been created within the organization.

Number 4: You are looking to understand the building codes & government regulations and leverage them to your advantage.

Number 3: Lawyers are too expensive.

Number 2: Your brother-in-law is busy this weekend.

And the Number 1 Reason you should reach for an Engineer/Architect is….It’s fun to look at all the drawings!

In all seriousness (not that these 10 Reasons are not serious), having a professional alongside you will calm the stress of the day to day decision making because this is what we do; nothing new here for us. Give us a call, we look forward to being a part of your team…