Interior Demo: Mid-Project Changes Save Time and Money

Discovering an opportunity for substantial cost savings during a project in progress is always a welcome surprise, which was the case on a warehouse renovation in which R. Baker & Son was tasked with performing the   of the 200,000 sq. ft. building. The building was to become a manufacturing plant with 10,000 square feet of offices occupying one corner and heavy mechanical areas throughout the facility. 

Phase one of the interior demolition project was fairly standard. After careful planning and coordination of utility shutoff, everything within the building’s four outer walls and roof were removed using equipment that included forklifts, loaders, and skid steers brought in through existing loading dock doors. R. Baker & Son also handled reclamation and resale of an existing generator and multiple transfer switches to help offset some of the demolition costs. 

The second phase of demolition was saw-cutting and removal of approximately 50,000 sq. ft. of the concrete floor slab to accommodate the new plant’s underground sanitary and process plumbing. It was during this time that it became clear that, with some careful planning and cutting of an addition 4,000 sq. ft. of slab by the Baker Team, much of the overhead electrical conduit and cable tray could be relocated below ground fairly easily, saving a considerable amount of money in labor and material. Not having racks of conduit suspended from the ceiling or cable tray with miscellaneous steel supports would also result in a much cleaner, more aesthetically-pleasing installation. 

R. Baker & Son worked closely with plumbing and electrical contractors throughout the BIM coordination process for precisely relocating, trenching and backfilling all pipe and conduit. These changes resulted in savings of $112,000 and four weeks were shaved from the overall master schedule. With a tight budget, aggressive schedule and cost overruns in other areas of the project, this was music to the owners’ ears.