It is helpful to obtain a full structure and condition survey of any buildings you are planning to convert to a cafe, bar or restaurant. I will carry out a basic survey when we start our work for you and I will not rely on anyone else’s drawings. It is often advisable to have soil contamination, electrical, plumbing and drainage surveys - especially if the building is old. These can help us specify appropriate remedial works and protect you from the costs of any damage caused by your builders. If your project requires structural building alterations or inspections you will require a Structural Engineer. If your project is large or complicated it is advisable to employ a professional Mechanical and Electrical (M and E) consultant. This consultant will deal with all of the service installations, including heating, air handling, lighting, and fire services. If you require we can recommend suitable consultants and engineers that we have worked successfully with before.
Refurbishing a restaurant, café or store is never cheap. Restaurants in particular can require very large investments. This is partly because of the need to keep up with your competition and partly to comply with all the rules and regulations that are getting more stringent every year. Also most good building and shop fitting firms are very busy and their prices reflect this. If you can find a builder who can act quickly and seems cheap then it is likely that they are not very good. Most good builders are booked well ahead. No matter what you are told by others, it is impossible to say exactly how much your project will cost without preparing a design and having it properly priced. The only way to obtain an approximation is to find out what other similar, recent projects have cost. You may have been given a rough price or estimate but we advise you to be cautious of this unless it is based on a full set of detailed construction drawings and specifications and unless all government and local authority consents have been granted. Often projects which been who have engaged builders on flimsy agreements only to find that the price agreed did not cover even half of the work eventually needed.
All construction projects are notorious for contract disputes usually involving money. Building or refurbishing a restaurant or store can be very complicated and there is often a temptation to rush to save time when the venue is closed. These things can make matters worse. When disputes arise they will often be complicated and cost enormous sums in legal fees before they are resolved. Win or lose the damage to your business is done. A professional project manager will help you by making sure that all of the elements of the construction work are properly considered, drawn, detailed and priced before you sign a contract. They will be as clear as possible in advance, before you commit, about the true likely costs and the time the work will take; they will not give you false promises. This information will help you raise finance. It will also help prevent disputes and make sure you open your business when planned.
There is no hard rule to say you must employ a designer and it depends how comfortable you are to take on the design work. But it has been proved time and time again that good design will encourage a business to grow much faster than those who don’t.
I will work with any building contractors, printers and suppliers who are experienced, professional and capable of implementing our designs properly. You may know such people or firms or you may prefer us to make suggestions and recommendations from companies our other clients have used successfully. I will be pleased to work with you in either event. I refuse to work with unqualified people or anyone whose normal work is not refurbishing restaurants, café and stores.
I like to be transparent about my charges so I have produced a separate help sheet that is available on the website. I do not add any hidden mark-ups or make any secret profits on building or furniture works. Appointing a professional designer and project manager may seem to be an added and unnecessary expense but lots of troubled people contact us too late when they have learned from bitter experience the cost of making wrong decisions. Whatever you spend on your project it will be a lot of money. For many it is the largest business investment they ever make. It is worth a small percentage of this to help make sure the rest of your money is spent wisely and helps you to build a strong business. Finally, if you think professional design is expensive wait until you find out how much amateur design costs.
Certainly, I have prepared many successful planning applications. If I consider that the help you require is beyond my knowledge I can introduce you to expert town planning consultants who advise us and who can run appeals in the event of refusal. Due to government policy changes over the last few years all councils have become very much more demanding about the quality of detail they require before considering planning applications.
I am not a contractor or supplier but I maybe able to suggest recommend builders and other suppliers I may know of if you require. I do not add any hidden mark-ups or make any secret profits from this. I only charge for my time doing the work instead.
If you are a tenant you will require the consent of your landlord before you alter the premises. Your solicitor will deal with this and we can provide them with any drawings they require; again good drawings will speed the process.
It is almost impossible to refurbish a trading cafe or restaurant without closing safely and efficiently unless it is large enough so that the work can be phased. Even then the disruption to trade is so significant that it is often better to close temporarily and get the work over and done with sooner rather than later. You can then have an exciting launch event when the work is finished and often this will more than make up for the lost business. I will plan all building works so that as much as possible is done off site beforehand and the closed time is minimized.
A professional designer will know how to design so that your restaurant, café or store that will best appeal to your customers and your lifestyle. A trained interior designer will understand the technical matters but will also be trained to use the right design tools (such as computers and CAD drawings). They will have time to go through your work thoroughly. An experienced designer will tell you honestly if your own ideas will work and if they will not they should not be afraid to tell you and explain why and to come up with other suggestions. A professional designer will take time to learn about you and your business, where it is and what it is trying to achieve. They will help prepare a detailed design brief to record these things. This brief will help you to control and focus your ideas to stand the best chance of winning business from your competitors so that you are not just relying on your personal tastes and assumptions. A professional designer will help you develop and build a strong, marketable brand with clear, focused objectives. They will work with you over the whole life of your business.
I am responsible for making sure, so far as our specific terms of engagement permit, that the builders and suppliers for your project are engaged on clear terms with detailed, written agreements signed by all parties. If necessary, I will take legal advice when necessary to make sure this work is done properly.
There is no harm in seeing what you can get for free but there is usually always a price to pay in the end. People who offer free design are often just sophisticated printers, builders or middlemen, who present their proposals impressively and sometimes employ highly trained sales teams. It is unlikely they will have the best designers to produce an original design for you that suits your business or come up with any genuinely new designs and they most likely won’t have a good understanding of raw food either. Often they just make proposals that are little different from many others they have made before and which are intended to maximise their profits. If you do go ahead with them the price you pay will have to cover all of their costs of preparing other failed, free proposals so in the end they can be a very expensive choice. You should always be very wary of construction design and build companies who do not provide a full set of detailed drawings and specifications and a proper, fixed-price, building contract before asking you to commit. Even for small projects these documents can run to hundreds or pages but we have seen contracts based on one sheet of drawings and a few pages of written documents, this is inadequate to protect you from cowboys.
It is very difficult to put a time limit on any project without understanding your project. Every job is different to the other. The shortest time for a minor project (up to £150k contract cost) is around 16-20 weeks from starting design work to commencing trading but this depends on the availability of contractors and is best avoided since working so fast can add to costs.
There are so many different carpets on the market. Choosing the right carpet pile is just as important as the colour. These are some of the main types of carpet piles that are typically available on our high street.
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Paint is one of the most popular and effective ways to sproose up a home or a commercial environment for little cost and time. With so many colours on offer you can pretty much find a colour that suits your environment, brand and personality.
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Susanna graduated at one of Britain’s top Universities for interior design at Kingston University in 1996 where she completed her final degree project under one of Britain’s most prestigious Interior Designers Ben Kelly. After gaining work experience at one of the leading interior design consultancies Din Associates in London she moved to Leicestershire to work for a retail design consultancy, Knox Limited. It was here Susanna began to understand the power of branding and how it can be used successfully in retail environments. She worked on many retail design projects for Schuch, Karrimor, Converse, Doc Martin, Dixons and Boots.
Susanna then moved to Shropshire in 2000 to work for iDEA, a successful design company, where she spent 8 years. Susanna was employed as an Interior Designer and was then later made an Associate of the company. Whilst working for iDEA she built up a greater understanding of the importance of sustainable design and how design reflects the way we work, which was implemented in many of their commercial projects. During her time at iDEA, Susanna worked for many prestigious clients, including Royal Sun Alliance, The Bank of New York, BBC, Sky and Prudential.
It was here at iDEA, she was able to run large design projects from initial design concept, monitoring construction site work, right through to completion and project sign-off. She has become very proficient in space planning and space utilisation, detailing, specification of sustainable materials and furniture and understanding how businesses work. Susanna has gained a good knowledge of DDA regulations, Building Control regulations and project procedures required in any commercial job.
Susanna set up Raw by Design offering a sustainable interior design service for the home, retail outlets, cafes and restaurants who want creative, inspirational and functional interiors that work to their needs and requirements. Based in Aberdeen, Susanna works around Scotland and the UK including Edinburgh and Glasgow, London, Manchester and Birmingham.
© 2009—2010 Raw by Design – Home and Commercial Interior Design Services, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
