Project Scope
As a growing company, Fred Beans Newtown CARSTAR was quickly running out of adequate space for office teams, service staff, customers, and vehicles. They didn’t have enough workspace, customer waiting, or service bay areas to deliver their desired service level. To alleviate cramped workspaces for office and service staff and create ample accommodations to repair more vehicles, CARSTAR required commercial additions and construction to expand and reconfigure its interior and exterior operations.
The plans included:
- 3,400 sq. ft. of additional shop space, including a drive-through and walk-in garage
- 1,700 sq. ft. additional office and customer area space, including two private offices and service writer desks
- 10,620 s. ft. interior renovation of existing shop space
Our role was to execute this commercial renovation and construction project according to approved architectural and site engineered plans. All the while, we worked in-tandem with the customer’s interior designer to install approved flooring, ceiling tiles, light fixtures, millwork, and more.
Beyond the additions and commercial renovation portion of this project, we happily assisted CARSTAR with exterior material selection to meet the township’s stringent requirements for stone accents and other exterior features. While many commercial renovation and construction companies may shy away from selecting finish materials, often urging clients to work instead with a designer, we have the skillset and enthusiasm to take on such a task.
Challenges
The Fred Beans Newtown CARSTAR commercial renovation and construction project began in March, a notoriously wet time of year. As such, the severe slope from the parking lot to the building where the rear addition work would take place posed flooding concerns. As we excavated, water ran down the hill and the flooded footings.
Another challenge was that CARSTAR would remain open for business throughout the renovation and construction process. The challenge was to minimize staff and customer disruption as much as possible while also ensuring smooth and efficient project completion.
Finally, the relocation of two paint booths presented a challenge of their own. Because the new paint booth location would reside in an existing portion of the building, not an addition, we were unsure what we would uncover beneath the original drywall ceilings. Special care is required to ensure a properly and safely constructed paint booth.
Solutions
When it came to tackling the challenges with wet weather, we designed temporary solutions designed to deflect water away from the footings and redirect it to the sides of the building. When construction was complete, water permanently and appropriately flows to the sides, alleviating concerns over future building flooding.
The challenge of remaining open for business during commercial renovation and construction is one we’ve mastered in our 40+ years of experience. We planned for the project to be completed in phases to reduce the disruption to CARSTAR’s team and customers. As one portion was completed, Fred Beans’ staff took over the new space. Because the front and back additions were under construction simultaneously, we took special care to create solutions to redirect customers to new entrances and other areas until the commercial renovation and construction project was complete.
Lastly, we completed specialized site and structural work on air returns, exhaust, custom framing, and other paint booth-specific commercial construction and renovation techniques to ensure the new paint booth locations are safe and effective.
Results
After deploying our largest crews, we completed the Fred Beans Newtown CARSTAR commercial renovation and construction project in 175 calendar days or about six months. As a result, their teams have ample workspace to spread out and assist customers. Managers now have private offices, and service writers have designated desks, making day-to-day work life more efficient and enjoyable. From a broader business perspective, Fred Beans Newtown CARSTAR now has more space to grow and cultivate employee satisfaction, two critical components of calculating the return-on-investment.
As veteran crews accustomed to working while companies remain open, the CARSTAR staff was thrilled that we took great care to make the process as seamless as possible. We make commercial renovation and construction transitions easy and straightforward so that teams can remain focused on what they do best.
With a keen eye on every detail and a fierce determination to do whatever it takes to get it right, the Fred Beans Newtown CARSTAR project is another example of how we live up to our long-standing reputation for quality and performance.
