The Owner's Manual · Guide No. 1
Six stages, no varnish. What happens, what it's called, and — the part nobody tells you — what your actual job is while it happens. Read this once and you'll run your buildout instead of riding along in it.
What happensThe invisible stage where most budgets are actually decided. A test fit proves your use physically works in the space. A contractor's read of the work letter reveals who really pays for what. A zoning check confirms your use is even allowed at the address.
Your jobGet a test fit and a GC's read of the work letter BEFORE signing the LOI. Both are typically free (we do them constantly). Leverage on TI allowance and delivery condition evaporates the day you sign.
What happensAn architect turns your needs into construction documents. Early pricing (preconstruction) runs alongside so the design never drifts past the budget. Allowances get replaced with actual selections; long-lead items get identified.
Your jobMake finish and equipment decisions ON SCHEDULE — late decisions, not slow builders, cause most delays. Count the allowances in your bid: each one is a guess wearing a number.
What happensThe permit set goes to the city, and plan check begins. Corrections come back; corrections get answered. Restaurants and medical answer to extra authorities (health department, fire marshal) with their own timelines.
Your jobBreathe. This is the least controllable stage, and pressure doesn't speed up a plan checker. What helps: complete drawings and a GC who knows this specific building department. Ask about that before you hire, not after.
What happensThe GC locks in subcontractors and pricing (buyout), submittals confirm exactly what's being installed, and long-lead items — HVAC units, switchgear, custom storefronts, kitchen equipment — get ordered, sometimes before the permit lands.
Your jobApprove submittals fast; every idle day here surfaces at the end of the schedule. If your GC hasn't named your long-lead items with order-by dates, ask today.
What happensMobilization, demo, framing, rough-in of the systems, above-ceiling inspections, drywall, finishes. Weekly, the space looks more like your rendering — and every question you answer quickly keeps it that way.
Your jobWalk the site at rough-in, before drywall: it's the last cheap moment to move an outlet or a wall. Expect scheduled updates and photos, not silence. Silence is a bid you should have asked question #7 about.
What happensThe punch walk lists final fixes. Inspections close out. The certificate of occupancy — the good CO — clears you to open. The closeout package (as-builts, warranties, final lien waivers) lands in your inbox.
Your jobDo the punch walk in person and be picky; it's the job's last exam. Don't release final payment until the closeout package is complete — you paid for every page. Then open the doors. You earned this part.
Now interview like you mean it
The 12 Questions checklist turns everything above into an interview any contractor has to earn. Print it, bring it, watch faces.
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