Commercial Building Construction Explained

Commercial building construction refers to constructing buildings used for businesses, factories, educational facilities, and more. Examples of commercial building construction types include:

• Hospitals

• Schools and universities

• Restaurants

• Offices

• Banks

• Retail spaces

• Industrial facilities
  

Essentially commercial construction covers most buildings that aren’t used as residences. Commercial construction projects range from small scale buildings, like small offices or banks, to large scale projects like skyscrapers, airports, or large hospital facilities.

Commercial Building Construction Phases

Construction of commercial buildings requires extensive planning to meet the needs of the business or facility and those that will use the building as well as adhere to building codes, zoning codes, and other regulations. As a result, the commercial construction process is broken into a number of phases. We’ll walk through a simplified version of these commercial building construction steps with the understanding that they can change depending on the specific project.

Planning and Development

In the planning and development stage, the client will meet with developers, contractors, engineers, architects, and designers to determine commercial building construction details. This will include creating plans, determining the building location, and setting the budget, among other tasks to prepare to begin construction.

Construction Bids

This can be part of the planning phase, but it comes after plans have been drawn up. When the owner is ready to hire a contracting company qualified to build commercial construction, they will open the project up to construction bids. The three types of construction bids are open, selective, and negotiated, and the one the client chooses will depend on the owner's needs and the type of building.

Pre-Construction

Between choosing the construction company and actually constructing the building comes the pre-construction phase. In this phase, the building contractor will coordinate any site testing, secure building permits, and find subcontractors for necessary work.

Construction

Once the construction company is chosen and the team and the client finalize the plans and secure the correct permits, they can break ground for the new building. The length of the construction phase will vary depending on the size and complexity of the building and any unforeseen circumstances. The commercial building construction materials and methods will also vary based on the type of building, weather conditions, local building codes, and other factors unique to each project.

Post-Construction

In the post-construction phase, the owner and the general contractor will do final walkthroughs of the new building and address any issues. Then the local advisory board will issue a “certificate of occupancy” stating that the building meets requirements and is suitable for use.

Commercial vs. Residential Construction

Commercial construction, as discussed above, refers to public buildings, retail spaces, sports facilities, industrial buildings, and more — essentially any place that is not a residence. Residential construction refers to the construction of single-family and multi-family dwellings.

One major factor that makes commercial construction different from residential construction is that the building codes are different. While there are many common requirements between the International Building Code (IBC) used for commercial buildings and the International Residential Code (IRC) used for residential buildings, there are a great number of differences that make commercial buildings better suited to their specific purpose and to create the most safety for the greatest number of people.

Another difference in requirements is that commercial buildings that serve the public must follow requirements set out by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Places of public accommodation, commercial facilities, and state and local government facilities must adhere to ADA Accessibility Standards. Federal buildings must adhere to the Architectural Barriers Act requirements.

One example of how commercial buildings’ construction differs from residential construction is in commercial handrail requirements. Certain requirements, such as the number of handrails required, is dependent on whether the building is for commercial purposes where handrails are required on both sides of a set of stairs or for residential purposes that often only requires a handrail on one side of the stairs.

VIVA Railings Can Help Achieve Commercial Construction Goals

Commercial construction requires extensive planning, adherence to building codes and accessibility standards, and attention to details and the needs of each space. After all, the construction of a bank will vary from the construction of a hospital or restaurant. Because of the wide variance in commercial construction needs, it’s important to work with companies and source products that will help make construction easier. VIVA Railings can help with that.

Our prefabricated railing systems meet commercial handrail codes, and we use modern materials, equipment, and systems, such as 3D laser triangulation to make planning and installation as seamless as possible. VIVA Railings offers a wide range of prefabricated metal and glass handrail systems. Each system can be customized to meet the needs of your project.

Contact the experts at VIVA Railings today to discuss how we can facilitate your commercial building construction process.