Corporate Renovation Tips
April 2024 New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check our our April 2024 New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING!
Don’t miss out on this fantastic sale. Contact us today (416) 917-5389!
[email protected]
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Money Saving Tips for Your Office Renovations
7 MONEY SAVING TIPS
By following these tips, you can save money on your office renovations and get the most out of your budget. With a little bit of research and planning, you can create a beautiful and functional office space.
- Shop around for the best prices: Compare the prices of different contractors, materials, and furniture to ensure you are getting the best deals. A good rule of thumb is to get at least three quotes from three different contractors. Be sure to consider the quality of service and response time in getting the quote, reputation of the vendor, references and any warranties or guarantees offered. Once you have narrowed down your options, you can decide.
- Reuse office furniture: Instead of purchasing all new office furniture, consider reusing existing furniture, purchasing used furniture or a mixture of all three. This will save money.
- Choose energy-efficient fixtures: Investing in energy-efficient light fixtures, insulation, and heating/cooling systems can save you money overall.
- Look for discounts: Take advantage of discounts when you buy bulk items, such as paint and carpeting.
- Negotiate: Do not be afraid to negotiate with contractors and/or suppliers to get the best possible prices. If prices are too high for your wallet, work with your contactor/supplier to ensure you get the best value, most contactors/suppliers would welcome the opportunity for your business.
- Hire an experienced office designer: Hiring an office designer can save money on office renovations by utilizing affordable materials, researching cost-effective furniture, and considering refurbishing existing furniture or fixtures. They can also investigate used furniture or fixtures, negotiate with vendors for discounts, and shop around for the best deals. Additionally, they can investigate using space-saving solutions, such as multi-functional furniture, to make better use a smaller space. Lastly, utilizing natural light, rather than artificial lighting, can also help save money.
- Find an experienced IT/network specialist: Working with an IT specialist to streamline your technology may be a smart investment. By hiring a professional to evaluate your current tech setup, you can save money on unnecessary purchases and upgrades. Not only can a specialist help you to identify which pieces of technology you need to keep up with modern trends and demands, they can also provide advice on the most cost-effective solutions. With the right specialist on board, you can be sure that you are getting the most bang for your buck. Investing in a computer specialist now may just be the ticket to saving on office renovations .
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. provides a range of services to help businesses and help you save money. Our project management team oversees all your renovation needs, from design to permitting, tendering and construction management, professional IT services, storage and furniture sourcing. Whether you are doing a small renovation or a complete build-out, our experienced team will collaborate with you, other staff, building management, and various trades to ensure your project runs smoothly.
Let us make your workspace vision come to life by creating the exact look and feel you want, while keeping you on time and on budget. We are proud to have been helping businesses since 1992 and have received glowing testimonials from satisfied clients.
Visit our website, https://www.djmcgauleyandassociates.com/, email [email protected] or contact us at 416-239-1931 to learn more.
September New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check out our September 2023 Summer New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Michael McGauley
DJ McGauley & Associates Inc.
Office 416-239-1931
Mobile 416-917-5389
August New & Used Office Furniture Sale
Check our our August 2023 Summer New & Used Office Furniture Sale. Click Here
Contact Us to Learn More (416) 239-1931
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc. is your Office Space Planning, Renovations and Relocation Project Management Company of choice. Please contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. By the end of that meeting, you will know all that would be required to make your project a successful reality.
Michael McGauley
DJ McGauley & Associates Inc.
Office 416-239-1931
Mobile 416-917-5389
New Liberal Government Mandates could significantly improve Commercial Real Estate Industry
Oct 19, 2015 marked an era of change for Canada—a change to a Liberal majority government. What does that mean for the commercial real estate industry over the next four years?
Well, while the Liberal government is not planning to directly invest in the commercial real estate industry at this time, some of their mandates, if fulfilled, could have a significant impact on the industry.
For example, one of the main mandates of our new Liberal majority government is to largely invest into each province’s transportation infrastructure. This means improving and adding public transit options as well as improving local roadways and highways. For commercial real estate owners, improvements in transportation around their properties could improve the marketability of the office spaces available for lease. Commercial real estate owners would not be forced to lower their lease rates to attract potential leasers. Instead they would just remarket their available office space as “accessible to” multiple forms of transit. If successful, this could potentially lower the percentage of office vacancies, at least within Ontario.
Another Liberal government mandate is to significantly invest in Canada’s social infrastructure, that is, to improve where people live and increase their options/locations for child care. For commercial real estate owners, there is an opportunity to further improve the marketability of their lease properties by adding their properties on the list as potential hot spots in which daycare centres could be built, thereby getting in on the $6+ million that the liberal government plans to invest in this area.
Finally, the Liberal government wants to invest in renewable energy. This could be significant in causing new renewable energy companies to be formed or existing ones to expand into and throughout Canada. For commercial real estate owners, this could mean more potential leasers for their properties.
Per Trudeau:
“Every dollar we spend on public infrastructure grows our economy, creates jobs, and strengthens our cities and towns… Government has a responsibility to act decisively and for the public good. Canada’s economic growth was made possible by building ambitiously. We must do so again if we are to transform our transit and transportation systems, create more liveable communities, and ensure that we adapt to a changing climate.”
Only time will tell what the true effect the Liberal government will have on the commercial real estate industry.
……………………………………………
DJ McGauley and Associates Inc. is your Space Planning, Renovation and Facilities Management company of choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If an office move or reconstruction of your 2,000 – 25,000 sq.ft. office space is in your plans, contact us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. Our friendly experienced team will work seamlessly with your staff to guide you through the process, allowing your employees to enjoy a productive, stress-free experience.
Call 416-239-1931 , email [email protected], or visit our website to complete our contact form.
References:
August 27, 2015, Liberal Party of Canada, “Trudeau commits to largest infrastructure investment in Canadian history”, https://www.liberal.ca/trudeau-commits-to-largest-infrastructure-investment-in-canadian-history/
Liberal Party of Canada, “Real Change: An Historic Investment Plan to Strengthen the Middle Class, Create Jobs and Grow Our Economy”, https://www.liberal.ca/files/2015/08/An-historic-investment-plan.pdf
Good Project Managers Sweat the Details
Image Posted on Updated on
Have you ever looked at your office space and thought, “I think the kitchen/kitchenette area would look better and serve our staff more conveniently if it was shifted over a few feet”? Or maybe, “it should only take a few days to move into our brand new office space and be fully operational by Monday”? If you have, then you need a good project manager take care of the details and make it happen.
What is a good project manager”? Well for an office move, renovation or reconfiguration, a good project manager is one that looks at a project and thinks about all the details that no one else would think of to get from the project’s starting point to its desired end.
For example, my client that wanted the office’s kitchen area moved over approximately 50ft was surprised when I quoted her the estimated cost of $50,000 and responded, “Can’t you just unplug the kitchen unit from here, cut an outlet and plug it back into the new spot?” What she didn’t realize is that her request would require some extensive reconstruction and rewiring behind the wall before a new outlet could be created and her kitchen area successfully moved over the 50ft.
A good project manager sweats the details so that neither you nor your staff has to. In an office move, for example, a good project manager would call in, coordinate and manage all the necessary engineers and construction professionals to
- wire or rewire the electrical to PEng standards to better suit your business needs,
- build new offices or take down walls to create an open office space,
- install and test phone and data lines to accommodate complex phone systems, computer servers and connections to and from each planned work station,
- activate utilities
- dismantle and reassemble workstations
- pack and move furniture
- check and change all florescent light fixtures
- paint
- clean, shampoo the carpets, polish the floors, and wash the windows
- ensure office temperature is optimal for your staff and equipment
So, if an office move or reconstruction of your 2000 – 25,000sqft office space is a remote consideration, don’t sweat it. Instead let an office move/office reconstruction project manager sweat the details for you.
………………………………..
DJ McGauley and Associates Inc. is your Office Move, Reconstruction and Reconfiguration Project Management Company of choice for the Toronto, GTA and surrounding areas. If an office move or reconstruction of your 2000 – 25,000sqft office space is a remote consideration, consider contacting us to arrange a no-obligation site meeting. We guarantee that by the end of that meeting you will know all that would be required to make your office move/reconstruction project a successful reality.
Call 416-239-1931 , email [email protected], or visit our website to complete our contact form.
Permit Grade Design: The Real Deal
One of the biggest mistakes businesses make when choosing an office space designer is basing their decision on a conceptual drawing or a block floorplan of an office space simply because they assume that the block floorplan is the exact way their completed office will be when the job is done. Not the case. While a block floorplan has its merits, the real decision-making factor is in the Permit Grade Design.
Similar to a block floorplan, a Permit Grade Design is a ceiling-view drawing of an office space with its different subsections blocked in—workstation area, closed in office areas, exits, washrooms, elevators, stairs, furniture, etc. However, the Permit Grade Design is drawn to scale based on the exact measurements and layout of your office space and furniture. With a Permit Grade Design, businesses and decision-makers will have a clearer view of what the final layout of their office space could look like. Presented with various Permit Grade Designs, businesses can make a more educated decision on which office space designer to hire and get the job done based on the best floorplan presented to them.
Permit Grade Designs are easy to obtain—just request one from the office space designer(s) you are considering to hire. In the short term, it may cost you a little money upfront to account for the extra time the designer takes to measure every aspect of your office space and furniture, but it would prove beneficial in the longer run because (a) you will gain a greater confidence in the office space designer you choose to hire, and (b) you will minimize the possibility of some common and sometimes costly problems such as furniture not fitting properly into their assigned office areas .
So, when it comes to hiring an office space designer based on a floorplan, remember that the Permit Grade Design is the real deal-maker!
Don’t Be Fooled by a Block Floorplan!
There are many main factors that come into play when choosing a designer to create and “build” your ideal office space—three of which are pricing, personality and the plan (floorplan that is).
Pricing: This is obvious. You want the best quality for the lowest cost possible (the best bang for your buck).
Personality: Relatively obvious. You want someone who works compatibly with you and your team while working towards realizing your ideal office space.
The Plan: Deceivingly obvious. The designer that presents the most favorable looking floorplan is likely to be the professional you will want to choose. That is the premise most decision-makers bank on. However, many fall into the trap of making their final decision on the wrong floorplan.
Let me explain.
Designers vying for your business will likely present you with a block floorplan. As the name suggests, a block floorplan is a ceiling-view schematic drawing of an office space with sections “blocked” on the page to represent individual office and workstation areas, bathroom spaces, stairways, elevators, exits, etc. Some block floorplans may even include top-view drawings of furniture such as a desk or a sofa just to give an idea of furniture placement within each blocked space. Block floorplans are great for providing a conceptual view of how your office space could be laid out, but they do not represent an exact view of your office space simply because they are most often not based on the actual measurements of both your office layout and your furniture.
Now, a block floor plan does have additional benefits: it can reveal to a decision-maker what a designer is capable of creating and may even give some insight to the question of whether or not the designer can identify with your business needs in relation to your office space. However, as a cover letter is with a resume, a block floorplan should be seen as part of an introduction to a designer who could potentially provide a solution to your office space– not as the actual solution to your office space.
Block floorplans may help narrow your choices of designers to use for your office space, but the real determining factor would be in the permit grade design…but we will discuss that in another blog.
Should you replace the cubicles with an open office design?
Does the office layout have any impact on the productivity in the workplace? Decidedly so. At a time where social collaboration and information sharing are the buzzwords in corporations, especially here in Toronto, the open space interior office design is being hailed as some kind of a 21st century corporate savior. But it’s not that easy. Cubicles for a design space have not entirely lost their point, and some open workspace companies have in fact deemed it better to revert to the former.
An open workspace, often praised as innovative and flexible, allows for easy interaction and facilitates creativity. The premise is, without the stifling cubicles, the hierarchical walls give way to free rein, enabling staff to work in teams and collaborate with each other. Ultimately, employees produce work not only at a faster rate but also at a better quality.
Needless to say, the open office space has worked wonders for SAP’s cloud computing teams. With everyone sitting at an open environment, employees can share ideas freely and without inhibition.
While the concept may have worked for one of SAP’s teams, where the employee count is relatively small and the job requires continually squeezing one’s creative juices, there’s evidence that it might not work at every organization. TIME published an article in 2012 about the demons that hound an open office. This includes unbearable office noise, lack of privacy, and increased employee stress. There’s a study to back this up, and it’s been published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
This is why you might not want to totally rule out cubicles. Workspace innovators sometimes call them demoralizing, but it does provide a number of advantages that the open workspace does not. For one, it offers that valuable personal space. There will also be more space to stack documents and diagrams for easy reference. And you won’t deny, it’s much easier to focus when no one’s staring at you from across the table.
Ultimately, your choice of interior office design should depend on the nature of your company or product, the number of employees, and, well, what your employees think about it.
Corporate Relocation: On Office Design, Systems Furniture, and Space Planning
Corporate relocation is a daunting task that takes a lot of work. Three areas, in particular, require expertise and close attention: office design, systems furniture, and space planning. These are the same areas that D.J. McGauley & Associates pride themselves in, over their competitors in the corporate relocation industry.
Office Design that Makes Sense
Your employees will have countless questions regarding your planned office relocation, mostly centering on one aspect: the office design. For many, their office spaces have become their comfort zone. Naturally, they would be apprehensive about how the new office layout will look like: will their zone of privacy be decreased? Is the new office design comfortable to work at?
D.J. McGauley & Associates Inc understands the importance of office design, as it is one of the crucial steps in the relocation process. This is why feasibility studies and preliminary layouts are given precise attention. Your thoughts and ideas are crucial in the entire design process—and will be balanced with the need for a workplace design that makes sense and enhances productivity.
Precision in Systems Furniture
Your systems furniture has to be handled with care. You cannot afford any accidents or damage to the furniture, as it will disrupt business, and will cost you both lost profits and repair expenses.
Reconfiguring the systems furniture and installing new components must be done by a highly skilled and trained team. The team must be able to break down and seamlessly re-assemble the furniture from the old office to the new one. This is an expertise of the professionally trained team of D.J. McGauley & Associates.
Specialization in Space Planning
The problem faced by most businesses who relocate without corporate relocation specialists is most apparent in space planning. These businesses realize that their preferred office layout does not conform to the prospective floor plate, leading them to make many compromises.
D.J. McGauley & Associates makes no such mistakes, making use of engineering and structuring layouts to ensure that the layout you want matches with the space of your new office.
Corporate Space Planning & Relocation Advice 