Houston General Contractor: Creating a Commercial Floor Plan

Houston general contractor working on digital floor plans for commercial building
Your Houston general contractor can help you create the perfect commercial floor plan.

Constructing a commercial building requires a lot of steps and planning, which is why you need a good Houston general contractor on your side. One thing that requires careful planning is the floor plan of your commercial building. Floor plans can make or break a space and have a huge impact on your business. Therefore, it’s important to work carefully with your contractor to develop a smart floor plan based on your exact needs. The good news is that your contractor can guide you throughout this process so you can create the ideal floor plan for your needs.

Talk to Your Houston General Contractor About Floor Plans

Of course you care about what the outside of your building looks like, how much parking you have, and other aspects of the construction planning process, but you’re probably much more concerned about the inside, where you and your employees will be working every day. Therefore, it’s important to talk to your Houston general contractor about floor plans as soon as possible. After all, it can have a huge impact on daily work life and can also impact your customers. After discussing floor plan needs, your Houston design build team will start designing interior floor plans based on your needs and you can tweak them as needed to match your company.

How Will My Houston General Contractor Present Floor Plans to Me?

There are a few different ways your Houston general contractor might present your floor plans to you for review. Usually, it starts with a 2D plan, which provides you with an aerial view of the different rooms in your building. This is often used as the first draft because they are quicker to draw up, so you can see the proposed floor plan and make changes as needed. 

For more final versions, you might see a 3D floor plan. These are computer models of what your space will look like in three dimensions. Often, it also includes mock ups of furniture inside the floor plan so you can get a real sense of what it will look like. Sometimes these floor plans are even designed to provide you with a virtual walk-through of the planned space. 

Key Considerations for Floor Plans in Houston Commercial Construction

There are a lot of things to think about when designing a commercial floor plan. Thinking through some of these things with your Houston general contractor can be a big help when they go to design your custom floor plan. Here are some things to consider:

Work with Your Houston General Contractor to Decide How Much Space You Need

One of the first things you’ll need to decide is the amount of space you need. It’s important to balance space with your budget, but don’t skimp on space, especially if you plan to stay in your building for some time. 

There are many ways to calculate space for a commercial floor plan. For instance, if you’re designing an office layout, then you will probably calculate a certain amount of square footage per employee. For retail space, however, you’ll probably need to calculate square footage based on how much inventory you will have. 

Another tip we have for making sure you have enough space is to plan for future needs as well. As your business grows, you don’t want to find that your building is stunting that growth. 

Think About the Types of Space You Need

It’s also important to think about the types of spaces you need. Flexible, multi-purpose spaces are great because they really optimize square footage, but there will be areas that have a dedicated use. Figure out what those are for your business and tell your Houston general contractor. For instance, a car dealership will need a large open space for the sales floor as well as private offices for administrative staff and the financing department. An office might need collaborative and private spaces for their employees. Don’t forget to think about other spaces like for storage that you’ll need. 

Talk to Your Houston General Contractor About How to Consolidate Work

It’s no secret that Houston commercial construction can get expensive fast. So, talk to your Houston general contractor about ways to consolidate work so your building uses fewer materials and less labor to build. One common example is placing bathrooms close to each other so there’s less plumbing work to be done. 

Get Rid of Redundant Spaces

Part of making your commercial building (and the costs to construct it) efficient is making sure there are no redundancies. For instance, you likely don’t need multiple break rooms, particularly if everyone takes their break at a different time. If you have a small office, then you also probably don’t need to have multiple copy machines taking up space. Your Houston general contractor can help you look for redundancies and cut them so you use your space more efficiently. 

Consider Flow for Your Commercial Floor Plan

Flow is also a key thing to consider for your commercial floor plan. It should be easy and intuitive to navigate your commercial building for both employees and customers. There shouldn’t be large obstructions or winding pathways to get to where you need to go. Everything should be logical and straightforward. You’re not creating a labyrinth!

Work with Your Houston General Contractor to Plan Areas for Large Equipment

If you need large equipment for your business, don’t forget to account for that in your floor plans. Even copy machines take up quite a lot of space, which means you need to find the right spot for it. While all the furnishing happens at the end of your project, it’s important to be thinking about how things will fit when designing your floor plan. 

Ask Your Employees What They Want in a Floor Plan

Another thing to think about is asking your employees about their floor plan ideas. Oftentimes, you’ll get some really solid answers about the type of workspace they want or need. For example, they might want more individual spaces so they can concentrate in the quiet or they might want an open layout so they can collaborate more. Your employees know quite a lot about the daily operations and can help you get ideas for your company’s floor plan. 

Why is a Floor Plan Important for Commercial Buildings?

Floor plans can have a huge impact on the success of your building and, therefore, your business. The work environment affects many things, including:

  • Concentration
  • Productivity
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Stress levels
  • Company culture
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Retail sales

Therefore, it’s critical to design a smart floor plan based on your exact needs.

Keeton Construction Services Construction – Your Houston General Contractor for Commercial Builds

Our experts at Keeton Construction Services Construction are here to help you with your commercial and industrial construction projects. We offer over 20 years of expertise to provide you with the highest quality work for your building. Our team offers attention to detail and problem solving to ensure you get the best quality work within budget and by your deadlines. Contact us today to discuss your project with our construction professionals.