Before Hiring a Commercial Construction Company in Nigeria
Before hiring a commercial construction company in Nigeria, there are questions you should ask. A commercial construction company builds structures for businesses such as hospitals, restaurants, schools, offices, and so on.
Commercial contracting is more technical than residential construction because of the budget, approvals and other intricacies involved. A good commercial construction company will fulfill these 5 conditions:
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Experience
Chances are that the public or business structure you plan to build is not the first in Nigeria or your city. A case study search of similar projects is important because you don’t want to end up hiring a residential contractor to carry out a commercial construction project. Even then, just any commercial contractor may not be the best fit for your project.
You need a commercial contractor with a track record of carrying out public projects at the level you have in mind, or even higher. You can make a general inquiry from managers/owners of your case studies to know the commercial contractors that carried out such projects. This is the first step to writing a list of commercial contractors you will consider for your building project.
Your case study research will reveal some of the efficient commercial contractors around you. If done correctly, it should also give you an idea of how much those sample projects cost.
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Design
As a general rule, the better commercial construction companies have an in-house architectural design team to carry out preliminary research and design for a building project. So, ask your potential contractor who carries out their design? Do they have in-house engineers and architects or do they outsource it to third-party contractors?
Design is one of the more important parts of the construction project timeline because it sets everything else in motion
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Project Managers
Oftentimes, having a good project manager is the difference between an efficiently carried-out project and one that drags on and on without an end in sight. Your general contractor should have a project management team to efficiently supervise subcontractors, casual staff and relate with the relevant stakeholders.
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Health and Safety
Things go wrong all the time on construction sites because of negligence, or naivety. The commercial contractor you are going for should have the necessary Nigerian Health and Safety licensing relevant to the project you have in mind.
You should also ask your potential commercial contractor for their safety record. A building company with a good safety record shows two things: the company cares about its employees and that the company will likely go to good lengths to deliver good work.
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Budgets
Having done your case study research, you have a general idea of how much your project should cost. Compare that information and the plan your potential construction contractor submits.
You also need to know how the contractor bills for the project. As a general rule, you should split your payment plan into three: down payment, progress payments and the final payment. It is not a good idea to pay at once for a commercial construction project.
In conclusion, it is important to sign a good contract with your vendor that clearly states the duration of the project, payment modalities and warranties. For commercial projects, it is never a bad idea to use a higher layer of security to ensure compliance with the things your vendor has promised you verbally.
Check out some of the commercial projects Rhema Project has done for her clients.
