Keeping It On Time + On Budget! (The Do’s + Don’ts)

At Total Fitouts Sunshine Coast South, our passion is turning your vision into a reality! Starting any new endeavour is brave and sometimes scary, so we have compiled a list of things you can do to help move the process along more efficiently, and… Some things you should really try to avoid!

Everyones taste is different, and creating a design without knowing your taste is as hard as buying a personal gift for someone you’ve never met. It’s generally a little awkward!

It can be a huge help to your shopfitter if you do some research before the meet, so you can give your team a general idea of the styles you like, and may want to achieve. This direction will help form the concept we come up with and ensure it speaks to the personality of the business and business owners. Have a particular sofa you want in a break area? Or in love with a feature wall you saw on Pinterest? Bring photos, let us know – it help us to help you!

By bringing scaled drawings with service locations, it saves time on pre-measuring, meaning that we can immediately begin concept drawings, confidently knowing that everything we draw in will fit, and helps us save you money by ensuring that the locations of plumbing and other services are located in the ideal place.

It can be really upsetting when you have your heart set on creating your dream business in a particular space, and then it gets shut down by local council before you really even begin. We are always here to help with council approvals and such, so if you’re really at that ‘square one’ position with your project, talk to us about how we can help! We can talk you through the process and beyond, but we definitely cannot begin a project until we know what the space is suitable for. By speaking to council before meeting with us it ensures we can begin quickly and with confidence!

When you meet with your Total Fitouts team, they’ll ask all the necessary questions to work out how to best help you. However, every job is unique and there are sure to be aspects of your project that we will need to be aware of, that we may not know to ask. It can be useful to keep a piece of paper handy or have an open note on your phone and jot down things as you think of them, so that when we talk you can feel confident knowing we have all the facts and fancies!

Budget is always a difficult topic to bring up. Please be aware that we are not trying to spend all your money, we pride ourselves on being cost-efficient by doing things properly! But we do need to know what your budget is so we can ensure we pick appropriate fittings and finishes that keep you IN budget. We also need to know when you require handover so we can organise and schedule trades effectively, and so we can give you an accurate quote, as rushed projects may require nightshift which can affect the overall cost.

It seems like a given, but one might be surprised how often this happens! With any project, there may be last minute changes of course, however, it is important that you are as sure of your chosen design and elements as you can before construction begins. Last minute changes can be time consuming and costly to your budget. Trades quote their services based on the technical drawings we give them, so other than being expensive sometimes may  not be possible due to service locations.

For your contractor, knowledge is key. We need to know as much as possible before we begin work on your project. If we are unaware of crucial information such as structural information, usage requirements or existing site issues, then large changes to the design may be required or changes in materials may need to be made after materials have already been purchased. By ensuring we have all the information, we can save us both a lot of time, and help you to keep the budget down.

The earlier you can meet with us before a project begins, the better. Starting a project early ensures we have plenty of time to get the design exactly right, ensure that the materials will be available on time, and organise available trades so that the project can be completed within a shorter timeline.

Please trust us when we tell you how long a project will take. While we will do all we can to have a fast turnover, we take pride in the quality of the work we deliver so we will not take shortcuts and deliver a job that is not up to standard. It is also important that you are realistic about the budget, a large fitout with custom cabinetry and top-of-the-line finishes cannot be done at the same cost as a small fit out with pre-made cabinetry and affordable finishes.

Each job is unique and it is important that we are able to communicate with you throughout the process to ensure the process goes smoothly. Some clients enjoy collaboratively working with us to come up with the design for their project, and others prefer to leave it to us and provide feedback once they receive a formal proposal. We are happy to work either way, we love working with you to see your dream come to life, but if you are a client who prefers to leave it to us, it helps if you can keep your phone on so that if we need to call to confirm information or gain important details, this can be done quickly to keep the project underway!