Your Company’s Next Business Building

Finnegan Pierson

Commercial construction may seem like a fact of life, and rightly so, but there are numerous factors at play in this field. Construction is resource and labor intensive, and commercial construction is even more so. Likewise, commercial construction is costly and potentially dangerous. Here’s what you need to know in order to successfully navigate a commercial construction endeavor.

The Equipment You’ll Need

When one thinks of building a house, one tends to imagine a modest sized house built by hand, but that’s not the case with commercial construction. Commercial buildings like skyscrapers tend to be massive, and that means that the endeavor must necessarily be machine assisted. Construction equipment comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, each with their own role to play. Search Washington rigging or “rigging near me” to get an idea of the size, cost, and use of this kind of gear, and it paints an incredible picture of what will be required on a commercial construction site. Arguably, the most pressing matter in this regard is the assembly of large, heavy pieces that have been manufactured off site by a third party, and that means that cranes and rigging are the order of the day. However, the height of skyscrapers can present additional problems, and therefore scaling the incomplete structure quickly requires the addition of temporary elevators.

The Materials You’ll Need

Skyscrapers are modern marvels. Not only are they massive in scope, but they are also made of only the sturdiest and often heaviest materials. For starters, skyscrapers need more than the standard concrete foundation and, in fact, use bedrock as a foundation to support the truly gargantuan weight of the structures. The weight itself is attributable in part to the sheer size of the structure itself, but it also comes from the support structures. Skyscrapers are supported by steel girders in much the same way that your average home will be supported by wooden planks, and these girders themselves are massive in size and incredibly heavy. On the other hand, the curtain walls associated with skyscrapers are typically made of glass or aluminum, a lightweight and inexpensive material that serves a few purposes. These materials help to reduce costs and weight, for starters, but glass curtain walls in particular have also become an iconic design quirk of modern architecture.

The Regulations You’ll Need to Follow

Construction is complicated and often dangerous, and the end result can also present potential hazards to occupants. For all of these reasons and then some, commercial construction cannot proceed unless the construction company responsible for the project has a construction permit. The requirement that construction companies obtain official documentation of permission to build is important for the safety of everyone involved. These permits ensure and confirm adherence to building code that are themselves in place to make commercial buildings safe for those who work within them. Likewise, there are safety regulations in place to protect construction workers during the building process. Construction sites are notoriously dangerous, and these regulations seek to mitigate possible accidents and injuries or even deaths that could occur on the job. There are construction industry regulations that cover commercial construction in particular, and all hazardous occupations are subject to the federal regulations associated with OSHA. While no regulation can prevent all accidents, these regulations provide ample coverage to reduce workplace incidents drastically across the board. However, safety regulations aren’t enough on their own, as each construction worker, including contractors, needs to possess a license to work in this field, thereby ensuring that they are familiar with these safety measures both in study and in practice.

Commercial construction is the modern equivalent of the construction of the ancient pyramids of Giza. They take years to build despite large crews using powerful machines, and in the end they stand as modern marvels. However, the information is there to make this kind of undertaking more plausible. It can be done, and this guide will help you get your start.