Any type of construction can take some time between start and completion, thanks to selecting the construction site, approving drawings, and signing contracts. Add in some more preliminaries and it could be weeks before you start digging the ground and laying the foundation! While you may be tempted to skip some preliminaries, they make life easier once the whole building process begins.
Preliminaries in construction
The cleaning process
While it would be wonderful if you found ready-to-use land, that rarely happens when it comes to construction! You can spend days cutting down trees, digging up stumps and roots, clearing weeds and old jungle plants, and removing any trash that has accumulated over the years. The goal is to complete this as quickly as possible, but it's worth spending the time necessary on it so you don't have to stop what you're doing later to fix something you missed.
Get everything level
Huge potholes, sinkholes, excess soil, too little soil, and even rows and rows of tire tracks will all need to be leveled before the real work can begin on the construction site. While it would be wonderful if you could level the entire area with the available soil, chances are you will need to bring in additional soil to do the job properly. This is also the time to ensure the ground level is at the desired height, as making changes later can be extremely difficult. You must plan ahead and deliver the amount of soil needed in advance or you will be left waiting and doing nothing until it arrives.
Installing fences
Fence is important on construction sites because it keeps out people who shouldn't be there. Additionally, the fence will keep all your equipment and tools safe and secure. While you can choose to create a permanent border wall, a temporary fence is the option chosen by most construction companies. The signs can then be attached to the fence so everyone knows the workplace rules. These signs can remind people to put on a hard hat before entering the fenced area or remind people that they do not belong there if they are not employees. Signs can also be placed to indicate who is working on the project and what the finished project will be.
Add a local office
There's no way you want to go back and forth to your real office all the time when you need to get something done. That's why you'll want to add a local office to your workplace. A large mobile building usually solves the problem and is useful if you are storing computers and other technological items and papers inside. However, if you just need a place to go and stay out of the elements, a tarp or tent can work too. Most people avoid the tent option because they want their customers to feel comfortable when they visit their place of business.
Create a storage area
There is no way any of your materials, or tools and equipment, will remain safe if they are exposed. Yes, a fence can help keep people out of the workplace area, but if they see something they want through the fence, they are likely to jump over the fence to get it! Therefore, it is essential to create a storage area somewhere on the construction site. You can have one huge storage area for everything or you can create a few smaller ones to store different items. You may want to make sure your storage area keeps the elements out because some materials can become destroyed if introduced to water or cold.
Create a rest area
Depending on where you live and work, a break area can be useful for all workers in the workplace. This is a place where you can go to escape the cold or the sun during breaks and lunch. It's also a great place for them to hang out if it starts to rain a lot and work needs to be stopped for a short period of time. This ensures that no one leaves the site for long periods of time and that no one gets in the way while others try to finish work. Yes, your office can double as a breakout area, but you never know who will be there when you actually need to get some work done.
Create road access
You will have various materials delivered throughout the project, so you must have road access available for trucks arriving and departing daily. It is important to create these road access points so that they can be easily navigated at any point in the construction process. Additionally, they should be located in areas that provide easy access to the site office and storage areas.
Utility connections are required
You will need power and water at the construction site before you start doing any work. Power will be needed for you to use some of your equipment and tools, as well as computers and printers. The water will be useful for the office bathrooms and rest area. You may be tempted to skip the water and use a portable potty and antibacterial hand gel. However, water will make everything easier for you and your employees, as well as for the customers who will visit you on site.
These are eight of the preliminaries that need to be carried out before construction work can begin on the construction site. Of course, all of these items need to be completed after project approval, contracts are signed, and budgets are set.
So you can say there are preliminaries and then there are additional preliminaries that always need to be completed before the foundation can be concreted and the walls can begin to go up.
