Commercial Renovation in Austin
Tenant improvements, retail build-outs, accessibility upgrades and interior remodels.
About commercial renovation
A tenant improvement begins with what is already there: the existing slab, the services in it, the ceiling grid, and what the lease and the landlord allow to be changed. Surveying that honestly at the start is what stops the surprises appearing halfway through.
Accessibility requirements often drive more of a renovation than the design does. Door widths, thresholds, ramp gradients, kerb cuts and sanitary facilities all have prescriptive requirements, and it is cheaper to design to them than to correct them after an inspection.
Where the work touches concrete — saw-cutting a slab to move drainage, cutting in a new doorway, forming a new ramp — the concrete becomes the critical path, because everything after it waits on cure time. Planning those cuts early keeps the rest of the programme moving.
Occupied buildings add constraints that have nothing to do with construction: noise windows, dust separation, fire-exit routes that must stay open, and deliveries that cannot block the tenants next door. A renovation programme that ignores those is a programme that slips.
What commercial renovation work involves
Existing conditions recorded — slab, services, structure, and what the lease permits.
Scope drawn up against the applicable code, with inspection points identified.
Removal of what is being replaced, with dust and noise control in occupied buildings.
Saw-cutting, infill pours, ramps and thresholds — usually the critical path.
Trades sequenced so nobody is working over wet or uncured work.
Sign-off at the points the permit requires, then a walkthrough of the finished work.
Materials, finishes and specifications
General trade practice for commercial renovation. The figures on your job are whatever ends up on your written scope.
- Slab infill
- Matched to the existing thickness, doweled or keyed into the surrounding slab
- Accessibility
- Ramp gradients, landings, thresholds and detectable warnings to the applicable standard
- Partitions
- Metal stud and board, with fire and acoustic ratings where the code requires them
- Floor preparation
- Grinding, levelling compound or moisture mitigation depending on the finish
- Programme
- Sequenced around cure times and around the building staying in use
Project types
What decides the price of commercial renovation
No two jobs price the same. These are the things that move the number, and they should each appear as a line on a written quote.
- Extent of strip-out and what is being retained
- How much of the work touches the slab
- Accessibility upgrades triggered by the scope
- Whether the building stays occupied during the works
- Permit and inspection requirements
- Working hours restrictions
- Condition of the existing floor and structure
- Finish specification
What to ask before you hire
- Ask for the contractor's licence number and current insurance certificates, and check them yourself.
- Insist on an itemised quote rather than a single lump sum — thickness, reinforcement, prep, finish and haul-off should each have a line.
- Ask whether the crew on site works for the company or is brokered out, and who your point of contact is on pour day.
- Ask what the sub-base preparation is, what reinforcement is specified, and how joints will be laid out. Vague answers are the warning sign.
- Ask what happens if the work fails later, and whether that answer is written into the contract rather than said on the doorstep.
- Ask for recent references for the same kind of work in your area, and call one.
What goes wrong on these jobs
- Existing conditions that do not match the drawings.
- Accessibility items caught at inspection rather than at design.
- Trades stacking up behind concrete that is still curing.
- Dust, noise or access complaints from occupied neighbouring units.
- Services discovered inside a slab that was assumed to be clear.
Straight answers
Codes commonly require the route to and the facilities within an altered area to be brought up to standard once alterations pass a threshold.
Existing conditions that differ from the drawings, and inspection scheduling. Both are easier to absorb when the survey was thorough.
Often, with separation, dust control and out-of-hours working. It changes the programme and it should be priced that way.
Want this quoted?
Send a few details and we will come and look at it.
What happens after you call
- 01
Site visit
We come out, walk the job, and look at access, levels and what has to come out first.
- 02
Written scope
Thickness, reinforcement, sub-base prep, finish, joints and haul-off, itemised so it can be compared line for line.
- 03
Prep and scheduling
Permits where they apply, then excavation, formwork and any inspections booked in sequence.
- 04
Pour and finish
Place, consolidate and finish to the spec on the quote — broom, smooth, salt or stamped.
- 05
Walkthrough
We walk the finished work with you and go over how to look after it while it cures.
Questions about commercial renovation
Where these crews work
Other work these crews do
Commercial Concrete
Slabs, pads, ADA ramps and site concrete for commercial builds.
Foundations & Excavation
Footings, stem walls and site prep for new construction.
Flatwork & Driveways
Sidewalks, patios, aprons and warehouse floors.
Concrete Demolition
Saw-cut, break-out and haul-off for slabs, footings and walls.
Home Renovation & Repairs
Remodels, concrete decks and residential repair work.
Flooring Services
Tile, laminate and vinyl plank flooring installed clean and level.
Ready to talk about commercial renovation?
Send a few details and photos, and we will take it from there.