Two tips to follow when having construction work done on your retail premises
Here are two tips to follow when having construction work done on your retail premises.
Put your inventory into storage instead of covering it and leaving it on the premises
It is best to put your inventory into a storage facility instead of, for example, wrapping it in cling wrap or dust sheets and leaving it on the premises whilst the construction work is taking place. Whilst this will be costlier and require more effort, there are also many advantages to doing this. For example, no matter how well you wrap your inventory, somehow, the dust that all of the construction work creates will probably find its way past any barriers you place on the inventory and get into every product's crevices and creases. At best, this will lead to you having to painstakingly wipe down every dusty product with a damp cloth before you can return it to your premises' shelves. At worst, this dust might make the product unusable (if for example, you sell consumables and they get dusty, they might then be unsafe to consume).
Additionally, if the construction work will involve activities like the removal of large, heavy shelves that the construction workers will need to carry through your shop to the skip, or the use of sharp construction tools, and your inventory is still on the premises, there is a possibility that a heavy shelf that has been removed could be dropped on some fragile products or that the products could be damaged by one of these sharp tools. Even the thought of this could add to your stress levels during this period and if something like this does happen, you'd have to incur the cost of replacing this damaged inventory. By keeping it all safely stored in a storage unit, you can protect the inventory and avoid getting too stressed throughout the refurbishment of your premises.
Give yourself several days to clean up before opening after the construction work is finished
Whilst you'll probably be keen to reopen as soon as you can after the construction work is done, it's important to give yourself several days to clean up after this process is over. The reason for this is that whilst the construction team will probably take the bulk of the debris that their work generates with them (or put in any skips that you've rented), there will still be quite a lot of mess left afterwards.
As mentioned above, construction work cannot usually be done without lots of dust being produced and you'll probably be quite shocked at how it seems to end up in every single part of your premises (due to it being carried around in the air). Because of this, if your retail premises are quite large, it could easily take more than one day to dust them. Giving yourself plenty of time to do this will mean that you won't be too stressed during the period between the completion of the renovations and the reopening of your premises. Additionally, if you've had the premises' interior walls painted or its shelves varnished, you'll also need to wait a few days for the fumes from the paint and varnish to dissipate, to ensure that the odour from these substances doesn't bother your customers or affect the scent of your inventory.
For more information, contact a construction service in your area.