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Would You Ask Your Toddler to Rewire the House?
Of course you wouldn’t, because he has no experience and well … he’s only three. However, in between naps he might be able to install a 200 amp service better than some residential contractors can design, develop and build your restaurant or retail facility. There are many special codes, requirements, materials and techniques inherent for all trades in restaurant, retail and commercial construction that do not apply to residential. You’re going to want qualified, experienced professionals.
The Lindy Construction Company Specializes in Commercial & Retail, Restaurant & Bar, Design, Development & Construction. Throughout Upper & Lower Michigan Since 1979
Services, Rates & Policies
INTRODUCTION: The Lindy Construction Company provides commercial, retail, restaurant and bar Design, Development and Construction services throughout Michigan. If you’re planning on purchasing, leasing, building or remodeling your own facility, we can be of help. While some commercial or restaurant construction or remodel projects might be considered only cosmetic, most will require review by your local Health and/or Building Departments. Either way, it’s never advisable to proceed without inquiring and gaining these approvals. In the event that permits are required, engineered plans will also be required. In Michigan, any commercial construction project requiring a permit will require plans which have been approved by a professional Architect or Engineer.
DESIGN: If you retain an Engineer or an Architect, your drawings will be completed in part by their in house Draftsmen and with the Engineer or Architect providing oversight and approval. Charges can run from $150.00 to $300.00 per hour or more and into the many thousands of dollars for a complete set of plans. In a similar scenario, if you retain The Lindy Construction Co to produce your plans, we are not the Engineer or the Architect…..we’re the Draftsmen and can produce the same set of plans, typically for much less. We then submit our electronic drawing files to one of several independent Engineers for treatment and approval. The Engineer’s involvement is less, therefore your price can be much lower and sometimes as little as half as much for the same approved drawings. As part of a Design and Development agreement, it’s typical to produce Conceptuals and either a Permit Set or a Bid Set of plans.
Conceptuals – Based on your ideas plus those of our development team, along with information garnered from your local authorities regarding items allowed, not allowed and those which are required, we’ll provide a series of conceptual sketches from which we can make refinements and decide which items you would or would not like to be incorporated into your final plan. Once a final design has been decided upon, we’ll produce either a Permit Set or a Bid Set of plans for review.
Permit Set – A permit set will contain only the minimum amount of information required by your governing agencies in order to approve your permits. This lack of detail lends itself to Contractor’s providing a “time and materials” rate rather than a firm bid price. Pages might include a Floor Plan; Lighting Plan; Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing Plans (MEP); Equipment Plan & Schedule; Site Plan including Parking and Dumpsters; Fixture Plan including Egress and Occupancy; Fire Suppression and Fire Alarm Plans; A.D.A. Compliance; ASHRAE Compliance.
Bid Set – A Bid Set will include additional information and design details not found in a Permit Set such as those for specific materials, sizes, dimensions, finishes, etc. This is necessary if you intend to gather firm contractor bids. All Contractors will be bidding on the exact same things and you’ll be able to compare bids “apples to apples”. Without detailed plans to bid from, Contractors will only be guessing….Do you really want several verbal guesses? These preliminary estimates are not bids, quotes or proposals, they’re only guesses, they can vary greatly and are rarely accurate or enforceable. Some might intentionally provide you with a “low ball” estimate in order to secure the job and then charge high prices for extras later on, claiming that this and that was not included in the estimate. Whether working from a bid or on time and materials, be careful and get it all on paper.
DEVELOPMENT: Once you have retained our services, we will:
• conduct research and make the initial inquiries in order to determine the requirements of your local authorities.
• perform a thorough site survey in order to take measurements and gather other information crucial to the design of your facility.
• produce a set of plans as required by the governing agencies and as described in the Design section of this document
• submit the required documents, plans and applications to the governing agencies in order to expedite your permits.
It’s important to note that most Engineers or Architects do not provide complete development services. They might have limited experience with Restaurant Development, dealing with Health Departments or expediting permits. All of these services including design, development, permit expediting, project management and complete construction services are offered by The Lindy Construction Co.
CONSTRUCTION: Whether working from a firm bid or on a time and materials rate, we can perform any part to all of the construction of your facility, including the Project Management.
Firm Bid – From bid set plans as described in the Design section of this document, we can provide you with a firm bid or a “fixed rate”. Unless you make design changes yourself or a governing agency does, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting and how much it will cost.
Time and Materials – Without bid set plans to bid from, we can provide you with a time and materials rate. This can be beneficial if you wanted to get started sooner or make design decisions as you build, however you will not know the final project cost up front.
Project Management – Whether using your subcontractors or ours, we can manage your project from start to finish. We’ll ensure that all documents are in order and develop a critical path schedule which all trades will follow. We’ll be on your job site daily to ensure quality control and forward progress. You’ll know exactly when it will be done and when you can open.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT:
THE PROCESS: How much does it cost to fill an empty shopping cart with groceries? A hundred dollars? A thousand? It depends on the groceries. You ask and they say “I don’t know, just some groceries”. It could be narrowed down a little by saying canned goods, meat and produce but it would still be a guess. What canned goods, meat and produce? Will your doctor prohibit you from having a certain meat or require a certain medicine? If so, how much is the medicine? The canned goods could contain vegetables or caviar, there might be a pound of burger or fifty pounds of tenderloin and maybe some truffles in with the carrots. No guess will be nearly accurate. Then someone hands you a list and asks “How much to fill the cart with these groceries”? Now you can tell them the exact price because the list shows you what’s going into the cart. This has now become a quote rather than an estimate. The point is that the more information you have about the groceries, the more you can narrow down the price, even to the penny. Without information, it’s just a guess and the results could be anything.
The cost to build a restaurant is the same, it depends on what is going into the restaurant. You ask and they say “I don’t know, just a basic restaurant”. What is a basic restaurant? You can narrow it down some by saying it has some tables, chairs and cooking equipment . . . you get where this is going. A set of plans is now like the grocery list and your local authorities are the doctor, research will need to be done to know what they require and/or prohibit. A takeoff will be needed along with prices for everything from building materials, furniture and fixtures to subcontractors and kitchen equipment. Design information is required for even the most rudimentary pricing. Without information, it’s just a guess and the results could be anything.
Commercial construction in Michigan requires that you submit engineered plans for review. As a general rule, Designers design and Builders build. When contemplating a restaurant or retail facility, one of the first calls made should be to a design professional rather than to a builder. The normal process is as follows:
1) Secure funding – Have your financing ready before selecting a location
2) Find a location – Retain an Architect or other design professional and not a Builder to provide insight, design ideas and estimates
3) Design and develop the facility – Produce engineered plans to meet your vision as well as the approval of your local authorities
4) Contractor pricing – Finally, with approved plans in hand, obtain bids from qualified contractors
It’s common for potential clients to call on random builders first for ideas, designs and estimates, many of whom have little to no experience with commercial, retail or restaurant design and construction. If you’re a potential client trying to develop a project, you’ll want to consult with a qualified contractor. The Lindy Construction Company provides everything that you’ll need to navigate through this process including Consulting, Estimating, Design, Development and Construction services. Call (517) 699-4585 for details and rates.
QUOTES, BIDS & PROPOSALS: There is sometimes confusion as to the differences between a quote, a bid and a proposal. Each is a formal offer to provide a product or a service for a stated price but each has a different meaning and function.
Quote – A quote is a fixed price, usually for an existing item or a simple service with minimal variables. Something that you can point to, such as “I can mow that yard for twenty dollars” or “You can buy one of these for fifty dollars”. Material suppliers can provide a quote from a takeoff. Some quotes tend to have a limited duration, such as 30 days, due to market and price fluctuations.
Bid – In the construction industry a bid is a fixed price given for something that another has pre-defined, typically with a detailed set of plans and specifications which describe the scope of work to be done, the materials to be used, the time frame required, payment terms, insurance requirements, etc. All bidders bid the same work per the same plans and specifications. If the scope of work changes, plan revisions are drawn up and bidders can adjust their bids by submitting change orders.
Proposal – A proposal is drawn up by the one who is pricing the work. Unlike with a bid, the work or the product has not already been clearly pre-defined, plans are incomplete or even non-existent. The scope of work, the materials, the price, terms, etc. will all be described in the proposal. “I propose to do this using these materials in this amount of time for this much money”.
ESTIMATES: We’re often asked for estimates by potential clients who are considering the lease or purchase of a space to construct their own restaurant or retail facility. If the intent is to use the estimate to help determine whether or not to move forward and lease or purchase the space, it stands to reason that they would want it to be as accurate as possible and would hold the Contractor to it if they were to lease or purchase the property. In reality, what they are really seeking is more of a quote, bid or proposal than an estimate. These terms are all sometimes conflated and used interchangeably.
It’s understandable that someone would want to know the expected cost before making a major financial commitment, however an estimate is not a firm and calculated price like they might get with a quote, bid or proposal. Without plans or clearly defined specifications for reference, an estimate is merely a guess at how much the project might cost. Given the lack of detailed design information, estimates are highly subjective and therefore also highly unreliable and not enforceable. However, most potential clients are only speculating so it wouldn’t be practical to purchase plans just to see if a location is viable, especially if multiple locations are being considered, so they seek estimates.
Preliminary estimates come with no guarantees, but one way to help ensure better results is by asking the right Contractor. Anyone can throw out an ill conceived “guess-timate” but a qualified professional can turn a wild guess into an educated one. Would these clients do their planning and budget, sign a lease or even purchase a building based on an arbitrary guess made by a potentially unqualified contractor?
The Lindy Construction Company has been providing Commercial, Retail, Restaurant and Bar Design, Development and Construction throughout Upper and Lower Michigan since 1979. In those years our portfolio has grown to include hundreds of independent and national brands. We can draw from that experience when evaluating your restaurant or retail project for an estimate. In order to produce a reliable estimate, a site survey might be required.
SITE SURVEYS: If you’ve decided that you want a preliminary estimate but have no detailed plans, we will need to perform a physical site survey. A service charge will become necessary depending upon the scope of work and the project location. However, our ultimate goal is to build your facility and this initial survey fee can be refunded if we are hired for Design, Development or Construction. This policy helps to compensate us for time and effort spent on the merely curious.
During the survey our estimator will walk through the site with you, listen to your ideas and present some of our own based upon our experience and general knowledge of Building and Health Department codes and requirements. We’ll suggest options for you to consider, as well as likely requirements and prohibitions. We’ll provide possible layouts, equipment options and estimates based upon these ideas.
Site survey charges will be calculated using mileage, travel time and a flat survey fee. No physical designs, drawings or plans will be included. Estimates provided during the survey will be verbal and additional charges may be incurred for written. As mentioned previously, the initial survey fee will be fully refunded if we are hired for Design, Development and/or Construction. Call (517) 699-4585 and ask about our rates.
BID SHOPPING / PEDDLING: The practices of bid shopping and bid peddling are common in the construction industry. Bid shopping is when a general contractor or a potential client gathers bids for a project and divulges the low bid to another preferred contractor (often a friend or relative) in order to get a lower price and award the project to that contractor. Bid peddling is when a contractor initiates the bid shopping of a potential client by offering to meet or beat the low bid. Both of these give an unfair advantage to one contractor over the others, they waste the time and devalue the estimating work of all contractors involved and can lower the overall quality of the work. The Lindy Construction Co has been the victim of these unethical practices and will never knowingly participate in either of them. In order to avoid these we typically only participate in Negotiated Tender contracts or we make a charge for estimates, bids and proposals. These fees can be refunded if and when we are actually hired.
RATES: Each project is unique and with it’s own scope of work and it’s own local codes and governing agencies. Our Design and Development fees are charged at an hourly rate plus the Engineering and Permit fees. Engineering fees are determined by the Engineer of record and usually based upon an hourly rate. Permit fees are determined by the governing agencies and are usually based on the total project cost. If you decide to retain our services, we will provide you with a detailed proposal for any of the following options:
• Site Survey as described in the Site Survey section of this document, based on the location and calculated using mileage, driving time and a flat rate survey fee.
• Design and/or Development Services as described in the Design and Development sections of this document and at a time and materials rate.
• Partial to Complete Construction and/or Project Management at a time and materials rate as described in the Construction section of this document.
• Partial to Complete Construction based on a fixed price made from bid set plans as described in the Construction section of this document.
SITE SECURITY:
We welcome the opportunity to work with you and wish you the best in your endeavor.
Please, contact us with any questions.
Services, Rates & Policies, Rev. Aug 2025