Now that construction is finally complete, it’s time to begin gathering in your new church, right?
Well, you’re almost there, but there’s still a vital step to complete in the building process—the post-construction phase.
There’s a lot to think about when your church building is complete. Who will return rented equipment? Are your systems up and running? How do you maintain and operate the HVAC system, lighting and sound equipment? Who will collect and store all the important paperwork and documents? What if you need to make adjustments or modifications to the building in the future?
If you feel overwhelmed by the closeout process, you’re not alone. We find most pastors and church staff are so excited to move into their new property and start using the space, that they sometimes overlook the importance of this stage of the building process. Reliable, efficient post-construction services will guide you step by step so that you can gather in your new building today and still have confidence and peace of mind in the future about how to operate and maintain your worship facilities.
What Is Post-Construction?
Just like a pre-construction management team sets your project up for success, the post-construction process ensures your new church building is ready for you and your congregation to enjoy.
A seamless post-construction plan will make the closeout process for your church construction project simple and straightforward. When you work with an efficient church builder, you can occupy your building more quickly!
The necessary steps of an efficient post-construction process include:
1. Closeout
At the end of your project, you and your church construction manager will create a punch list for contractors to finish. You’ll then go through final inspections and cleaning before they hand the documents and certificate of substantial completion to you.
2. Training
After handing over the blueprint and training manuals, your contractor will teach you how to navigate your building’s layout and teach you how to operate smart features and technical systems.
3. Follow-Up
Since the post-construction phase is usually covered by warranty, take advantage of this time to test systems and see if your contractor needs to address any issues. A reliable church builder will follow-up and fix problems that you discover during this time.
4. Adjustments & Review
Once final adjustments are made and the punch list is complete, your new church is ready for you to occupy! At this point, your final payment is due, and your church officially belongs to you and your congregation.
Four Common Closeout Problems
Unfortunately, some pastors opt-out of participating in their project’s post-construction phase, resulting in questions and misunderstandings down the road. A good church builder will appreciate and want your participation.
Avoid these common closeout problems with a seamless post-construction plan:
1. Lack of Communication
Multiple parties may need to participate in the construction closeout process. You may run into frustrating delays if these teams cannot communicate effectively with each other.
2. Delayed Change Order Resolution
If a change order is lost, misplaced, or incorrectly completed, it can quickly turn into a claim, which will delay your closeout.
3. Lack of Resources or Manpower
You usually need the most resources and manpower at the end of construction, but many team members may not prepare themselves for the final push.
Additionally, your construction company may experience some employee turnover during your project, resulting in inconsistent work.
4. Lost Paperwork and Information
You’ll need to access multiple documents, including warranties, cut-sheets, and facilities training documents during closeout that can be easily misplaced and cause delays.
Six Benefits of Post-Construction
A thorough post-construction process helps pastors avoid the mistakes mentioned above and offers other helpful benefits.
1. Planning for Future Expansion
When you hire the right church builder, they should account for future church expansion during pre-construction and post-construction so that you have plenty of space to add new buildings to your church site.
2. Correct and Timely Completion
Your church construction manager communicates outstanding tasks to your construction team to ensure your project is completed on time with the same quality and consistency.
3. Streamlined Communication
During the post-construction process, you won’t have to worry about coordinating communication between the construction contractors, accountants, designers, and architects.
Your church construction management team will resolve communication issues by developing a system to encourage collaboration to make closeout quick and straightforward. Working with a design-build team is another excellent way to mitigate communication issues with teamwork and accountability.
4. Organized Documents and Change Orders
It’s critical to keep important documents and information from your church construction project easily accessible. In fact, a disaster recovery plan is best executed if you have access to the necessary documents and details from the process.
Your church construction management team will help you keep track of important paperwork, as well as change orders and service requests to prevent unnecessary claims, conflicts, and disputes during closeout.
5. Easy Building Maintenance
Building maintenance is often contingent on the warranties and details communicated during the closeout process. Your church construction management team can help you understand your warranties during the post-construction phase so that you can enjoy hassle-free church upkeep in the future.
6. Peace of Mind
You’ve invested a significant amount of time, money, and energy into your new church building. It would be devastating for something catastrophic to happen at the end of the church construction process, and even small things can bring up feelings of disappointment down the road.
Reliable, efficient post-construction services will give you peace of mind that the construction process ends smoothly and correctly, so you can gather in your new building as soon as possible—and really enjoy it to the full.
Partner with Churches by Daniels for Reliable, Efficient Post-Construction Services
We understand that all the factors to consider during the post-construction process might leave you feeling stressed or overwhelmed.
Our honest, professional team can help. For over 40 years, we’ve partnered with pastors across the country to build reliable, budget-friendly church facilities.
Visit our post-construction service page to see how we can help you fulfill your ministry vision during the closeout process. In the meantime, check out our app to see completed projects and gather some inspiration for your church renovation project.
