Office Space Renovation

Sierra Construction interior construdction
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SURPRISES BELOW THE SURFACE

An online employment company had an important position to fill: Master Contractor for a project to renovate 19,000 square feet of office space in Northern Virginia. The project site, a former warehouse converted to office space 19 years ago, presented a few unexpected surprises.

The Associate Principal of Gauthier, Alvarado & Associates Architecture, Engineering and Planning, was pleased that M.I. Tech Construction was selected to manage the interior renovation including heavy electrical work, new paint, furniture and carpet installation. “We’ve enjoyed working with M.I. Tech on many other interior renovations and buildouts,” she said. “They have an eye for a finished look and delivering a finished project. They’re easy to work with and they keep us in the loop anytime issues arise in the field.”

The project had a three month runway across the end of the year holidays.

Sierra Construction interior construction
THE CHALLENGES

“Things that come up” came up. The first involved cat 5 wiring installation and new data plates. Normally, cables are dropped between studs and connection plates are installed within a foot or two of the floor. However, the entire building interior was wallpapered. Cutting into it and patching wasn’t possible, as the paper was out of print. Removing it would require resurfacing the walls and repainting or repapering. This would delay the move-in date and was well outside of the budget.

The second challenge came with removing an internal wall. Linoleum flooring had been laid down throughout the building but not beneath the wall. As with the wallpaper, matching replacement material was not available. In addition, it was discovered that the wall to be removed protruded into a drop ceiling but was not anchored above it.

Sierra Construction interior construction
THE SOLUTIONS

The team focused first on how to access the interior of the wall without damaging the wallpaper. “Once you punch holes in the wall, there’s no way to repair it without the replacement paper,” M.I. Tech’s David Sutherland recounted. “That’s when we hit on the idea of removing the lowest 3-4 inches of sheet rock all along the floor,” he added.

This section was protected by a rubber base molding. The team placed the data plates along the lowest section of the wall, replaced the sheet rock and recovered it with new baseboard molding, preserving the wallpaper and avoiding expensive remediation.

Sierra Construction interior construction
WALLS TO NOWHERE

When M.I. Tech workers began the removal of the interior wall and discovered that the wall was not attached above, they realized that removing the wall would leave an odd shaped hole in the ceiling tiles. Instead, they built a bulkhead one foot down from the ceiling. To solve the linoleum issue, M.I. Tech sourced accent color linoleum tiles to contrast with the original ones. “In a challenge like this, we make it look like a design feature or an entrance mat, Sutherland said. “We blend in new finishes on the fly that are esthetically pleasing but have the least impact to the budget.”

Sierra Construction interior construction
THE RESULTS

The company moved into its new space on time, enjoying the airy workspace with its updated décor and features.

“This project was extremely fast tracked, beginning in December and working through the holidays. M.I. Tech went the extra mile for us, including working weekends to meet the compressed timeline, which we really appreciated,” remarked the company’s real estate and facilities director. “For us, it was all pretty seamless. They hit our budget numbers. We’d definitely recommend them,” he added. “M.I. Tech really came through for us—from start to finish.”