Construction FAQ

Realm handles day-to-day management of the general contractor, including tracking the schedule and any change orders that come up. We're available throughout construction to help keep things moving.

We provide progress updates weekly. We meet with you and your contractor each week to cover what's been completed and what's next.

For a tenant improvement project in an existing space, the typical construction timeline is about 75 days. This varies with the condition of the space: an empty shell takes longer, while a mostly finished space can move faster. Complexity, market conditions, and subcontractor availability affect the timeline as well.

Because we meet weekly, we're able to anticipate most issues ahead of time. If something comes up day-to-day, we work directly with your contractor to address it right away. We also request a weekly report from your contractor to help stay ahead of anything that could turn into a delay.

We encourage you to visit the site anytime, most contractors don't mind. If you notice anything you'd like addressed, note it and bring it to us or your contractor directly; on-site subcontractors usually can't act on a concern without it going through the contractor first. Feel free to take photos or videos and send them to us along with any questions.

If the general contractor falls behind schedule, we first work to understand why and identify what can be done to get the schedule back on track, schedules are fluid and things shift. We'll put together an action plan to catch up and help avoid the same issue going forward. Because we meet weekly, most schedule slips can be caught and addressed early; others come down to unforeseen hidden conditions no one could have planned for.

Change orders generally fall into three categories: changes based on personal preference, hidden site conditions that can't be seen until work begins, and scope disputes.

A scope dispute is when a contractor says something wasn't priced into their scope even though it was included in the plans and disclosed to them, in which case it should have already been covered. Without a franchisee representative like Realm, these disputes can be hard to resolve, and the cost usually falls on the franchisee to pay.

Change orders are discussed between the contractor, Realm, and the franchisee. If a change order is needed, your contractor will communicate the cost to you in writing. In addition, if the plans need to go back to the architect, there will be an additional architect fee; those costs are separate from and independent of our fees.

Once construction wraps up, closeout begins: fixture installation, certificate of occupancy, closeout documents, collecting warranties and equipment manuals, and unconditional lien waivers. Realm checks to make sure all subcontractors were paid, protecting you from potential lien issues

Final inspections and the certificate of occupancy are coordinated jointly by the general contractor and your Realm project manager.

Yes, franchisees can manage the general contractor themselves during construction, but it means running weekly check-ins, fielding day-to-day questions, addressing change orders, handling scope disputes and staying on top of schedule and budget issues without a wider view of typical timelines. That's the piece Realm handles for franchisees who use our services: we run the weekly cadence, track progress against the schedule, and step in when something needs to be pushed to keep the project moving.