RetailX Closeup - June 2019 - RX3

Case Study:

Westwood Contractors Remodels Tommy
Bahama Restaurant, Store and Bar

↑ Before

Photos ourtesy of WESTWOOD CONTRACTORS

HILE MARKET STREET,

a mixed-use town center in
The Woodlands, Texas, was
undergoing exterior renovations to the property, several of its retailers,
including Tommy Bahama, made some
renovations of their own. Fort Worth,
Texas-based Westwood Contractors was
selected as the general contractor (GC) to
remodel Tommy Bahama's 13,065 sq. ft.
location, which included a restaurant, bar
and store. Tommy Bahama's project goals
included refreshing specific areas within
the retail space, updating interior dining
spaces, updating outdoor patio dining areas to provide improved flexibility to offer
year-round patio dining and cosmetic improvements to the building exterior.
While the initial scope and schedule
were straight-forward, the project team
encountered several challenges related to
weather and unforeseen issues discovered
during construction.
Inclement weather allowed the project
team to experience and observe the patio
drainage in real time. Heavy rains caused
flooding in the patio area and the bordering landscape. The GC made the following
improvements: downspouts were directed
downwards directly into the drains, drains
were properly routed to the storm water
drainage system, and a French drain was
installed in the landscape area.
The project included the addition of an
electric awning system for the patio areas.
The power on the awning manufacturer's
design was inadequate for this application.
To resolve this problem, the GC recommended adding a proper transformer and
additional electrical circuits to provide
enough power. Once installed, the awnings
operated properly and efficiently.
Overhead heaters were to be installed in
the patio area with each thermostat to
control two heaters for zoned temperature
control, and each thermostat control to
be, located near the respective heaters
it controlled. This arrangement was too
cumbersome for the manager to efficiently

→ After

control the heaters. The GC consulted with
the HVAC subcontractor and determined a
better solution would be to have one thermostat per heater. The GC also relocated
the thermostats into a single central location at the patio entrance where they are
easily accessible for the manager to control.
The client was experiencing leaking from
the non-occupied front balcony, a side entry
and in part of the men's retail space and fitting rooms. The issue at the balcony and side
entry was determined to be a result of leaky
gutters. Repairs were made to damaged areas
and the gutters were replaced.
In the men's area, the superintendent
recommended opening the walls in the
fitting rooms behind the case units, and
determined the moisture was caused by
insulation that had been removed from the
ductwork, causing condensation to drip into
the walls. In addition to making the necessary repairs, the ceilings were impacted and
had to be repaired as part of this process.
Moisture issues also were found in the
kitchen area from dishwasher drainage and
over splash at the sink area, which caused
damage to the wall. To make the necessary
repairs, the commercial dishwasher was
removed and a 30-ft. section of wall was torn
out revealing mold in the wall. The mold
was removed, new sheetrock and waterproof

FRP wall panels were installed, and the damaged flooring was replaced with new.
The project also included installing LED
lighting at the steps at three entry points
leading to the restaurant area, but there
were no easy electrical feeds to the steps. To
provide a clean look, trim and casework was
removed to allow electrical power to run
along the base of the walls and inside stair
rails where it would be hidden from view.

Summary
Having a general contractor who was
nimble, flexible and approached obstacles
with creative solution-driven alternatives
was certainly a benefit to the project. As
each challenge was uncovered, the GC
team quickly communicated its findings,
including photos and a description of the
issue to the client. The findings were accompanied by proposed solutions and an
estimated budget for each for the client to
consider. Once the client selected its preferred solution, the project manager quickly
initiated a change order and began the work.
The project team/client relationship was so
strong, that they established a direct line of
communication available 24/7 to help expedite the decision-making process.
Visit Westwood Contractors at GlobalShop
@ RetailX, Booth 3251.

RetailX Closeup - June 2019

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