If you own a commercial building, you know how difficult it can be to attract tenants in an overcrowded marketplace. The location of your building is still important, of course, but the appearance of your structure's exterior is essential to its desirability too. Is it time for an update?
As the old saying goes, you never got a second chance to make a great first impression. This holds as true for commercial real estate as it does for personal relationships. In fact, choosing a commercial building IS like forming a new relationship: the tenant wants to feel comfortable in his new place of business, and wants to trust that it will reflect well on him.
In these tough economic times, it's more essential than ever for property owners to do everything they can to attract good tenants who will want to stay for the long term. Price is important to a tenant, of course, but perhaps more important is the professional and polished look of the building.
If your structure's exterior looks out of date, you may be inadvertently scaring away tenants before they even get a chance to see how great it is on the inside. But this problem can be remedied with some relatively simple cosmetic changes: in other words, if the building is structurally sound, you don't have to knock it down and build it all over again; just a bit of tweaking will do.
Facades
A new facade for your structure may be just what the doctor ordered. Adding stone such as granite to the exterior of your building will give it an instant facelift and will even help with energy consumption savings. Marble is another material that is popular with facades, although it should be used carefully. Foreign marbles can be porous and may be subject to deterioration. There are domestic marbles, however, that have been found to be impervious to moisture.
Curtain Walls
A curtain wall is a decorative structure, usually attached on the front of a building, which does not carry any of the weight load of the original building. They have become extremely popular in recent years and are a standard feature for most newly constructed commercial buildings. They add just the right degree of polish to a structure's appearance without being overwhelming. Most curtain walls are made of glass, but there is a great deal of latitude in the kinds of filler materials that may be used.
Landscaping
Once you have spruced up the structure itself, take a good hard look at the landscaping which surrounds it. Is it overgrown and neglected, or is it one large mass of bare concrete? Plants and decorative rocks and walkways make a huge difference in the external appearance of a property. Giving the grounds a makeover will be a significant yet affordable finishing touch.
Author Resource:-
For the very latest in curtain wall design, contact the experts recognized worldwide for their innovation and excellence: Axis Group Limited (http://www.facades.com/). Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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