What we build · Distribution Warehouse
Height, Slab, Sprinklers, Docks
The standard big-box warehouse. Four variables decide almost the entire budget, and they interact with each other.
The geotechnical report, the intended clear height and the likely tenant profile. Those three tell us more than a full set of drawings.
The slab
The one element a tenant judges on, and cannot fix
Self-perform
Dewatering and deep foundations in house
Commodity
Fire protection designed to what is actually stored
Licensed
General contractor, licensed in the state of Florida
The four move together
Clear height drives the wall, the columns and the sprinkler design. The sprinkler design depends on what is stored. The slab has to support the racking that the height implies. And the truck court has to serve the door count the depth implies. Change one and the others follow, which is why late decisions are expensive.
The four variables
- Clear height, which drives structure, wall panel and sprinklers.
- Slab thickness and flatness, driven by racking and equipment.
- Fire protection, driven by commodity classification and storage height.
- Dock count and truck court depth, driven by the building depth.
- Site work and stormwater, which in Florida is substantial.
How we handle it
- 01Test the four variables against each other before design is fixed.
- 02Read the geotechnical report before pricing anything below grade.
- 03Self-perform dewatering and deep foundations where needed.
- 04Place and finish the slab to a measured specification.
- 05Coordinate fire protection with a realistic tenant profile.
Decide the clear height early and stop moving it. Every increase ripples into wall panel, column design, sprinkler layout and sometimes foundations, and a change late in design costs far more than the extra height is worth.
Said plainly
Where we stop
If the geotechnical report will not support the slab loading a high-bay tenant needs, we will say so before the height is fixed. Ground improvement is a real cost and it belongs in the decision, not after it.
FAQ
Common questions
- What drives distribution warehouse cost most?
- Clear height, because it ripples into structure, wall panel and sprinkler design.
- How flat does the slab need to be?
- It depends on the equipment. Define it before placement — it cannot be fixed afterwards.
- Can sprinklers be upgraded later?
- At real cost and disruption. Design to a realistic tenant profile from the start.
- Will you price without borings?
- Not below grade. In Florida that is where the surprises are.
What decides cost
The Slab
The floor is the element tenants judge a warehouse by, and it is produced in a single continuous operation that cannot be repeated.
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Fire Protection
The sprinkler system is determined by what is stored and how high it is stacked, which is information a speculative developer does not have.
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Clear Height
Clear height has risen steadily and it is not free. Each additional foot costs across several systems and only earns it back if the market racks that high.
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Docks & Truck Court
Door count, court depth and pavement design are set by the vehicles that will use them, and getting the depth wrong is not fixable.
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Ground Conditions
Industrial buildings cover an enormous footprint, which means whatever is wrong with the ground is wrong across all of it.
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More what we build
Light Manufacturing
A building shaped by what happens inside it. Power, compressed air, process drainage and ventilation are the project; the shell is comparatively simple.
Read more →
Cold Storage
The most technically demanding industrial building, and the one where an ordinary warehouse approach fails outright.
Read more →
Flex & Office-Warehouse
Warehouse with an office component, built speculatively for tenants who do not exist yet. The flexibility is the product.
Read more →
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.