[Zeke]

I have never heard of any program that limited ADA to any % of budget. Portland must be all they say it is because I never got a break of any sort. I have heard of restrooms being grandfathered or otherwise exempted if it was really and truly impossible to expand to accommodate the 5 foot circle. That didn't mean some other ADA items were needed. You don't get a full pass.

I probably did a total of 20 tenant build outs in my career. It wasn't my thing but there were times when residential was so lean that commercial was a blessing. I worked briefly for another contractor that had lots of restaurant work. The restaurant business is so specialized that a GC doesn't have that much to do other than any structural work. The kitchen is one specialty, the seating area is another, especially when there are built-ins like booths and service stations. If there was a separate bar, that was another company. Everything including paint, trim and wall coverings are fire retardant. There was a lot of electrical and plumbing, for sure.

We took care of doors, walls and sometimes the interior carpentry if it wasn't complex and done by a millworks. We did superintend the project coordinating installations. I never did an old house conversion myself but I stopped by a few jobs like that just to talk. All I heard was nightmares.

As I said earlier, when residential work was in good shape, I gravitated back. Found myself in doors and windows for a 25 year run but the 2010 recession finally ended that once and for all. At that point I took on jobs from 3 hours to $300,000. I mainly acted as a superintendent and lead carpenter on the large residential reno projects. I learned while doing commercial about being financially exposed. One month in the 80's I had $100K run through my bank account and that month, a very good month for me, I made 5K. One hiccup would have wiped me out. As it was, one guy was going to stiff me for 5 grand. How I managed to get that money is another story. I had to do that a few times and it was mainly commercial work that put me in that kind of position.

I don't envy you doing this project. All I can say is don't get too far ahead of the process. Around here, once a food establishment is finished, it takes about 3 months to get the doors open after obtaining all the inspections and permits. God save me from the Health Dept. Of course where are they when existing restaurants are rat and roach laden, have poor food handling and general sanitation issues? It's certainly not one and done.

But to get open you can hardly get an employee locker approved (just a stupid example).