I’d like to pose a couple questions that I’d like you to answer now and then again at the end of this blog. There are no right or wrong answers…just for fun.
In a new or remodel construction effort for your Church, if your funds gets low what is the first thing you cut out?
- Sound, Video, Stage Lighting
- Finishes (Paint, Trims, Furniture)
- Office Equipment
How early should you bring your AVL contractor in when building or remolding your new House of Worship?
- Concept
- Design
- Construction
- A week before opening
Part 1
I contacted a Church that was building a new facility on the West coast of Florida. They were very happy when we told them our no cost policy on site visits & design. They were very eager to meet. They were already having budget problems with the construction and made it clear they had a set budget on AVL. We took a 4 hour drive to meet with the Church and spent about 5 hours with them going over what to do and what not to do. We parted ways with a game plan and felt pretty good about the time we spent.
Time passes by and we don’t hear back from them. We tried to contact them but didn’t hear back. We chalked it up as one of those situations where they got the info to try to do it their self and would call when they run into issues.
Well, we got the call. However by the time we got it they already brought in other companies & had so many hands in the install they spent more money than we originally budgeted! Now they would need to hire us to show them how to rig the speakers. It was a mess. They waited until the last minute to pull a hail marry.
They began talking about how they had to cut the Audio, Video and Lighting budget because they were running out of money. Yet, the chairs are still high end, the tile is top notch, and the trims are all above average. If someone came in and seen this beautiful place they would be expecting a spectacular AVL experience.
I give them credit for trying to do it on their own and I think the world of this Church. But if you bring a company in that knows what they’re doing…work with them. We were willing to help this Church out but because there were too many decision makers and no one watching the process they lost.
Create a relationship and it will pay off…That brings me to part 2. A situation where everything is done right and still issues happen.
Part 2
I flew to New Jersey to meet with a Church I’ve worked with for a few years. This Church is full of awesome people and every time I go up they get better and better! They have been constantly growing and needed something bigger. Pastor Dan called me right away and told me what their plans were and kept me in the loop. After a few weeks I got the call that they found the place.
So now we need to look at taking a Church mobile plant, meeting at a middle school, to a permanent Building. The building they found was multi-purpose with other offices in the same building so they had to undergo permitting issues with the city. They hired an architect to draw up some plans and off we go.
Some of the things you need to keep in mind when looking at a building are Enough Parking, Zoning, Access, ADA upgrades to just name a few. Get a good architect for your build out and get multiple GC bids. Compare them apples to apples.
The Church had everything going for them. The people who owned the building wanted them in, the city liked the idea. It was pretty much in the bag. Here’s where the lesson comes in. Nobody checked to see if the current electrical installation, (Designed for an office), would be acceptable for a Church. Every piece of electrical cable has to be ripped out and replaced with commercial grade cables. This was about 100K blow to the budget. So in this case, the AVL budget was gone.
The original purpose for my visit was to inspect the new location they were going to remodel. I had a budget of about $30K to work with and I already knew I was going to donate some speakers I won at Infocomm so I was pretty excited about what I was going to be able to do for this Church.
We were able to save them money in the lighting system incorporating the stage lighting dimmer with the house lights. This is something we recommend if you’re using conventional lighting for your house. See our blog about the AR1202.
Pastor Dan had done everything right and still unforeseen issues took a huge chuck of change out of the AVL budget. This is important to know, when people walk into your church and are impressed by the soft carpet & chairs, contemporary paintjob, and furniture you’ve done something awesome! But if you sound system took a back seat to all of the finishes YOU LOSE. Listen, what are we trying to do? Get the word out correct? Well, if your sound is just thrown together there will be distractions. If there are distractions and hums….you missed the mark.
Pastor Dan understands this, that’s why he brought us in at the beginning. And that why Pastor Dan is this years Super Pastor.
