As a property manager, there are many options that you and your building owners must decide upon when trying to lease a newly vacated tenant space. Do you try to lease the space in its existing condition? Do you “whitebox” or “greybox” the space to open it up for a fresh start, or do you create a new spec suite to entice a particular tenant with specific spatial requirements? No matter what the decision, it is our task as a design/build contractor to help our clients turn over the most appealing space possible within their allotted budget.

There are a lot of factors that come into play when renovating a vacant space, but the most common theme throughout the process is trying to provide the highest quality space for the lowest possible budget. It is this basic concept that has led us to investigate multiple construction methods and materials to help preserve your second and possibly even third generation spaces. The materials that we would specifically like to spotlight in this article are ceiling clips. Ceiling clips are designed to easily fasten underpinned wall partitions to your acoustical ceiling grid systems without damaging the face of the grid itself.

Traditional methods of attaching underpinned partitions include screwing the top track of the stud wall directly to the bottom face of the grid, or using double-faced construction tape to adhere the top track to the grid face. It was discovered, however, that upon removal of both methods the existing grid was left damaged. As you can imagine, the direct screw method left dozens of unsightly holes, while the double sided tape had a tendency to peel the finish right off of the grid. The issue that property managers were now left with after wall removal was repair. Patching, painting, or at worst case, replacing the damaged sections of grid now become an unnecessary expense and an added cost to the overall project budget.

The typical ceiling clip attaches easily by sliding directly over the top of the grid and have flange extensions that allow a carpenter to fasten the top track directly to the clip in lieu of the ceiling grid face. This not only protects your grid but saves hours of labor and reduces costs when you choose to reconfigure your space. These clips are also available in various shapes and sizes to accommodate multiple styles of grid as well as both flat and revealed ceiling tiles. While there is a minimal added expense to purchase the clips, the labor costs savings offsets this cost in comparison to traditional installation methods.

In conclusion, the ease of installation, the low upfront costs, and the final project cost savings make ceiling clips a cost-effective solution toward better maintenance over your second generation spaces. We would highly recommend adding these clips to your building standard specifications, and always remember that small details like this that can have a big impact on your long-term tenant improvement costs!

To contact ARCO/Murray National Construction Company, Inc., reach out to member representative Rod Zamparo at (331) 251-2726 or rzamparo@arcomurray.com.