Plan backwards from the first bell
We build the schedule in reverse from the handover date: final cleaning and furniture reinstatement, occupancy inspection, life-safety verification and commissioning, deficiency work, then finishes. Whatever is left at the front is the real window for demolition and rough-in — usually eight weeks, not twelve.
That backwards pass is also the honest test of scope. If the sequence does not close, the answer is to split the program across two summers rather than to hope for recovery in August.
Procure in the spring, not in June
Everything the job needs has to be on site or confirmed before the students leave. Flooring, ceiling grid, doors and hardware, washroom fixtures, lighting and any mechanical equipment are released in the spring against a confirmed delivery week. Storage is arranged in advance, because there is no room to receive materials once four trades are working in one wing.
We also pre-book the inspections. Electrical, plumbing, fire alarm verification and the board's own sign-offs all compete for the same late-August slots across every school in the district.
Staffing and site rules
Summer school, daycare programs, custodial staff and administration are often still in the building. Work areas get hoarded and separated from any occupied wing with its own entrance, and every worker on a site with children present goes through the board's screening requirements.
We staff to the sequence rather than to a flat crew count — heavier through the middle weeks, tapering into a dedicated deficiency and cleaning crew for the final ten days so the closeout does not compete with production work.
- Separate site entrance and hoarding from any occupied wing
- Board screening and sign-in for every worker on site
- Inspections booked in the spring for late-August slots
- Dedicated deficiency and cleaning crew for the last ten days
Handover has to be clean
A school cannot open with a punch list. We run a pre-handover walk two weeks out with the principal, the board's project lead and the maintenance staff, correct the list, then walk again in the final week with only verification items left.
Training and O&M turnover happen before the last day, not after. The custodial team must be able to run the building on day one without calling the contractor.