A car wash can be a big investment for the rest of your life. But this is possible only if it is built perfectly. Any flaw in the structure can directly put a question mark to the integrity of the car wash. Much like building anything from the ground up, there is a great deal of planning involved and steps to take. In this article, we will help you with the right tricks and tips to go about the building process efficiently.

Select the Type First

The first thing you must do before starting the construction project is to decide what type of car wash you want to build. You’ll have to figure out which type of business your market will support and which type you’ll be comfortable owning and operating. If you don’t know the common types of car washes, here they are.

Full-Service Car Washes: As the name suggests, these car washes deal with the overall cleaning and maintenance of vehicles. Visiting a full-service car wash involves having the exterior of your vehicle cleaned in addition to having the interior of your automobile vacuumed thoroughly by employees of the facility you’re paying to clean your vehicle.
Exterior Conveyor or Tunnel Car Washes: These facilities offer the most thorough range of car washing services and perhaps is the most convenient for customers to use. Typically requires a larger investment at the start, it will have a potentially greater return on your investment.
Self-Serve Car Washes: If you don’t wish to make a huge investment, this is the type you can consider. The do-it-yourself option decreases labour costs exponentially. With this kind of setup, vehicle owners use a wand to wash the outside of their automobiles themselves. You can decide if you want to provide a coin-operated system for added ease.
Roll-over or In-bay Automatic Car Wash: Approximately 50% of car washes in Canada are roll-over style, and typically consist of a building 18 feet wide by 60 feet long. In this type of wash, the vehicle remains stationary while the equipment moves over and around the vehicle.

Find a Location

Once you know the type of car wash you’ll build, you will have to hunt for a suitable location for the same. This and the first step can be interchanged in the process depending on what you wish to do first. Make sure your location is a high traffic area. To find out, your township can provide traffic counts. Also, make sure that the location you choose is easy to access. It goes without saying that if the location is inaccessible or difficult to reach, you will hardly get any clients. While considering the accessibility, keep the size and features of the lot in mind. The lot should be spacious enough to accommodate the type of car wash you are planning to build. Lastly, make sure that the property is free from any disputes and legal issues. You surely don’t want to get into troubles later due to the issues related to the property.

Get the Necessary Permits

Now is the time when you must find out about the permits you’ll need for the project. Talk to your project manager or architecture to understand the permits you’ll probably need. Now is the time when you must schedule meetings with the city planning and zoning department, city water department, city sewer department, the department of transportation and the local fire department. It is typical to take anywhere from 45 to 60 days for the municipal departments to review the plans for building a car wash. You can use this time to do other things, like finalizing the equipment and other requirements.

Prepare the Area

Once you select and acquire the land, it is your responsibility to prepare the lot for the project. If there are any pre-existing structures on the lot, get rid of them. Clear the land of any previous constructions systematically. Not just structures, but you must also get rid of any plantations that may come in the way of your project. Once the land is cleared, you can start with preparing the site and laying the foundation.

Start the Project

As soon as the foundation is laid, you can start with the actual building project. Depending on which construction technique you choose, the construction team and architectures will undergo the procedure in the best way. Make sure you remain in constant contact with the team so that you have complete knowledge of the project and its progress.

To make sure that the entire process goes on smoothly and efficiently, you must hire experienced and reputed car wash builders around you. We can be that solution for you. With several years of experience, we specialize in complete construction project management for car washes, hospitals, schools, hotels, and other commercial complexes. With us, you can expect your project to go about with perfection and have complete knowledge of what you must put inside the car wash.