Building Ashley's Second Smile & Co. Office: Floor Plans, Architects, and Unexpected Surprises

In this episode, Ashley and Collin go behind the scenes of building Ashley's second Smile & Co. office, diving into the two-year construction timeline and the decisions that shaped the space from day one. Ashley opens up about drawing her own floor plan on taped-together printer paper, why she brought on a dental-specific architect for this build (unlike her first location), and the surprising realities of buying an existing building versus leasing one.

In this episode:

• Ashley's original floor plan: drawing it herself on taped printer paper and comparing it to the final result
• Why Ashley hired an architect for this build (and didn't for her first location)
• Architect vs. GC: cost differences, scope of work, and who actually needs an architect
• The Denver trip: Pinterest boards, a 3D walkthrough, and designing the vision from scratch
• How the architect, GC, and interior designer worked together (and Dave's initial hesitation about "too many cooks")
• Designing a separate cosmetic wing, the "office within an office" concept
• Communication between the build team: walkthroughs, emails, and staying in the loop
• Unexpected surprises: shared Wi-Fi with the building next door, a load-bearing wall that couldn't move, and the "pony wall" fix
• The $71,000 building permit shock, and why budgeting for city fees matters more than people think
• Ashley's advice: architect vs. no architect, and why owning your building changes the equation

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