What is office refurbishment?

Office refurbishment cover a range of activities from painting and decorating through to the complete restructuring of office spaces with new floors, ceilings and walls. Unlike with a residential property it is generally OK to rip apart an office you are renting and remodel it how you like. Removing and adding internal walls, replacing ceilings, rewiring and installing air condition are all seen as standard office refurbishment activities.

What can be changed in an office refurbishment?

Obviously before starting any office refurbishment work we would recommend checking your contract and speaking to the landlord. However, most modern office buildings are deliberately structured to be big shells with plenty of large open spaces inside. It is assumed that any company moving into an office will then decide how to split up that space themselves. Generally you would not touch the outside of the shell (the outer walls, the floor and ceiling structures) but anything inside is normally fair game as long as it is not structural or needed for fire safety.

There are a wide range of glass and solid office partitioning systems on the market which can be used to quickly divide up large spaces to create smaller offices, break rooms and meeting rooms. There is an equally big market in false, or suspended, ceilings which can be hung from the building’s outer shell to create the look and functionality needed.

With the walls in the right places and the ceilings installed an office refurbishment project can then more onto the more standard aspects of new flooring, lighting, painting and furniture.

What’s the difference between an office refurbishment and an office fit out?

The terms office refurbishment and office fit out are often used interchangeably. The distinction we normally make is that a refurbishment is changing an existing office space while an office fit out is for a brand new office space. In both cases the same kind of office partitioning, suspended ceilings, decorations and furniture can be used. Normally office refurbishments and office fit outs will be done by the same contractors.

Where to start with an office refurbishment

The best place to start with an office refurbishment project is to think about how you want employees to work together. Some business prefer their offices to be full of informal workspaces where teams can collaborate around a cup of coffee. Others prefer more formal meeting rooms around a board table. In some offices it may be wise to have developers or accounts people away from the sales team so they don’t get distracted by noise, in other you may want them side by side so they can answer questions.

Once these kind of questions have been answered you should be able to set the general layout of your offices. This will decide where walls will go and where the common areas will be. Then you can get down to the fun stuff of picking materials and colours so that your office refurbishment matches the standards you want to set for your business.

If you are looking to get an office refurbishment done in Essex, London, or across the south of England give us a call on 01376 528627