Office Refurbishment

An office refurbishment is usually split into these 5 steps:

1. Briefing – Learning about what you want in your new office

2. Planning – Coming up with concept designs and expanding ideas into a plan of action

3. Preparation – Briefing construction teams and moving in equipment

4. Working – The build team takes the final designs and turns them into reality

5. Sign off – Once you’re happy, sign off the project and enjoy your new office space!

Usually, there are four main areas of regulation to be aware of during an office refurbishment:

Building regulations – These regulations ensure adequate safety and quality in many aspects of the refurbishment, including structural work, fire escape routes and disabled access. Most design and build companies, including Bischell, can ensure that your new office space complies with all relevant building regulations.

Planning permission and permitted development – Most construction work without major structural changes can be carried out under permitted development, which means that no planning permission is required. Bischell and other design and build companies can check if your plans fall under permitted development, and if not, they can handle all of the relevant paperwork by liaising with your local authority.

Party wall agreement – If your office refurbishment involves work on a wall which you share with a neighbour, then you may have to follow the protocol laid out in the Party Wall Act. If you choose Bischell, we can handle this process for you.

Lease agreements – If you don’t own your property and are simply leasing it, then you may be limited to what you can do by the formal owner of the property. It is usually recommended that you check with the property owner to ensure that they will permit any construction work you would like to do.

1). Consider the layout in relation to productivity and suitability. Placing individual department staff closer together may improve communication. Some areas of work may also require a degree of privacy which would influence the positioning of staff work spaces.

2). Consider disruptions. If you have a lot of loud traffic outside your office, it may be worth moving staff who regularly use telephones away from windows and the general area of sound pollution. Similarly, placing staff who use telephones too close to staff who don’t use telephones may cause distractions

3). Consider potential downtime and working around the refurbishment. Shutting down services can disrupt cash flow, but it may be possible to conduct refurbishment work in one area at a time or outside of normal office hours, thereby allowing the design and build company to work around your staff and business operations.

4). How will your office be used? If you have no visitors, then you can focus more resources on the internal staff environment. However, if you do have regular visitors, then it may be worth focusing more of your resources towards the entrance and reception area to make a good first impression.

5). Use your business brand. Your business brand can be a fantastic starting point for expanding on the design of your new office space. You could look to your website or literature to provide inspiration on the colours, styles and shapes you could incorporate into your refurbishment. Not only can this make it easier to formulate ideas, but it can also result in a more professional looking office with a clear-cut theme. This helps to make sure that any visitors can walk in and instantly get a feel of what your business is and the image you want to put across to potential customers or clients.