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All Project Categories Suspended Ceilings

Suspended Ceiling in Calne

Suspended Ceiling in Calne

Client: St Mary’s Sports Centre
Value: £3k

The suspended ceiling at St Mary’s Sports Centre was part of a larger refurbishment of their swimming pool changing rooms. The type of suspended ceiling installed needs to be a special non-corrosive grid along with moisture resistant tiles to withstand the humid conditions above the shower cubicles.

The Old Suspended Ceiling

The existing ceiling was clearly in a bad state with rust appearing above the showers, and bubbling in the tiles where they had lost their moisture resistance. The old ceiling had a very dated shadow batten around the edge and had been damaged in various places over the years.

Work out what is needed

Sometimes the customer does not see this, but we do actually draw every single project. The purpose of this drawing is twofold, the first is to work out the materials, but the second is for the fitter to see how to work out the center lines of the grid pattern to help him set out all the runners.

The New Suspended Ceiling

The new ceiling had to be a specific non-corrosive grid which is designed for wet areas and will not rust over time. The ceiling tiles are also special moisture resistant tiles which prevents the tiles from absorbing moisture and sagging due to the weight.

There are many different types of suspended ceiling; the type used in many shops and some offices consist of a metal frame with plasterboard underneath. Please read this page if you would like to find out more about ceilings.

The installation at St Mary Sport Centre was part of a bigger project refurbishing the changing rooms and we worked with the client splitting the install into two parts to keep one half operational whilst the other half was being worked on.

Suspended Ceiling Challenges

There are many different types of suspended ceilings and the huge range of tiles from which to choose can be quite confusing. The current trend is to focus on sound performance within the office and this can be dealt with by using a special type of tile.

Suspended ceilings are used for a number of reasons. They are quick to install and mean that all the services required for offices such as pipework for plumbing and air conditioning, as well as power and data, can be hidden out of sight. Access to the services is also much easier than using a traditional plasterboard or MF type ceiling as the ceiling tiles just need to be lifted from the grid.

There are many offices with old fissured tiles, with sagging tiles and a mottled grey look, they make the office look very dated. We prefer to use plain white tiles which give a fresh, clean finish.

Questions about Suspended Ceilings

We have been supplying and fitting suspended ceiling systems as part of our main refurbishment projects for a number of years. We can therefore answer any questions that you might have about suspended ceilings. Please give us a call on 01380 73 88 44.

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All Project Categories Featured

Replacement of Fire Doors

Replacement of Fire Doors
Another pair installed

Client: Advanced Computer Systems
Value: £7.9k

This client occupies a three storey building, each floor has landings and fire doors into those landings on each floor from each flight of stairs. As a result of a fire risk assessment, it was noted that there were too many gaps around the doors to meet current regulations, and the gaps needed to be reduced.

Fire Door Challenge

At first glance, replacing the doors would appear to be a simple job. However, on investigation we found that the glazed screens were produced many years ago, and each doorset was measured to a different size, so it was highly likely that each of the screens on each floor was made on site, individually. Each of the door sets had different problems with them. The current doors relied on a floor spring that was built into the floor which had since failed, and extra door closers were added with not the correct power to swing the doors properly. Each of the door sets also had different gaps, so it would not be possible to completely manufacture the doors with big windows in them, as when fitted each door pair would be needed to be ‘chopped in’ which would make the windows on the door not line up with the windows either side on the glazed screens. We had to take into account the fact that each screen was different.

The solution was not to try and match vision panels in the doors with the glass in the side screen, but to use a completely different vision panel design.

Existing Fire Doors

As you can see from the above photographs the existing doors had vision panels at approximately the same height as the glass panels on either side. Over the years the doors and frames had dropped, and as the doors had to be planned to fit, it would not be possible to line them up again.

Other Challenges

The old floor springs to close the doors had long since expired and the problem with them is that they could not just be replaced as the parts were no longer available. The whole mechanism had to be taken out and we replaced the hole with stainless steel plates.

Finished Fire Doors

All three floors on each of the landings had to have new doors which now comply with the smalls gaps that are required with fire doors. If you would like to discuss any issues with fire doors, we are happy to help. Please call our office on 01380 73 88 44, or email us using our contact form on this website.

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All Project Categories Partitioning

Glass Partition in Bradford-on-Avon

Glass Partition in Bradford-on-Avon
Finshed.

Client: Anthony Best Dynamics
Value: £3.5k

The requirement from our client was that they needed a glass partition built to protect staff from draughts, and also to maximise light inside the new office space. The challenge with this project was that the partition line did not fit directly under the mezzanine floor line above, and so we had to stand out the partition from the edge, and fill in lots of gaps. From the outside view from the warehouse, you could not see an issue or problem.

We use Demountable Partitioning rather than stud and plasterboard, as the systems allow window and door frames to be made quickly and easily. The partition system is made from aluminium sections which have to be cut on site, forming frames for the glass, door frames, metal stud work and plasterboard. We have a short video on our YouTube channel that demonstrated this; please click this link. In this particular design for Anthony Best Dynamics the lower panels were solid, and the customer wanted us to maximise the glass area so that the internal office had as much natural light as possible.

Existing Layout

The glass partition position had to be fixed at one end against an outside wall which was not an issue; the other end had to fix to an existing partition which had a window already installed. The line of the new glass partition would have taken the wall directly over the window, and so we moved the wall over to avoid this. However, this meant that we could not fix the top to line up with the mezzanine floor, so we built a small false extension to the mezzanine floor.

Construction

Construction took two days to complete. Once the glass partition frames and plasterboard were fitted the solid panels were decorated with a contract grade wall paper from Dixon Turner. The windows were made on site, and so the glass had to be measured and fitted later. However this meant that the room was fully usable in the meantime so the customer could continue moving furniture into place.

Completed Wall

As previously mentioned in this project post, the system was constructed from a product called Demountable Partitioning with which we have many years experience. The flexibility it offers means that the partitioning can be re-used and not discarded if a change is needed in the future.

Why Demountable Partitioning?

  1. Using Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient as they are classed as movable items and so can be treated differently when accounting. Please click the link for more information on demountable partitioning.
  2. We can also lease Demountable Partitioning as they are movable. This spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions can be an initial costly outlay.
  3. Leasing of Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide cost illustrations. Please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on Demountable Partitions being used for offices as it is much easier to take them out when the tenant vacates. The main benefit is that is saves a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be needed with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Questions on Glass Partition Walls

Please give us a call on 01380 738844 or complete our website contact form if we can help you with any of your projects, or if you have specific questions about Glass Partition Walls.

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All Project Categories Dilapidation work Mezzanine Floors Office Refurbishments Suspended Ceilings

Dilapidation Work in Swindon

Dilapidation Work in Swindon
Finished mezzanine

Client: REPL
Value: £25k

We can carry out Dilapidation work for customers when the customer is required to carry out work by a landlord if they are moving premises, please see our post for more description about what it means by clicking this link.

We carried out quite a major change visually to a worn out factory that looked tired and needed sprucing up. The main elements were a new factory floor, decoration, refurbishment of the offices, and to tidy up the existing mezzanine floor. The existing fire protection on the steel work was not adequate and not fitted correctly, so rather than just paint it, we decided to completely strip it off and install a new fire rated suspended ceiling and a new column encasement system. A quick lick of paint would not have satisfied the fire protection requirements so we decide to do this properly and install all of the correct materials.

Existing Warehouse

The customer has been in the existing building for many years and the unit the occupy is part of the original railway buildings in Swindon, so is probably around 100 years old. As you can see from the photos the the building was quite dilapidated, and this is often referred to as dilapidation work.

Old mezzanine floor

Electrics need sorting!

Wider view

Lots of wires need sorting

Some wires not connected!

Poor fire protection

Poor walls

Toilet to be reduced in size

Toilet block to sort

Kitchen to come out

What was most alarming was the existing fire protection had been carried out by people who clearly did not know what they were doing and there were gaps everywhere, there was no way that the mezzanine floor had adequate protection, so even though the customer just wanted a very basic patch and mend, we took the decision to completely replace everything and do the whole job properly.

Although the photographs do not show it, there was quite a bit of work to completely redecorate the offices at the front of the unit. This included stripping out the kitchen, toilets, stairs, repainting the doors, walls, ceilings and skirting boards.

Construction work

The other constraint that we had is the whole job had to be completed in 3 weeks as a new machine was due to arrive in the unit. The reason why the toilet block had to be halved, was that the new machine was 26 meters long and so it would not quite fit.

Toilet door moved back

Poor state of mezzanine

Steel work being exposed

Exteriors walls bad

Plasterboard stripped out

More stripped

Bottom office demolished

New fire line board bulkhead

Starting wall treatment

Toilet halved

Walls nearly done

Walls nearly done

Our van

Completed Photographs.

We were very pleased with the final results as there was such a difference between what was, and what we achieved in the end. The client was also very pleased with the work as we completed it on time and within budget.

New tea point downstairs

New floor

Office decorated

New ceiling

Toilets redecorated

Our van

Internal doors painted

Finished floor

Fire exit door

New equipment just coming in

View from other direction

Finishing things properly

On top of mezzanine

New fire rated ceiling

Dilapidation Work

As you can see from the photographs, the work is general office refurbishment, and covers all of the things that we would carry out for office interiors. If you have any requirements for dilapidation work that is relevant to offices or warehouses then we would be very pleased to hear from you, as we find this type of work very rewarding, and that is not from a monetary view but seeing the difference between old and new.

Please call 01380 73 88 44, or use the contact us form on our website.

Categories
All Project Categories Office Refurbishments

Office Alterations in Trowbridge

Office Alterations in Trowbridge
Another view of the extra space we have created.

Client: The Consortium
Value: £36.5k

Office alterations carried out by Cre8tive are activities that we carry out all the time. The Consortium in Trowbridge needed their offices altering, specialises in supplies for the education and healthcare industry and wanted to extend their existing office by removing the corridor wall.

The changes required involved matching their existing space rather than re-doing the space as a whole. In order to work out costs, we measured the whole space and created some drawings. We then worked out what equipment was needed to take the wall down and how to dispose of the concrete.

We had to take special consideration to ensure that we matched the existing carpets, light fittings and wall paint. A new wall and doorway at each end of the office had to be created to separate the office from the corridor and we needed to install new power and data sockets for the additional desks and the new printer and TV positions. Once drawn and the basic costings were agreed, we then looked into more detail on how to ensure the project didn’t disrupt the busy customer service department, how to minimise the dust from taking down the wall and how to co-ordinate the project to ensure it was completed over three weekends to meet the customers deadline.

Existing layout

The corridor wall ran 45 meters long however only the central section of 35 meters where the customer service department fell needed to be removed.

Construction photographs

Office Alterations – doing the work

The physical work of knocking walls down was going to create a lot of dust at the weekends and keeping the customer service department operational was a high priority so we installed a temporary plastic screen the full length of the office to minimise the dust transferring from the works into the office. we also put dust sheets over each bank of desks first thing on a Saturday morning to ensure the best possible protection.

To take the wall down we needed to remove and replace the central section of ceiling and we also had to remove and replace the carpet as it was a different colour to the office. The wall came down fairly quickly and was disposed of into numerous skips however it did leave a fairly big channel in the floor, we filled this with concrete and levelled the floor to match the office.

Office Alterations Completion Photographs

Once the wall was down and the new walls and doors were in place all the walls were all re-painted and the electrics were mounted into the dado trunking. The carpet was last to be installed to ensure the carpet stayed clean, the light fittings came a little bit later after the 3 weekend deadline as they were made bespoke to this project because the existing light fittings were discontinued in 2007, we then took time to get some specially made.

The internal changes to the overall office has made a significant difference to the feel of the office, for up to 90 people, with sufficient power and data to expand as and when they need to.

Questions on altering offices?

If you are not sure about anything as well as taking about all kinds of partitioning including Demountable Partitioning we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, please give us a call on 01380 738844

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News

Mezzanine Floor Fire Protection

Mezzanine Floor Fire Protection
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Mezzanine floor fire protection is the most important task to determine correctly when considering a mezzanine floor, old or new. When a new mezzanine floor is installed by us we always liaise with Building Control to ensure that the correct level of fire protection is carried out on the steel structure. You may think that steel is pretty strong which it is, but in a fire the steel will tend to twist and deform at not very high temperatures and there are several reasons for this.

The effects of fire on a steel mezzanine floor structure

The steel sections that are used in the construction are in themselves very strong but will have been formed from flat sheet steel and either rolled or welded to form the sizes required. Heat on steel anneals or softens the steel which wants to convert to its pre-stressed state. The effect of this is that the whole floor structure twists and due to the weight of the floor, what is on the floor and the steel the whole lot can come crashing down quickly.

All of our steel structures are calculated, and often have triangulation steels in the corners of the floor to prevent twisting in just loading conditions, so the design needs to be calculated properly.

Mezzanine floor fire protection – Suspended Ceilings

Contrary to popular belief and pure incompetence by many of our competitors there are actually very few suspended ceiling types that are fully tested with a specific suspended ceiling tile to give the 1 hour fire protection required by Building Regulations. Some mezzanine floors which are small in proportion to a building and maybe are just used for occasional light storage may not actually require any protection as there is actually no perceived danger to employees and staff. 99% of floors will need mezzanine floor fire protection.

There are a few advantages of using a suspended ceiling over a plasterboard one, the main one is you can hide the services inside it. It is also a finished product without the need for skimming or painting. It can also provide sound performance preventing noise from the ground floor going through the floor. It is also quick to install.

We visit many installations carried out by others where the cheapest ceiling tile has been used, and the cheapest grid, and there is absolutely no way that the suspended ceiling is fire rated and we have to advise the customer of this fact.

Mezzanine floor fire protection other items.

There are many other things that need to be considered but that is perhaps for another article, if you are in any doubt please give us a call and we can check.

What else needs to be done to a Mezzanine Floor once built?

Cre8tive Interiors can carry out all of the work required so that the client can just use the space straight away. This will include the following:

  1. Initial design and layouts for the new space along with costs
  2. Building Regulation Approval
  3. Planning for the work to be done, understanding what needs to be carried out prior to the install date.
  4. Supply and Installation of the mezzanine floor, including relevant fire protection
  5. Electrical work
  6. Partitioning and suspended ceiling work
  7. All lighting, emergency lighting, air conditioning and ventilation
  8. Construction of any toilet areas, canteen or warehouse areas
  9. All types of flooring and decoration.
  10. Office furniture if the extension is for offices.

What Mezzanine floor projects has Cre8tive carried out?

  1. Mezzanine floor in Devizes (light storage)
  2. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Warminster for Offices
  3. Fire rating of a Mezzanine Floor in Milton Keynes for Offices
  4. Converting / Fire rating an existing storage mezzanine in Corsham for use into Offices
  5. Installation of a new mezzanine floor into an existing warehouse to create offices in Gloucester
  6. Installation of a new mezzanine floor to extend existing offices at first floor level and below in Salisbury
  7. Construction of Fire rated partitions on top of an existing mezzanine floor to meet Building Regulation in Corsham
Categories
All Project Categories Partitioning

Office Extension in Marlborough

Office Extension in Marlborough
Finished wall

Client: J P Kummer
Value: £8.1k

An office extension is a pretty simple thing to do for us to do. Our customer, J P Kummer, specialises in adhesives and wanted to extend their existing laboratory which was constructed from demountable partitioning. (If you want to know what demountable partitioning is please click this link). Unfortunately we could not simply take down the partition as the electrics that was fitted to the partition wall had to be moved.

The existing lighting had to be changed as well as extending a special static sensitive (dissipative) floor. In order to work out costs, we measured the whole space and created some drawings. We then worked out what equipment and benches had to fit, and the limits of where the partition could fit. Once drawn and the basic idea was agreed, we then looked into more detail on the power, floor boxes and lighting.

Drawing and design work.

For smaller projects we do not charge for basic drawing work, in order to work out what needs to be done, we nearly always produce even a basic drawing which allows us to do several things:

  • To discuss with the customer to see if what we are proposing will solve the problem
  • Work out what materials will be needed
  • Work out a labour cost and talking to installers about the work

We then usually submit this with our quote so it is totally clear on what we have allowed for in the project price and there are no surprises. We can carry out more detailed space planning and even 3d visuals, please click this link for more information. In this particular instance it was quite complicated to work out what we could take down and re-use and what we needed new. All of the parts were demountable, so could be reconfigured.

Existing layout

As you can see from the photographs below there was quite a bit of furniture in the way to see what needed to be done. The plan was to extend the laboratory so all of this had to be taken down and stored temporarily in other offices and parts of the building.

The glass front of the laboratory had large windows from table height to the ceiling forming the corridor. This line of wall needed to be extended further into the office space as shown on the drawing.

Office Extension construction photographs.

We cannot just appear on site expecting things to happen and expect to have fitters available and all of the parts needed to make things happen. All of the materials have a delivery time, the specialist flooring was on a 4 week lead time from order, so this gave us time to plan everything out so that when they arrived, all of the partitioning, benches and electrical connections were ready for the floor to be fitted. The floor was a special floor in that it had to have a special membrane fitted underneath which had to be connected to an earth on the electrical work we did. The idea is that an static electricity generated gets dissipated through the floor down to earth.

We also had to arrange convenient time with the customer as they were busy in production in the laboratory, the electrical circuits had to be broken into, and the the existing work area fully functional whilst the new ring main, sockets and floor boxes were installed without affecting the work being done in the laboratory.

The end wall of the old laboratory had to be taken down so all of the electrical supplies had to be disconnected, once re-positioned and the parts re-used, new materials were used to extend the front wall. Once the apertures were built for the windows the glass was measured and fitted. The taking down and rebuilding gave the customer the office extension that they needed. The partitions and electrical work had to be finished before we could fit the floor which needed a bonding wire in the electrical circuit that the dissipative material could be connected to.

Office Extension Completion Photographs.

The customer was very pleased with the work as we did not affect production at all and caused minimal disruption. The office extension meant that they could double their production increasing their level of sales and throughput of work through the area.

We used demountable partitioning on this project and we managed to match the existing configuration and colours. However as you can see by the first image above, there is a slight variation with the colour on the wall covering which was not possible to match completely 100%. We did offer to redecorate all of the remaining existing partitions with the new wall covering but the customer did not want to do this. The original wallpaper had been on the partitions for over 10 years. By using demountable office partitioning we created some additional laboratory space providing an office extension for the customer and we saved the customer quite a bit of cost as we re-used the expensive materials. The walls are fully demountable so can be taken down and rebuilt again if required without throwing them away. There are some other advantages listed below;

Summary on Demountable Partitioning

  1. Using Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient as they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts. Please click the link for more information on demountable partitioning.
  2. We can also lease Demountable Partitioning as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of demountable partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on Demountable Partitions being used for offices as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Questions on extending offices?

If you are not sure about anything as well as taking about all kinds of partitioning including Demountable we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, please give us a call on 01380 738844

Categories
All Project Categories Office Refurbishments Partitioning

New Additional Offices in Swindon

New Additional Offices in Swindon
The partitions need to match what is opposite

Client: REPL
Value: £8.5k

Cre8tive was asked to add some additional offices to an office space we built for the customer 10 years ago. It was important to match what we originally supplied so that the new offices all blended in nicely and we were still able to source all of the components needed.

The first task was to draw what was required and show this to the customer, and a couple of ideas were produced. In the end two offices were built at the far end of the office which opened out the area by reception. Complicating matters was the ceiling is sloped, and we had a wall to take down as well with electrics inside it, all of which was taken down and re-used saving the customer money in the process. One of the main reason why customers use demountable partitioning is for exactly this reason. In this particular situation the glass screens could be re-used and as they are usually the most expensive element it was advantageous to re-use them and save on the build cost.

Existing Partitioning and Offices

The photographs above show the wall to be re-used, we could re-use all of the grey aluminium parts along with the window frames, glass and blinds but had to replace the plasterboard and stud work inside.

The above photo shows the style of the current offices, the doors were of a particular veneer with vision panels positioned at certain positions so the new office doors had to match making the creation of additional offices very easy.

Construction Photographs.

The photographs above show the wall to be re-used, we could re-use all of the grey aluminium parts along with the window frames, glass and blinds but had to replace the plasterboard and stud work inside.

The above photo shows the style of the current offices, the doors were of a particular veneer with vision panels positioned at certain positions so the new office doors had to match making the creation of additional offices very easy.

Summary on Demountable Partitioning?

  1. Using Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient as they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts. Please click the link for more information on demountable partitioning.
  2. We can also lease Demountable Partitioning as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of demountable partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on Demountable Partitions being used for offices as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Questions on additional offices?

If you are not sure about anything as well as taking about all kinds of partitioning including Demountable we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, please give us a call on 01380 738844

Categories
News

Why have Building Regulations for my offices?

Why have Building Regulations for my offices?
Fire damaged office

Building Regulations are a legal requirement enforceable by Law. The building regulations are designed so that occupants of a building are safe in the event of a problem or issue. The chances of anything happening are of course pretty remote but they do happen, and when problems happen people can get hurt. The Regulations have not been designed as a set of rules that prevent people from doing what they want do and to be as obstructive as possible, there are very good reasons for them.

They are designed to protect staff within buildings from unscrupulous owners of buildings or directors who do not care, or do not know that they need to comply with the law. We focus on offices, and there are many Building Regulations that relate to all kinds of properties, but offices is our speciality. Building Regulations for offices are not too onerous, and the main thrust of them covers fire protection and access routes for staff to get out of a burning building as safely and as quickly as possible. Associated with this is that it is a mandatory requirements that all commercial premises must have a fire risk assessment carried out every five years, we can organise this if the customer does not have one in place.

Non Compliance to Building Regulations

We come across many offices that have not had any consideration to the Law, offices have been built in the wrong place with no fire rating when they should be and this may be for a number of reasons, it could be that the Interiors company installing the partitioning did not understand the regulations and the customer has instructed the company to install the partitions in on price. Unfortunately it will be the directors of the company who will be in trouble if people can’t get out quickly enough or can’t get out of a building because they employed a fit out contractor that did not give them the right advice, people die and Directors go to jail. Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the law and it is incumbent on the directors to understand their legal obligations to their staff.

Mezzanine Floors

We have covered Mezzanine Floors in a few places, but this is one of the improvements that people do in offices that is fraught with risk if it is not built properly. If you take on a new space with the floor in place, it may not comply depending on what you are using the floor for. Although you can plead ignorance if you have not determine the proper levels of fire protection, and in the very unlikely event something happens then the Directors are in trouble.

General Advice

We offer a service where we can provide a report which highlights areas that need to be looked at. It will not go into formal detail such as quoting for any work, or actually producing plans and drawings to get Building Regulation approval, it is designed to be before this stage is initiated as it may not be required. The report is designed for Directors to at least highlight areas that should be looked at prior to any work being commissioned as many Directors and owners of buildings do not know that things need to be considered in the first place.

Please give us a call on 01380 73 88 44 to see how we can help

Fire damaged office

Fire damaged office

Categories
All Project Categories Mezzanine Floors Mezzanine Floors Office Refurbishments Partitioning Suspended Ceilings

Offices on a Mezzanine Floor

Offices on a Mezzanine Floor
Outside of building

Client: H J Knees of Trowbridge
Value: £45k

We are asked to look at making some office alterations to a new office for HJKnees in Whitehorse Business Park. The customer wanted to fit some new offices on a Mezzanine Floor. At first glance we could see straight away that the work would need extra work to make the project comply with Building Regulations as none of the existing mezzanine floor had any fire protection on it at all.

Mezzanine Floors and Building Regulations.

Our first consideration when considering an office project is Building Regulations, does the existing structure comply?, and whatever we do as far as changing things also has to comply. In each case we consider the Regulations and obtain approval before the work starts, during the work we usually have an inspection carried out before the walls all get closed in, and then a post project inspection.

We can then give the client a proper certificate from a Building Regulations Inspector that certifies the design and our work to confirm that all legal requirements have been met.

Please see our articles on Mezzanine floors and what you need to do with Building Regulations on the News section of this website. Unfortunately the customer has never been aware that their existing floor does not comply, and we do come across this quite a lot, so we are always on the back foot before we even start talking about what they want as the whatever work is done, adequate fire protection, escape routes and distances need to be considered to comply with the law.

The additional problem in this situation is that it is a legal requirement to have a 1 hour fire rated separation between offices and warehouse. The construction of a 1 hour wall is not an issue, often it is the height that is the problem as you have to construct the wall to meet the plasterboard and metal stud work manufactures specifications.

The most expensive parts are the doors and windows, so the plan is always to keep these to a minimum.

Initial site Photographs.

Original upstairs rooms not meeting fire regulations

Another view of old offices

Another view of old offices

Another view of old offices

They stored things next to the offices

They stored things next to the offices

Underneath the mezzanine, hardboard used a potential fire hazard!

Toilets needed doing

None of the mezzanine floor steels protected.

Edge of mezzanine not protected.

As you can see from the above photographs, a general builder has built the offices ontop of a steel mezzanine floor with no fire protection using timber windows and non fire rated materials. The offices look ok but does not comply at all. The whole lot needed to be stripped out and started again. All of the mezzanine floor underneath needed a 1 hour fire rated suspended ceiling, along with column encasement protection (1 hour) and some re-organisation of the access routes with toilets, a small office and warehouse access with some basic security.

Construction Photographs

The other constraint that we had is the whole job had to be completed in 3 weeks as a new machine was due to arrive in the unit. The reason why the toilet block had to be halved, was that the new machine was 26 meters long and so it would not quite fit.

Staircase needed to be scaffolded

Main fire wall plastered ready for decoration

First fix electrics underneath mezzanine

Demolition of existing offices

Timber frame exposed to be removed

Timber frame exposed to be removed

Start of dry lining the walls

Boarding of the main fire wall between the offices and warehouse

Building the frame under the angles steels of the building

Suspended ceiling grid is quite quick to go in.

Construction of the new offices started

Outside walls plaster drying out

Ceiling tile just starting to go in.

Fire rated ceiling going in under mezzanine floor

Underneath of stairs

Windows dry lined around and window boards fitted

Offices starting to take shape

LED panels fitted

More office walls going in

Column encasement system fitted to steel uprights

Offices starting to take shape

Offices starting to take shape

Window boards fitted, insulation for ceiling arrived

Completed column encasement and ceiling tiles fitted.

More fire rated walls downstairs

Mezzanine floor edge protection

You can see the back of the light fitting has a 1 hour smoke hood fitted.

Downstairs work nearly finished

Offices nearly done

Offices nearly done

Offices virtually done

Final Result

We do not have any finished photographs as the customer needed to move in straight away. We kept to the dates that we advised the customer and we did have a couple of snag items to deal with which was not a problem once they were in. The project was inspected by Building Control and a passed certificate was issued to the client, as well as the Health and Safety file. The Health and Safety file included all of the as built drawings, certificates and evidence of emergency lighting and fire detection equipment that acts as a reference binder for the client to use in the future.

We chose demountable partition for the main office upstairs due to the speed of construction and the final finish looking much more modern and professional that a traditional stud and plasterboard wall.

Summary on Demountable Partitioning

  1. Using Demountable Partitioning is very tax efficient as they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts.
  2. We can also lease Demountable Partitioning as they are movable, this spreads the costs of having the work done as Demountable Partitions always cost more than customers think.
  3. Leasing of demountable partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on Demountable Partitions being used for offices as it is much easier to take them out should the tenant renting the space leave for any reason. The benefit is that is saves making a huge amount of mess and destruction that would be need with a conventional stud and plasterboard constructed wall.

Questions on Demountable Partitioning?

If you are not sure about anything as well as taking about all kinds of partitioning including Demountable we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, please give us a call on 01380 738844