Category: Office Refurbishments

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

Office Refurbishment in Milton Keynes

Office Refurbishment in Milton Keynes
Glass radiator in MD's office

Client: Edwards International
Value: £187k

Office Refurbishment

We were  invited by this customer to have a look at their existing office space as it needed an office refurbishment in Milton Keynes and the customer did not know where to start. They found us on the internet and liked our website as it showed real photos of actual projects rather than nice photo shopped images.

Out of the few that they contact we were the only ones to respond to their enquiry within a day.

When we first visited the client it was very obvious that the while area needed stripping out and starting again. What was surprising, although in reality we are not surprised, was that the existing partitions and mezzanine floor were not fire rated. We recognised the system below the mezzanine as a 50mm wide demountable partition system which has no fire rating at all. None of the exit routes out of the building were 30 minute protected and the mezzanine floor had a suspended ceiling fitted but it was not fire rated. The staff were working in a death trap. If there was any problem in the building then there would be a lot of trouble. The customer specialises in fire detection equipment, so for them to be in a building that was a potential death trap as it was not properly fire protected was nonsense.

Building Regulations

There were three different mezzanine floors installed at various times at different heights, and no paperwork to show that they had been passed Building Regulations, so from a fairly straightforward requirement to refurbish the offices there was a need to look at the whole building, design and specify it properly and get Building Regulation Approval. In the design we had to consider:

  • Fire protection of the mezzanine floors using the correct grade of suspended ceiling tile and support  column encasement
  • Correct design of protected fire exit routes throughout the building, checking of escape distances and signage
  • Full electrical design to suit.
  • New fire rated partitions where needed to meet Building Regulations
  • Supplementary fresh air systems to enclosed offices
  • Changes to air condition systems
  • Heating were needed.

CDM

There was no doubt that we were going to be on site for more than a month, and have more than 5 people on site, the whole project was quite a bit of work and so the work comes under the Construction Design and Management Regulations. The purpose of the regulations is to protect the employee and employer in making sure that a construction project is run safely. If you do not notify the Health and Safety Executive that the project is being carried out and there is a problem then directors of the company where the work is being done can go to jail.

Where do we start?

The first step is to measure everything and take lots of photos to see exactly what has been fitted. The next was to understand from the customer how they wanted to work in the space, so this included some basic functional block drawings identifying where they wanted Sales, Accounts and Technical. Once the broad locations were identified then the detail layouts were carried out identifying voice and data positions, partitioning and ceiling layouts and the work that had to be done on the mezzanine floor. Once the layouts were agreed we had to submit the plans to Building Control and get their approval which we did.

We produced many many drawings. All showing everything that was needed for each trade. Some shown below. The important document was the Building Regulations Approval document that is a legal requirement.

Existing Photographs

The first two photographs below show the immediate and obvious problem. The partitions are 50mm wide demountable and are not fire rated at all. The third photo shows the the vast storage area out the back. The rest just show the general bland and dated look of everywhere needed some tlc.

Stripping out and Construction work

We produced a plan and submitted all of the documents to the local Building Control people who assessed the drawings and arranged for some visits throughout the work. We also employed a Health and Safety Consultant who oversaw the work and kept all of the sub contractors on their toes, and they submitted the F10 to the Health and Safety Executive.

Refurbishment Projects

Categories
Air Conditioning All Project Categories Office Refurbishments Suspended Ceilings

Wall Removal to Enlarge and Refurbish an Office Space

Wall Removal to Enlarge and Refurbish an Office Space

Client: Kingsley Pike Estate Agents
Value: £13k

This Design and Refurbishment project including supplying and fitting two steel beams to support the three floors above the shop, and to remove a structural wall and so needed some design work in order to carry out the refurbishment of the space.

The effective use of space was very difficult to achieve due to the small space in the office, however we still had to produce drawings to satisfy Building Control and to determine exact positions of voice, data and lighting positions. The project included electrical work, decorations, air conditioning, construction of step, flooring, lighting design and carrying out the work in 7 days. We had to carry out a complete design and refurbishment of the existing space.1703 kingsley pike 11-10-05-Model

Design and Refurbishment work

We spent some time working out what was needed in the space and what we could get in. The beam was calculated, as the back wall to the shop needed to come out to widen the office space, the issue was that the wall held up the 3 floors above. One of the main problems was that the main beam was 6 meters long and it took 4 people to lift it into the shop from the main high street. The delivery vehicle had to leave the beams on the pavement whilst everything was prepared.

Construction Photographs

Completion photographs.

General Refurbishment and Fit out Work

If you need any advice or are thinking of an office refurbishment project please give us a call, we would love to talk to you, on 01380 738844

Categories
All Project Categories Office Furniture Office Refurbishments

Enhancing First Impressions: A Reception Area Redesign Project

Enhancing First Impressions: A Reception Area Redesign Project

Client: Smurfit Kappa
Value: £49k

We have been working with the customer over a number of years and they wanted us to come up with some ideas on how to deal with the customer interface into the factory. The brief was to redesign carry out a reception refurbishment to represent a modern clean and welcoming customer entrance into the building.

The total open area was vast, dominated by an open egg crate ceiling, dull lighting, brick walls with a dark oppressive atmosphere, and a dated looking ceramic tiled floor with a mosaic of colours pinks and dark greens. The reception office was situated in a brick built room at the far end of the open foyer area.

What we did was to look at the area that was important and that is the meet and greet to potential customers and suppliers by the entrance doors, and guiding important visitors into the main boardroom upstairs, or the CEO’s offices which were situated just off the main entrance doors.

We therefore came up with the idea of bringing the whole reception area towards the main entrance doors and just focusing on this area. We would then leave the majority of the area behind a glass wall alone and focus on the main lobby. By doing this, it also meant that we could meet the customers budget. It would simply cost too much to deal with the whole area.

Existing customer experience into Reception

Reception Refurbishment construction photographs

CDM and Health and Safety

The duration of the project and the number of people on site, as well as the access issues meant that we had to employ a Heath and Safety consultant to carry out a risk assessment and discuss with the client safe fire exit routes and means of protection from the staff whilst we were doing the work.

Reception Refurbishment Projects

If you would like us to look at your reception area, or indeed any aspect of your offices, please give us a call just for an initial no obligation discussion about what we may be able to do. We love to talk about projects.

Please call us on 01380 73 88 44

Categories
All Project Categories Office Furniture Office Refurbishments Partitioning

Simple and Quick to Carry out Office Refurbishment in Swindon

Simple and Quick to Carry out Office Refurbishment in Swindon

Client: Stibo Reprographics
Value: £67k

The brief was for an office refurbishment in Swindon of the open plan office space. The work included to redecorate the main office, replace the old damaged blinds, new carpet and a small amount of partitioning. We have been working with this customer for several years and were happy they contacted us again for this job.

The open plan office area is very large, about 550sqm, and has several departments and teams mingled in together. The office was also dominated by 2m tall floor screens around each person’s desk, the whole atmosphere was very closed off and disorganised.

Initially we decided removing the screens would open up the office dramatically. We then looked at how the space is used. AutoCAD plans were drawn up to see how the space could be put to best use. The last job we did for the customer was to redesign the conference room with colours chosen from the companies’ logo. A similar colour scheme was chosen for the main office too, with the carpet, desk high floor screens and seating all tied into the colour scheme.

A new manager’s office was built from demountable partitioning and a solid wall closing off the reception was taken down replaced by a new glazed wall, to further help open the office up. The existing blinds were matched by our suppliers and we replaced only the damaged blinds, so making a saving for the customer.

The carpet was laid by our experienced fitters over the weekend and in evening to minimize the amount of time we disturbed the office. Finally some new meeting room furniture was supplied.

Why Demountable Partitions?

  1. Demountable partitions are tax efficient in that 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 Partitions 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 partitions 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 about an office refurbishment?

If you are not sure about anything we love to talk about projects and sort out problems and issues with space, if your office needs reorganising or you need a general office refurbishment please give us a call on 01380 738844

Categories
All Project Categories Mezzanine Floors Office Refurbishments Partitioning Suspended Ceilings

Office Expansion in Corsham for Coombe Castle

Office Expansion in Corsham for Coombe Castle

Client: Coombe Castle
Value: £48k

Office Expansion in Corsham

This project consisted of converting a storage unit in to office space in order to provide some much needed office expansion. The project would involve fire protecting a mezzanine floor as this is required by Building Regulations if you have offices above, steel work and a suspended ceiling.  Ventilation had to be put round a chiller and fire sensors had to be installed within the chiller as it could not be moved to fit the fire protected board. Office windows had to be installed to match the rest of the building.

Upstairs needed a complete office fitting, so a suspended ceiling, dry lining the outer walls, decoration of the outer walls,  some fire rated partitioning to create a fire barrier between the offices and warehouse, as well as demountable partitioning within. Full electrical work including CAT2 lighting, 3 compartment perimeter trunking, flooring and new windows were also required. As always we follow our process, so the first step is to understand what the client wants, and then to assess what they have by taking photographs, and drawing everything.

Existing Space Photographs

It is a bit difficult to see from the photos, but essentially we had several areas to deal with. Underneath the mezzanine and on top of it was the main area, but included absolutely everything we do.

Building Regulations

It is crucial to consider Building Regulations when looking at layouts for offices. In particular fire ratings and Building Regulations which is a legal requirement. This particular project needed offices to be fitted on top of a mezzanine floor and so this is why it had to comply to the law.

If you need more information about Building Regulations, we have written a few things here.

Construction and finished photographs.

Office Expansion?

If you have a problem with your existing office space and need it altering as you are running out of space then Cre8tive can help. Please give us a call on 01380 738844.

Categories
Air Conditioning All Project Categories Mezzanine Floors Office Refurbishments Partitioning Suspended Ceilings Toilet Refurbishment

Office Refurbishment with a Mezzanine Floor in Gloucester

Office Refurbishment with a Mezzanine Floor in Gloucester
New stairs

Client: Scott Law
Value: £160k

Mezzanine Floor installation

Cre8tive Interiors completed an office refurbishment fit out project in Gloucester. The original building consisted of an occupied warehouse with a split level floor and block walls which needed to be converted to offices. We are calling this project a refurbishment project, it involved taking an industrial unit and changing it (refurbishing it?), and then fitting out the inside to provide a complete office space by fitting a mezzanine floor inside. So it is probably a mixture between a refurbishment project and a fit out project.

The offices had to include toilets, reception area, new staircase, kitchen, boardroom and further offices as well as full integration of electrics, data and air conditioning. The project was also run under the Construction Design and Management regulations, so adherence to Health and Safety was paramount. All activities had to have risk assessments carried out as well as method statements for the type of work. Cre8tive was also Principle Contractor for the work, and this meant that there were some things that the client wanted to do within the time frame on site which we managed to do.

Pre-construction Photographs

All of the internal walls, ceilings, toilets and electrics would have to be stripped out including the spiral staircase and small room above it. The two units had a gap inside joining them which would need to be blocked up. The block walls inside would have to be modified. In the end it was easiest just to rip it all out and start again.

Construction Work

The following photographs show the stripping out as well as the construction and finished photographs. The photographs show the sequence of events and all of the work that goes into creating offices over a mezzanine floor. Complete network cabling, power and data, heating and cooling with air conditioning, flooring, external windows, there are many things to manage and get to work properly which is what we do at Cre8tive.

We used demountable partitioning for the offices upstairs and downstairs for a few reasons, the first is that is is easy to reconfigure if you want to change it, and one of the other main benefits is that it can be leased and treated as a ‘moveable item’ as well as the mezzanine floor. The mezzanine floor itself is fully self supporting and not fixed to the fabric of the building so is also ‘demountable’. It could be unbolted and then re bolted in the car park outside if needed.

Why Demountable Partitioning?

  1. Demountable partitioning is tax efficient in that 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.

Office Refurbishment

This particular project was more complicated that many that we do in that it involved the mezzanine floor. If you need any advice or are thinking of an office refurbishment project please give us a call, we would love to talk to you, on 01380 738844

Categories
Air Conditioning All Project Categories Design Office Furniture Office Refurbishments Partitioning Suspended Ceilings

Completely New Design of the Existing Office Space in Bristol

Completely New Design of the Existing Office Space in Bristol
Bespoke MD's desk

Client: Smurfit Kappa
Value: £65k

Office Design and Refurbishment in Bristol

Our client wanted a complete redesign refurbishment of the existing office space. The first task was to come up with some ideas and some colour schemes, the director wanted an adventurous new scheme, so we focused upon creating a more spacious effect through introducing new concepts of Lighting, Suspended Ceiling, Partitioning, new Air Conditioning systems, Flooring and Furniture in order to create a more relaxed office environment that mixes bold contemporary colour and natural materials.

Design and Drawing work

In working out what needs to be done, we need to know what is there. A detailed drawing showing positions of electrics and the walls was produced. The new layout required a few designs, and in particular the Director wanted to have a meeting end on his new desk, so we had to design a desk and get it made particularly for him.

Colour scheme / Design

As this area was a completely separate area from the upstairs directors suite, we thought that the whole scheme could be different. The room was completely separate from the rest of the building, so when you walked in, there was a different feel which was modern, had a blend of the traditional timber partitions, along with some stripy carpet, and the middle solid carpet was a very high quality cut pile carpet which felt soft and luxurious underfoot. One of the main requirements was that the Managing Director wanted a meeting end on his desk and it was not possible to get one to fit from standard product ranges. We therefore had to get one made..

Existing space

As you can see from the photographs the whole area needed completely stripping out and replacing.

Stripping out and building photographs

I always like this phase as the office transforms, from a very dull space to something new. We do get an immense level of satisfaction in carrying out office refurbishment projects for this reason.

Final photographs

As you can see from the final photographs, Cre8tive were successful in carrying out a complete redesign and office refurbishment of the customers existing space.

Why Demountable Office Partitions?

  1. Demountable partitions are tax efficient in that they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts, we can also lease elements of office refurbishments. Anything that can be moved.
  2. We mainly lease Demountable Partitions 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 movable items is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on demountable partitions in an office 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.

.

Not sure what to do?

Please give us a call and we can help with any aspect of interior office fit out, along with space planning and design work.

01380 73 88 44

Categories
All Project Categories Mezzanine Floors Office Refurbishments

Mezzanine Floor Extension Project in Salisbury

Mezzanine Floor Extension Project in Salisbury
Wider view of end elevation

Client: Quality Lifts
Value: £44k

Cre8tive were asked to look at a new mezzanine floor extension for Quality Lift Products based at Whaddon Business Park in Salisbury. The project was really interesting as there were many different things to consider.

As well as working out the office layout and lighting, we helped the client organise a number of things themselves in order to keep costs down to a minimum and in effect only used us for doing the specialist work of dry lining, tape and jointing, demountable partitioning, commercial flooring, suspended ceilings and contract wall covering. A small detail was that inside the lower room, the customer wanted the floor plates sunk into the concrete so maximise the space and so that there were no unsightly bolts sticking up out of the floor. The difficulty with this, is that you cant just cut a hole in a concrete floor, you have to check that the composition will be strong enough to support the weight of the mezzanine and that you do not go down too deep affecting the structure of the floor. Cre8tive obtained some specialist advice before carry out the work. The floor was extremely hard to cut and needed a petrol disc cutter with water cooling to achieve it.

Initial Space

Mezzanine Floor Construction Photographs

Final Photographs

Office Extensions

If you have warehouse space and want to extend your offices then we would be delighted to offer some free advice. We are interiors specialists and not a dedicated mezzanine floor manufacturer, as we just sub contract the steel work out, we do what we always do and use our experience in looking at the inside space to make sure it works for the client. In this case, they did not want the cost of moving the lift and needed more space, and so we advised them that we could build around the problem which they did not think was possible. Over the years we have experienced many problems like this and we can usually come up with a solution.

Please give us a call to discuss any projects on 01380 73 88 44, or email us on the contact form of the website.

Categories
All Project Categories Office Refurbishments Partitioning

Creating a New Office Space in an Industrial Unit in Trowbridge

Creating a New Office Space in an Industrial Unit in Trowbridge

Client: Office Evolution
Value: £13k

Office Refurbishment

This customer purchased an industrial unit that was fitted in a way that was not really suitable for them as they needed to use it for offices. The whole space needed an office refurbishment with most things needing to be done. Creating a professional atmosphere was important as the customer wanted to use the office as a showroom as well.

They also wanted a double door to the garage area so that this could act as a store and a suspended ceiling throughout, and to make the space light and airy we used Cat2 lighting throughout.The project included a small bit of stripping out, new kitchen, redecoration, electrical power and data, new demountable partitions, new suspended ceiling and lighting and a new carpet.

Office Refurbishment Construction Photographs

Why Demountable Partitions in an Office Refurbishment?

  1. Demountable partitions are tax efficient in that they are seen as movable items and so can be treated differently in writing down allowances in the accounts, we can also lease elements of office refurbishments. Anything that can be moved we can lease.
  2. We mainly lease Demountable Partitions 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 movable items is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
  4. Most landlords insist on demountable partitions in an office 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.

Not sure about what to do?

If you need help with anything and are not sure what to do, please give us a call for a chat and a visit. We are happy to carry out as much or as little as you require and can come up with solutions to any problems or queries you have about an office refurbishment project.
Please call 01380 73 88 44

Want to find out more about our customer?

Please click this link to go to their website..

Categories
Air Conditioning All Project Categories Office Refurbishments

Office Refurbishment Project in Shepton Mallet

Office Refurbishment Project in Shepton Mallet
Easynet Global Refurb

Client: Easynet Global Services
Value: £160k

Refurbishment

Cre8tive was asked to tender to carry out an office refurbishment in a 3 storey building in Shepton Mallet. Having successfully won the project, the next problem was how to carry out the work in a relatively short space of time, over the winter months with snow on the ground and no heating until the air conditioning was commissioned. The building was not a traditional office, in that there were no suspended ceilings (and not the height to fit any), and no raised floors, and the customer wanted lots of walls removed as well as fitting CAT6 cable into floor boxes in all of the floors.

All of the major elements that are used in a conventional office refurbishment were used, electrical work including data cabling, new lighting, reconfiguration of the power between floors, flooring using a rubber insulation floor to reduce sound transfer between floors, new air conditioning throughout, new kitchens on the floors including new appliances.

One of the difficulties was that the work had to be carried out in the winter months and without any heating until the air conditioning system was installed it was freezing on site. We had heaters but you cannot have the heaters on too much as it would dry out the plaster too quickly causing cracking. The paint also did not dry out properly so it just made the project much more difficult to complete. We also had snow to contend with and we lost several days as the guys could not get into work. We did finish the project a week early allowing the customer some more time on getting the IT equipment in.

Existing building photographs

Construction photographs

Office refurbishment

If you need any advice or are thinking of an office refurbishment project please give us a call, we would love to talk to you, on 01380 738844