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
- 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.
- 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.
- Leasing of demountable partitioning is very tax efficient and Cre8tive can provide illustrations, please contact us for further information.
- 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
