How Long Will An Office Refurbishment Take?


This is an important question that will determine your office move and lease planning activities.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to give a precise answer to this very generic question, without knowing the specifics and requirements for your office refurbishment.

In estimating the time that an office refurbishment will take, account needs to be had to the following factors:

Size of the space being refurbished and number of people to be accommodated.

This will be the largest determining factor, although depending on the space that is being fitted out, it may be possible to run various elements concurrently. So for example a 30,000 sq.ft fit out split over three equally sized floors may be able to be completed faster than the same size refurbishment situated on a single floor as you can have multiple teams working at the same time. Conversely if time is not important, your contractor may run the different trades one after another through the building, so slightly extending the programme.

Design

This will depend on the complexity of your fit out and how many revisions you require, but will probably take several weeks, mostly at the start of the process

Contractors lead in

Contractors will probably need one to two weeks to gear up for your project

Statutory and other legal consents

Start this process early, as it should be possible to get some in principal consents in advance of your detailed design being available. If you have a difficult landlord, or have complicated requirements this element can take some time to complete and if you start the work without consents then you run the risk of having to strip it all out, at additional cost. If you need planning this can take several weeks (usually at least six in the UK).

Time for strip out

This will depend on the condition of the building when  you start works. For new buildings there may be very little strip out required, for previously occupied properties the strip out can take as much of 20% of your total programme.

Scope of work:

The following factors will need to be considered in developing a programme of works. Some can be run concurrently, whilst others will need to be carried out in a set order. In addition some of these elements will be split into several phases, for example a first and second fix for electrical and mechanical works.

  • Flooring
  • Ceiling
  • Electrics – Lighting, Power and Data
  • Mechanical (plumbing, ventilation, heating and cooling)
  • Partitions
  • Decorations
  • Final Clean
  • Furniture  Install

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