1. What is an office refurbishment?

An office refurbishment typically includes renovations to interior design, ceilings, floors, furniture, walls, plumbing and windows.

Your office may just need a small basic refurbishment to reduce unsightly loose cabling or to improve the kitchen area and collaborative zones. Or if you've re-branded or expanded or contracted in size, you may need a whole refurbishment which may include a space planning review and creation of a new open plan layout with your chosen interior design and fit out company, considering the benefits of agile and hybrid workplaces, hot desks, sit-stand-desks and multi-use, acoustic furniture as well as where partitioning, booths and individual pods can add some privacy to your workspace flow and productivity.

2. What is the difference between an office refurbishment and an office fit out?

The difference between an office fit out and an office refurbishment is a fit out is carried out on a new office space and refurbishment is concerned with refurbishing your existing office. Both of which can be completed by your selected fit out contractor.

3. What are the benefits of an office refurbishment?

There are many benefits to an office refurbishment if planned, budgeted and managed correctly. 

Visual impression is the focal point to your corporate identity - refurbishing your office is an impactful opportunity to affect positive change and improvement in business performance, to increase staff productivity, boost staff morale and attract greater staff retention.

An office refurbishment can be an exciting and creative experience that enhances your processes, people and business. Follow our office refurbishment guide to make your next office refurbishment a success.

4. Determine your motive

Firstly, establish the main reasons why you have decided to refurbish your workplace. It may simply be that it’s looking tired and run down, or that you are driven by a lease renewal, have surplus space or you are growing and need to create more space.

Modern day office design is different to what it was 10 years ago. Technology and collaborative working practices have been driving changes in office design and layout for some time and even more so following on from the introduction of the flexible working laws in 2014. 

It may be external factors, such as new competitors in your local area or design trends which are the forcing you to provide a better workplace.

You may find that there are numerous factors driving the need to refurbish. Prioritise them and keep them in mind when designing and refurbishing your offices as it is easy to lose track and become distracted with the smaller details of the refurbishment.

5. Preparing your brief

A successful office refurbishment is dependent on a good brief. This will incorporate an office wish list and an outline of the company objectives, staff numbers, style of working, company ethos, branding, functional requirements and of course, budget.

At TB Fit Out (Trevor Blake), we will work with you as your fit out contractor to guide you through the refurbishment process, helping you to define your requirements and advise on how we believe you could improve as well as optimise your workplace led by your goals and objectives.

To get you started on your brief, here are a few key areas to consider:

a) Fixtures and fittings

• Is your office partitioning in the right places? Is it adequate? Do you require more cellular spaces?
• Does the existing lighting suit the office layout? Can you make better use of natural light?
• Is your heating, cooling and ventilation system working efficiently? When was the air conditioning last serviced? To meet the requirements of the Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations, all air conditioning systems with an effective rated output of more than 12KW must be regularly inspected by an energy assessor no more than five years apart. 
• Is the carpet looking tired, does it need changing or will a professional deep-clean suffice?
• Access your office equipment. Do you have adequate storage, is it the right type and is it in the right location within the office?
• Are the office desks the right size? Are they matched to your people's preferred working styles?
• Does everyone have an ergonomic task chair that can be adjusted correctly?

b) Workplace technology 

• Do you have enough electrical sockets or do you require more?
• Are there any extra data cabling outlets required? Do you have Wi-Fi?
• Are your spaces fit to adapt with the evolution in technology as it continues to take centre stage and can they accommodate quiet areas for group/individual video conferencing, such as with the likes of; Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google hangout calls for meetings with your teams or clients?

c) Office design 

The design of your office layout can reflect your corporate culture and mission. You should tailor your office design to complement the type of atmosphere, culture and workflow/interaction with your people that you want to achieve.

• Does your reception area look professional and welcoming?
• Does your office design reflect your company's brand values?
• Does your workspace reflect your people and tailor to their working needs that also align with your business?
• Are there opportunities for adding your branding to the design scheme?

c) Floor plan

Think about the way the office is currently laid out - does it work for everyone?

• Does the existing space provide flexibility for company growth?
• Do people that regularly use printers/photocopiers have easy access to them?
• Does your office provide space for people to work privately/collaboratively?

Refer to our one minute guide to office refurbishment for more inspiration.

d) Office acoustics

• What's the office environment like? Is your office noisy?
• Do staff find it difficult to concentrate?

Are the sources of noise, for example, the printer and photocopier, or your outbound sales team making calls or taking meetings or when you carry out in-house training/conferences located in an area where acoustics have been considered?

Check out our article: office acoustics for noise reduction.

6. Office refurbishment case studies 

With this eight-week refurbishment project for the SES Water Head Office shown below, we transformed an unused part of the lower ground floor into a brand new kitchen and breakout area, a fully branded and modern boardroom as well as storage for staff with lockers. 

New private working booths were introduced along with new desks, carpeting and lighting for this head office refurbishment for Medica Group.

8. How to select the right commercial refurbishment partner

A good refurbishment fit out partner should be able to provide all the key services, such as the project management and turnkey options, space planning, office design, mechanical and electrical works, decorating and acoustic furniture supply. This makes the process a whole lot easier when you can deal with one company and one point of contact.

Consider whether the relationship will work between the refurbishment partner and your in-house project management team, as they will be working closely together over many weeks or months.

Due diligence checks

Perform due diligence when researching commercial fit out companies and look at their track record and financial performance. Ask them if they have relevant experience of your type of project in your industry sector. Your office refurbishment will involve significant costs and the implications of your chosen refurbishment partner failing to complete on time, or at all, could be substantial.

Insurance, accreditations and references

Make sure you dot the i’s and cross the t’s and check that they have the relevant insurance covers, references and industry accreditations. As a minimum, your selected refurbishment partner should have insurance for Employee and Employer, Public Liability, Contractors All Risks and Professional Indemnity cover. 

Project size 

Consider whether they specialise in high or low value contracts or do they have experience of both? At TB Fit Out (Trevor Blake), we typically work on projects ranging from £10k to over £1.5m in value. 

Click here to see an example of a small refurbishment project undertaken for a private wealth company to transform a 1,100 square feet area into a multifunctional space.

Our service includes complete project management with space planning, 2D, 3D drawings, acoustic furniture consultancy, procurement and installation.

We've compiled 5 (very good) reasons to partner with Trevor Blake (TB Fit Out) if you'd like to know more and Fit Out Ideas for 2024 Workplace Trends plus, How Finance Can Fund Your Fit Out that considers both office refurbishment and office fit out needs. All of which can be discussed with your design build contractor.

9. Work out your budget

Depending on its scale, your office refurbishment could be among one of the highest expenditure items of your year, so it’s important to budget for it accurately and to monitor the projects costs closely, looking for where you can save money as well as spend it.

Beware of any hidden costs and make sure your office refurbishment company provides a fully detailed, itemised quote. Partnering with a professional and experienced office refurbishment company will provide you with commercial security and reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises.

Your budget should have a contingency for unforeseen challenges or elements that you wish to adjust during the project. Even with the best pre-project planning, there are often ideas that emerge during a project that warrant being incorporated into the plan.

Within your budget be sure to also include professional fees, IT infrastructure costs, furniture, telecoms and insurances.

Don’t forget the costs for marketing and PR to announce your new look office to yourstakeholders and customers.

10. Timing it right

Timing is crucial when refurbishing offices. If your company is affected by seasonal business, it’s wise to schedule the refurbishment during the quieter period.

It’s not a good idea to schedule it when the business is in its planning phase and senior management require peace and quiet to focus on preparing the business plan or when the marketing team have a significant event coming up such as a product launch or new service advertising campaign.

Do I need to arrange temporary office arrangements?

With pretty much all commercial refurbishment projects, temporary office arrangements aren't necessary. You can stay in your current office during works taking place. Office refurbishment companies are used to working around you to ensure business as usual and will normally be able to split the project into phases.

You can discuss with your dedicate project manager the work that can be done during office hours and what needs to be done outside of business hours to minimise disruption in your offices.

Ask your refurbishment company for examples of where similar projects were carried out and how they minimised disruption.

11. Space Planning

Space planning is one of the most exciting phases of your office refurbishment project.

Whether you want to improve workflow, accommodate more staff or simply create a more comfortable working environment, the space planner will meet your requirements as well of that of your people and how they like to work, plus, it looks at how you can improve efficiency, productivity, workplace flow, interactions and collaborations that match with you and your business. Optimising space and transforming the way you work and produce.

In house we offer our clients 2D AutoCAD floor plans and SketchUp office designs along with video walkthroughs with the added capacity to source 3D rendered visuals and walkthroughs.

2D AutoCAD software (an Autodesk brand) for space planning can show what can be achieved in any space available.

SketchUp offers you more of an idea of what the space would actually look like from a person’s point of view and 3D rendered visuals and walkthroughs have a high-level photo quality of images which present what the space could look like.

We use space planning because it helps clients to plan how they want to operate within their space and business, as well as factoring in the need for your people to function well within any given area, whilst also working to acknowledge and implement furniture, zones and technologies that look to promote the wellbeing of your individuals and teams.

Agile working 

Consider office design elements that promote flexible working as this is part and parcel of the modern workplace and having a flexible, multifunctional space is essential.

Look at your workflow to help you decide if you need to incorporate agile design with hot desks, team tables, touchdown desks and informal breakout areas to improve space utilisation and people interaction.

Areas to be considered when space planning 

• All open plan office areas - departments / teams
• Meeting rooms and informal meeting areas
• Director’s and Managers offices
• Reception area, visitor waiting
• Breakout areas
• Copy/Print Hubs
• Conferencing and audio visual facilities
• Toilet facilities
• Waste and recycling points
• Refreshment points
• Building services

As the workplace design and space planning is progressing, it is important that your key staff have a say in their area of responsibility.

12. 3D visuals

It is often very difficult for a client to visualise how their new office layout and design will look, especially when the new office design is very different to the original. That’s where 3D visualisation comes in.

By using 3D drawings and photo realistic colour renders you can see what space you will have and how it will look. It gives you a true to life impression at a stage in the project when changes are easy to make. This allows your refurbishment company to revise plans until you are entirely happy with your new office design.

3D visualisation is also extremely useful for helping others not directly involved in the office refurbishment project to see the end result and buy into it. 

13. Legal requirements

When undertaking an office refurbishment it is a legal requirement to ensure full compliance with the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act places duties on Landlords and Property Managers, as well as employers of disabled people to ensure that reasonable adjustments have been made and that the working environment is suitable for any employees with disabilities.

Are you ready to create an improved workplace environment?

When we visit sites to start an office refurbishment, we don't expect you to have all the answers, after all, it could be the first time you've been tasked with an office refurbishment project.

We've managed hundreds of successful office refurbishments from the early stages of project planning through to installation of new office furniture so we know what to look out for.

If you would like some expert help, why not request a free space planning review?

We are highly experienced in designing workplaces to promote happy and productive teams. Plus, if you choose to work with us, we have professional, multi-skilled teams that can expertly handle every aspect of your office refurbishment and project management, leaving you to focus on what you do best.

Contact us on 01293 775509 to find out more or email info@tbfitout.co.uk.