We loved our house from the first time we went through, but it really didn't have enough living space. We have worked on improving the layout of the home and increasing the living area of the home to create a modern and more pleasant layout to the home. We are really proud of how the job has turned out and we wanted to share some of the details of how the extension and layout changes where designed and constructed. This blog has some of the photos of our extension as well as tips that we have learnt along the journey,.
Construction & Contractors Blog
Office fitouts are the best way to improve the look, feel and space utilization of your business premises. Planning and executing the fitout carefully can result in significant increases in efficiency/productivity and morale among employees, which will ultimately improve your own bottom-line. However, without careful planning, you may end up with a costly investment that harms the business more than it does good. The following are three major considerations to make to give your business the best fitout possible.
1. Objective definition
Speak to your employees and supervisors about changes that they need, which is an excellent point to begin defining objectives for your fitout. Ask yourself why the current fitout is failing, e.g. accommodating a growing workforce, improving brand image or making good use of available space.
You may bring in external consultants to work out kinks relating to design requirements based on your problem areas/objectives and to examine how proposed changes will affect legal elements such as which changes do and don't comply with the lease agreement or workplace health and safety regulations. Appointing an in-house liaison and project management team will help coordinate the work of fitout contractors, consultants and in-house employees to fine-tune decision-making.
2. Efficiency of design
You will need to find an approved fitout contractor with extensive experience in commercial fitouts. You may also appoint an architect separately to redesign the space if it's very big. In conjunction with your in-house team, find out whether proposed changes above are optimally designed.
This means that all systems must be properly integrated: windows and lighting, ventilation and heating (thermostats, vents, fans, ducts, AC units etc.), power outlets and supply points, IT and internet routing and cabling system migration and workstation placement among others. These should be placed in such a way as to maintain a comfortable environment throughout the space. Consider the energy consumption of various systems and take this chance to make the office greener by investing in more efficient technologies, such as LED lights and low-consumption appliances, or making improvements to the internal designs, e.g. proper insulation.
3. Budgetary implications
Beginning your project without cost considerations isn't the best way to go about a fitout. Therefore, once you know what problems you're solving and how they'll be solved, you may examine the budgetary implications of your fitout. Ensure that you receive comprehensive estimates from a number of contractors, as well as any uncertainties that could affect the pricing.
The estimate should cover costs of consultancy -- drafting a design brief, premise assessment, technical planning, and actual work -- project management, material purchase and delivery and construction labour costs etc. If you have a limited budget, you may discuss the most urgent changes to be made and start with those.
Share18 August 2016
