Office Fit Out Checklist: Everything You Need to Consider

Planning an office fit out can feel overwhelming. As office fit out specialists with 20 years of experience delivering office transformations across the UK, we’ve created this comprehensive checklist to guide you through every crucial consideration.

Initial Planning Phase

Before any design work begins, you’ll need to assess your current and future needs. Start by considering your workspace requirements. Think about your current headcount and growth plans for the next three to five years. Factor in any hybrid working patterns and how they might affect your space needs.

Your budget planning should include not just the obvious costs like furniture and flooring, but also hidden extras such as building regulations, professional fees and contingency funds. Most successful office fit outs set aside 10-15% of the total budget for unexpected costs.

Design Considerations

The design phase needs careful thought about how your teams actually work. Consider your different departments’ needs – sales teams often need areas for private calls, while creative teams might need collaborative spaces. Think about the balance between open plan areas and private spaces.

Sound management is crucial but often overlooked. Modern offices need a mix of quiet zones for focused work and livelier areas for collaboration. Your design should include proper acoustic treatment to manage noise levels effectively.

Technical Infrastructure

Your IT infrastructure needs careful planning early in the process. Consider your data points, charging stations, and video conferencing requirements. We often see businesses needing to retrofit these elements because they weren’t considered early enough.

Lighting deserves special attention. Good office lighting combines natural light with adaptable artificial lighting. Consider sensor-controlled systems to reduce energy costs – they typically pay for themselves within two years.

Practical Elements

Storage is often underestimated. Even in our digital age, most offices need more storage than initially planned. Think about both personal storage for employees and corporate storage for equipment and archives.

Air quality and temperature control systems need careful consideration. Modern air conditioning systems can be zoned to create comfortable environments in different areas, reducing both energy usage and staff complaints about temperature.

Legal and Compliance

Building regulations and health and safety requirements must be addressed early. You’ll need to consider fire regulations, emergency exits, and accessibility requirements. These elements can impact your design significantly if not considered from the start.

Timeline Planning

A typical office fit out takes between 4-8 weeks, depending on the scale and complexity. However, your planning should start much earlier. Here’s a typical timeline:

• Initial planning: 2-3 weeks
• Design development: 2-4 weeks
• Approvals and regulations: 2-3 weeks
• Manufacturing and procurement: 3-4 weeks
• Installation: 4-8 weeks

Taking Action

An office fit out is a significant investment in your company’s future. A well-planned project creates workspaces that boost productivity, impress clients and help retain staff. From our experience as trusted office fit out specialists, careful planning using this checklist helps avoid costly mistakes and delays.

To get started with your office fit out:

Book a consultation with our team to discuss your requirements in detail. We’ll carry out a thorough site survey, assess your needs and provide practical recommendations based on two decades of commercial fit out experience.