Office Build-Outs

Starting with the move-in date

A business moving into a new office usually has a lease ending on its old space and rent starting on the new one. The time between those two dates is the build-out. When Steve first meets with the tenant, the dates come before the design, because they set how much time there is for drawings, permits, ordering and construction.

We look at the timeline and tell the tenant plainly what it allows. If the drawings still need to be done and the town's permit review takes a while, there may be less time for construction than everyone assumed. It is better to learn that at the first meeting than in the last few weeks. Where time is tight, we look for items to order early and decisions that can be made sooner.

Some leases allow work to start before the lease term begins, through an early access agreement with the landlord. If that is possible it can buy real time, and we help the tenant understand what the landlord will want before letting a contractor in.

That conversation shapes the written proposal, which lists the work, the long-lead items and the decisions the tenant has to make, along with when each one is needed.

Planning a first office in a shell

A first office for a growing company has to work on day one and still make sense later. We talk through the headcount the business expects, how many private offices and conference rooms it needs, where reception goes, and whether there should be open area that can take more desks without new walls. A sensible first layout also puts the noisy and the quiet parts of the office in the right places, with the break room and copy area away from the offices where people take calls.

The shell sets the limits. Columns, window lines, where the restrooms and plumbing stub-ins are, and where the electrical panel sits all shape what makes sense. The registered architect or engineer drawing the permit set works within those, and we review the drawings for anything that will be hard or slow to build in that particular space.

Accessibility under 521 CMR and the ADA is part of the drawings from the start: an accessible entrance and route, clearances at doors, and accessible restrooms if the build-out includes them.

Technology needs a plan before the walls go up. Where the network equipment lives, whether that room needs its own cooling, where conference room screens mount and where floor boxes go in an open area all affect framing, blocking and the electrical layout. We bring the tenant's IT vendor into the conversation early.

If your firm is changing the office it already occupies, office remodeling is the better fit.

Partitions, ceilings, doors and finishes

Framing the partitions is the first visible step. Metal studs are standard in most commercial office space, and walls around offices and conference rooms may run to the structure above for sound. Licensed electricians and mechanical contractors rough in their work, then inspections come before insulation and drywall go up.

In an office the ceiling carries more than it looks like: diffusers sized for each enclosed room, light fixtures over each desk run and sprinkler heads that have to clear the new partitions. We lay those out together before the grid goes in. Doors, frames and hardware are often long-lead items, especially when locks tie into an access control system, so they get ordered as soon as the drawings allow.

Finishes come last: paint, flooring, base, and any millwork at reception or in the break room. The tenant picks them early with our help, so nothing sits waiting on a decision at the end.

Break rooms and kitchenettes are common in a first office. They bring plumbing that may have to be reached through the slab, and appliances that each want power in a particular spot. We lay those out with the tenant so the cabinets, sink and appliances fit the way the staff will actually use the room.

Restrooms, reception and the entry door

Many office shells come with restrooms the landlord has already built. If they do not, or the office needs its own, restrooms become one of the larger parts of the build-out, with plumbing in the slab, accessible clearances, grab bars and fixtures at the right heights. We sort out early whether the building's shared restrooms count toward the office's needs.

Reception is the room clients see first, and it is where a first office usually puts most of its finish work. The desk, the wall behind it with the company name, the lighting and the floor all get extra attention. We help the tenant decide where to put the effort so the space looks right without overbuilding the back rooms.

The entry door from the common corridor deserves the same care. In a multi-tenant building the door, its hardware and any glass beside it often have to match the building standard, and the landlord may want to see samples before anything is ordered.

Final sign-offs and the week before move-in

The space has to pass its final inspections and get its sign-offs before the business can legally occupy it. We schedule those inspections, walk the punch list with the tenant and close it out, and clean the space so furniture and IT can go in.

Furniture and network installers usually need some time in the space before the move. We plan that into the schedule so they are not working around drywall dust and wet paint. Network cabling, card readers and any wall-mounted screens should be finished by then, so the installers set desks into a room that is otherwise ready.

Through all of it, you hear from one person. On a build-out with a hard date, you get regular updates on progress, and the moment something threatens the move-in, you hear about it with options. Changes are priced and approved in writing before work goes ahead.

If your firm is changing the office it already occupies, office remodeling is the better fit. Modern Remodeling does office build-outs within about a hundred miles of Raynham. Call (781) 974-4263 to start with your dates.

See the rest of our commercial work, or browse the gallery for rooms we have finished.