A commercial interior is different from any other type of interior. It has so many requirements, including comfort and display, that you have to be able to look at it in a different way than you would any other interior space. The same rules simply do not apply, not in the least because you also have to deal with health and safety regulations. As such, it may be useful to understand the rules and regulations that follow a commercial fit out. After all, these types of guidelines will always ensure you are doing things the right way.
Health and Safety Requirements for a Commercial Property
The first thing to remember is that you have a number of responsibilities if you own a commercial property. You are responsible for the safety of the people that work for you within the commercial property, and those who are visitors. Furthermore, you have a responsibility for the safety of those who are affected by your property, such as your neighbors and you are also responsible to the owner of your commercial property.
Health and Safety Requirements for a Commercial Property
The first thing to remember is that you have a number of responsibilities if you own a commercial property. You are responsible for the safety of the people that work for you within the commercial property, and those who are visitors. Furthermore, you have a responsibility for the safety of those who are affected by your property, such as your neighbors and you are also responsible to the owner of your commercial property.
Put simply, you have to take care of the people who may be affected by what you do!
The interior fit out for your commercial property links to that very closely. Certain elements that you may think are very beautiful may actually be completely unsafe. Or perhaps, you have items that get in the way of the movement of people within your property, which is again not acceptable. Indeed, one of the things you have to consider very strongly is access for disabled people, which has been enforced for nearly a decade now.
Businesses will finally have to address the problems their buildings cause for disabled people - such as steps, heavy doors, bad lighting, lack of signage and lack of color contrast.
Clearly, of all the guidelines you may come across when planning the fit out of a commercial interior, sticking to the law is going to be the most important one. You are, by law, required to ensure their safety is at the forefront, but also their comfort. Everybody has a responsibility to look after their own safety, but at the same time you have to make sure that this is not made unnecessarily difficult for them.
The Interior Fit Out
Now that you know that you have to stick to the law, you can start thinking about how to actually fit out the interior of your commercial space. It has been said that an office fit-out is about as complicated as staging wars or weddings. This means you have to have hundreds of contingency plans in place, and even contingency plans for your contingency plans.
The first step in getting everything done right is to make sure that you deal with a reputable company. Making sure you work with professionals is the first step towards making sure things are going to go right. You may want to consider, for instance, a company like apollointeriors.com.
The Interior Fit Out
Now that you know that you have to stick to the law, you can start thinking about how to actually fit out the interior of your commercial space. It has been said that an office fit-out is about as complicated as staging wars or weddings. This means you have to have hundreds of contingency plans in place, and even contingency plans for your contingency plans.
The first step in getting everything done right is to make sure that you deal with a reputable company. Making sure you work with professionals is the first step towards making sure things are going to go right. You may want to consider, for instance, a company like apollointeriors.com.
It takes passion to create great interiors and when it comes to Design and Build our commitment is uncompromising. We deliver projects that meet your brief and are delivered on time and on budget.
Working with a company that you know you can trust is going to be half the battle. It will give you peace of mind, knowing for sure that your brief has been understood and that you will actually be able to get exactly what you want and need. Most importantly, it will guarantee you that all the laws are being considered and adhered to, including building regulations.
The Jargon
One of the difficulties in understanding the various guidelines presented to those who want to fit out a commercial interior is that there is so much jargon. It is a complex and wide industry, and like in any other world, it comes with its own language. The problem with this is that you may not always understand what your contractor is talking about. Naturally, when you work with a good company, you should be in a position to always ask any questions. However, knowing at least some of the lingo may be useful to ensure that no time is wasted.
One of the terms you are likely to come across is "ancillary space". This is space that you want to keep aside for offices, storage or other rooms. It is, essentially, the space that visitors to your premises are likely not to visit. This ancillary space is likely to require a "bolthole". This refers to an area where you require peace and quiet. This can be very important if your space is a store, for instance, because there is often a lot of noise coming from these spaces.
There are also a number of terms that you will come across in regards to the building plans and the work that is going to get done. The as-built drawings, for instance, are the drawings that show exactly what your space will look like. You will also be told about benchmarking, which will demonstrate that the costs you are being quoted are appropriate compared to the rest of the market. This is a very important issue, because you want to make sure that you are getting a fair price for the work you have commissioned.
Having a commercial interior fit out is something reasonably complex and complicated and it is likely that you will hire a contractor to do it for you. Your main responsibility, therefore, becomes finding a contractor that sticks to the rules and knows the guidelines, and who will work with you every step of the way. Take your time with this by scouring the market and asking various quotations. If you come across a contractor that you believe will be right for you, make sure you look into their previous works. If at all possible, don't just look at photographic evidence, but actually visit the commercial properties that they have worked on. This will give you a really good idea of what they can actually do.
The Jargon
One of the difficulties in understanding the various guidelines presented to those who want to fit out a commercial interior is that there is so much jargon. It is a complex and wide industry, and like in any other world, it comes with its own language. The problem with this is that you may not always understand what your contractor is talking about. Naturally, when you work with a good company, you should be in a position to always ask any questions. However, knowing at least some of the lingo may be useful to ensure that no time is wasted.
One of the terms you are likely to come across is "ancillary space". This is space that you want to keep aside for offices, storage or other rooms. It is, essentially, the space that visitors to your premises are likely not to visit. This ancillary space is likely to require a "bolthole". This refers to an area where you require peace and quiet. This can be very important if your space is a store, for instance, because there is often a lot of noise coming from these spaces.
There are also a number of terms that you will come across in regards to the building plans and the work that is going to get done. The as-built drawings, for instance, are the drawings that show exactly what your space will look like. You will also be told about benchmarking, which will demonstrate that the costs you are being quoted are appropriate compared to the rest of the market. This is a very important issue, because you want to make sure that you are getting a fair price for the work you have commissioned.
Having a commercial interior fit out is something reasonably complex and complicated and it is likely that you will hire a contractor to do it for you. Your main responsibility, therefore, becomes finding a contractor that sticks to the rules and knows the guidelines, and who will work with you every step of the way. Take your time with this by scouring the market and asking various quotations. If you come across a contractor that you believe will be right for you, make sure you look into their previous works. If at all possible, don't just look at photographic evidence, but actually visit the commercial properties that they have worked on. This will give you a really good idea of what they can actually do.