The challenges of a commercial refurbishment

Whether you need to update your store because of your lease agreement or you want to modernise it so that it’s more appealing to your customers, a commercial refurbishment is a necessary part of doing business.

The problem is that often these refurbishments come with a specific set of challenges, particularly if you need to renovate a building with other occupants. There is also the issue of including some aspect of sustainability in your commercial refurbishment, partly to reduce your ongoing overheads, but also so that you can promote your business as environmentally friendly.

Designing your floor plan

It’s fair to say that you can only go so far with your designs, because you will be limited by the actual structure of the building, so basically, you will have to work your renovations around these limitations. For example, natural light is something that can be very important in a commercial refurbishment, but it can be augmented by careful placement of interior lighting.

Also, to make your renovations as cost effective as possible, it’s sensible to work around existing services, such as plumbing and air-conditioning. Checking the building plans will help you to locate theses services, which can then be incorporated into your commercial refurbishment.

Addressing sustainability issues

Older buildings in particular, often don’t include materials or services that are environmentally friendly, so a refurbishment is the ideal time for updates. Consider the types of materials that will be used in your renovations, any appliances and equipment, but more specifically, the heating and cooling systems.

These latter systems are where you can seriously reduce your operating costs and since many older systems are not very energy efficient, it’s sensible to replace them with alternatives that will reduce your carbon footprint and your energy bills

Even something quite small, such as using LED lighting, can make a significant reduction to your energy bills. Environmentally friendly insulation is another feature that is often lacking in older buildings and is another way for you to reduce your carbon footprint and power bills.

Finally, if your commercial refurbishment will affect other occupants of the building, it’s best to discuss your schedule of works with these businesses At JEB Built, we make sure that we keep ll noise and disruptions to a minimum, whilst performing major works during off-peak times.

Call us on 0431 065 019 or ask us for a free quote.