You’ve found the perfect space for your company’s new office, congratulations! It’s now time to renovate and make the most of it.

Carrying out an office renovation should be a comprehensive process, even if you’re looking for small changes. Being strategic about the management of the renovation will prevent omissions that will cost you additional money down the line.

If you want to simplify office renovation and make the most of your interactions with contractors, here’s a checklist you can count on for more effective planning and management.

Compliance Checklist

First and foremost, you need to ensure compliance with Singaporean regulations pertaining to property safety and structural integrity.

The right office interior design and renovation company will help you find out what can be changed and which aspects of the commercial venue need to remain untouched. Some of the compliance essentials to focus on when planning the renovation include:

• Structural integrity of the premises (could walls be hacked, modified, could you open up new doors and entryways)
• Compliance of the electrical, plumbing and HVAC systems with the latest safety guidelines and recommendations
• Environmental sustainability requirements
• Other employee safety and health requirements (pertaining to the atmosphere in the office – the availability of light, space, etc.)

Usually, a permit will be needed for some more extensive kinds of renovation. For the purpose, your office renovation team will have to come up with a project to submit alongside other required documentation to building management authorities. This is why you have to make sure that the professionals handling your renovation have the know-how and experience required to complete all these processes.

Space Planning Checklist

Space planning is a very important process of office interior design that doesn’t get talked about all too often. It ensures proper flow and the availability of enough space for all essential office fixtures.

Here’s a space planning checklist you can use for the upcoming renovation:

• How many functional zones will the office have and what will they be
• What’s the size of each functional zone and how will they be separated from each other
• What’s the layout of preference
• What’s the individual work space size for every employee
• How many private offices/cubicles will there be
• How many bathrooms, restrooms and recreational areas will you have
• Size of storage space
• Facilities and modifications for employees with special needs
• Special considerations for certain types of equipment (will these need to be positioned in separate rooms, how much space would be required, etc.)

Create an Office Renovation Punch List

Once you’ve managed the preliminary essentials mentioned in the previous steps, it’s time to start focusing on your interactions with the office renovation contractors.

For the purpose, you can use a punch list. A punch list is a document that outlines various steps and milestones that need to be completed as a part of the partnership.

Punch lists usually include all of the work that a contractor will have to do before the project is considered finished. Such a document can be put together alongside your renovation contract or it can be a part of it.

There are many free of charge punch list templates you can find online and customise to meet your project specifics. Alternatively, the office renovation team can provide you with such a document. Many reputable service providers have templates ready for more effortless interactions with their clients.

A punch list can be organised in a couple of ways. It can list the work that needs to be done or it can feature processes by individual areas. The specifics don’t matter as long as the list is comprehensive enough to outline every aspect of the renovation. It’s also a good idea for the list to contain deadlines or time periods for the completion of each step.

With such a document, you can rest assured that both you and the contractor are on the same page. In addition, slowdowns or issues during a certain part of the renovation will be much easier to communicate and handle effectively this way.

Other Aspects of the Renovation

A few additional renovation specifics that you can feature in your checklist include the following:

• Types of furniture and fixtures that will need to be purchased + budget
• Lighting systems + budget for the purchase of those
• Office flooring – what type of material, how much of it and how much will it cost
• Bathroom fixtures and accessories + budget for those
• Colour composition, types of paint and quantities
• Sound proofing systems, permanent/temporary divisions, storage units

As you can see, there isn’t one way to approach the creation of an office renovation checklist. Rather, you have to think about the specifics of your project and how these would be easiest to manage.

Don’t be afraid of planning the renovation in advance and communicating that information with your contractor. By creating a comprehensive checklist together, you’ll find it much easier to speed up many aspects of work after the renovation commences.

Commercial builders and interior design professionals are used to having and using such documentation. Many of them prefer thorough checklist creation as clear parameters protect both parties involved in the interaction.

If you’re not confident about checklist creation and you don’t know exactly what to feature in your office renovation, contact SORDC. Our team has decades of experience in renovation planning, management and execution. Based on the no-obligations first consultation, we will come up with a plan that addresses all of your needs and allows for the quick and precise completion of the renovation.