# Retrofitting an Occupied Office: Working Around People

> Refurbishing an occupied office means delivering the same scope in phases, around people who continue to work. It takes longer than the equivalent empty-floor project, requires decant space, and depends on maintaining escape routes, services and acceptable conditions in the areas still in use throughout.

## Why this is a different kind of project

The scope may be identical to an empty-floor fit-out. The constraints are not.

You are now delivering construction inside a functioning workplace, where noise,
dust, isolations and access all affect people who are trying to do their jobs —
and where a mistake with a fire alarm isolation or an escape route is a safety
matter, not an inconvenience.

## Decant space shapes everything

Start here, because it determines the shape of the whole project.

The number of phases, their size and their sequence all follow from **how many
people can be moved at once, and to where**. With generous decant space, phases
are large and the programme is shorter. With none, phases shrink and the project
stretches.

Options worth pricing against the cost of a longer programme:

- Temporary space elsewhere in the building
- Denser temporary seating in the areas still in use
- Increased working from home during specific phases
- Short-term space in a nearby building

It is frequently cheaper to secure decant space than to absorb the extra months
that its absence causes.

## What has to keep working

| Must continue | Risk during works |
| --- | --- |
| Escape routes | Blocked, re-routed without approval |
| Fire detection and alarm | Isolated for works and not reinstated |
| Air conditioning and fresh air | Zones isolated; occupied areas suffer |
| Power and data | Circuits shared across the boundary |
| Lighting | Circuits cut in the work area feed occupied space |
| Toilets and pantries | Taken out of use without an alternative |

Two rules make this manageable:

**Plan isolations in advance**, with a register of what is being isolated, by
whom, for how long, and who reinstates it. Fire system isolations in particular
need a formal process, agreed with the fire consultant and the authority having
jurisdiction, under **NBC 2016, Part 4**.

**Prove escape routes for every phase**, on a drawing, before that phase starts.

## Separation, not sheeting

Dust and noise control fail when they rely on goodwill.

- **Sealed temporary partitions** — full height to the slab where possible, not
  polythene draped over a frame
- **Negative pressure** in the work area where practical, so air moves inward
- **Dedicated material routes** and agreed lift times
- **Boundary cleaning** as a scheduled activity, not an occasional one
- **Out-of-hours working** for noisy operations, within the landlord's permitted
  hours

Agree these as rules at the start. Negotiating them weekly wastes everyone's
time and produces inconsistent standards.

## Survey before you design

Refurbishment risk lives above the ceiling and behind the walls.

An opening-up survey before design routinely finds that existing services do not
match the drawings, that capacity is lower than assumed, that structural
conditions differ, or that legacy materials are present in older buildings.

Every one of those is cheap to design around and expensive to discover mid-phase
with people sitting next door. This survey is the highest-value early spend on
any refurbishment.

Existing services capacity in particular — electrical supply, cooling, fresh air
— should be verified against **NBC 2016, Part 8** requirements for the intended
occupancy by the project's MEP consultant, not assumed from the original design.

## Sectional completion belongs in the contract

Each phase is effectively handed over separately, which means each needs its own
completion, its own snagging and its own defects liability start date.

Arranging that after the contract is signed is difficult. Writing sectional
completion in from the start is straightforward.

## Communication is part of the scope

The client should tell staff, in advance and consistently:

- What is happening, where, and when
- When noise is expected, and how long it will last
- Where to sit, and what changes about their route, toilets and pantry
- Who to raise a problem with

Most complaints on occupied refurbishments are about surprise rather than
disruption.

## Standards referenced

Fire and life safety provisions, including escape routes, in
**NBC 2016, Part 4**; building services provisions in **NBC 2016, Part 8**.
Escape arrangements during works, fire system isolations and services capacity
for a specific project must be established by the project's fire and MEP
consultants and agreed with the landlord and the authority having jurisdiction.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much longer does it take than an empty floor?

Meaningfully longer, and the amount depends on how much work has to move out of hours and how many phases the floor is broken into. Each phase carries its own setup, protection, isolation and clear-down, so the overheads repeat. The right way to establish it is to programme the actual phasing rather than applying an uplift to an empty-floor duration.

### What is decant space and why does it dominate the plan?

Decant space is where people sit while their area is being worked on. It is the constraint that shapes everything, because the number of phases and their sequence are determined by how many people you can relocate at once and where to. Without spare space, phases get smaller and the programme gets longer. Finding temporary space elsewhere in the building, or accepting denser temporary seating, is often cheaper than extending the programme.

### What has to keep working throughout?

Escape routes and fire detection in the occupied areas, air conditioning and ventilation, power and data, lighting, and access to toilets and pantries. Each of these can be affected by the works, so isolations must be planned rather than discovered. Escape arrangements in particular are a fire safety matter that must be agreed with the fire consultant and the authority having jurisdiction before work starts.

### How is dust and noise actually controlled?

Physical separation, not goodwill. Sealed temporary partitions rather than sheeting, negative pressure in the work area where practical, sealed routes for material movement, and cleaning at the boundary. Noisy work — drilling, cutting, core drilling — moves to evenings and weekends within the landlord's permitted hours. Setting the rules before starting avoids weekly negotiation.

### What surprises most often appear in a refurbishment?

What is above the ceiling. Existing services rarely match the drawings, capacities are often lower than assumed, asbestos or other legacy materials may be present in older buildings, and structural conditions may differ from the record. A proper opening-up survey before design is the single most valuable thing you can do on a refurbishment, and it is routinely skipped.

### Should the client communicate with staff, or the contractor?

The client, consistently and in advance. People tolerate disruption they were warned about and resent disruption that surprises them. A simple weekly note stating what will happen where, and when noise is expected, removes most of the friction. Leaving communication to whoever is on site that day produces contradictory messages and complaints.

## Sources

- [NBC 2016, Part 4](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/?lang=en) — Fire and life safety — escape routes
- [NBC 2016, Part 8](https://www.bis.gov.in/standards/national-building-code/?lang=en) — Building services

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Source: https://hagerstone.com/guides/retrofitting-an-occupied-office