Project preparation

Carry out surveys on your preferred choice of new offices

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Professional surveys you may need when looking at offices

Each of these surveys will bring out issues that will have a bearing on your selection. They will also be essential tools to a successful negotiation of the terms, since each defect in any survey will have a financial implication of a kind. You will be able to negotiate a reduction in rent or price, or get things put right as part of the deal.

The following notes are intended to help you understand some of the issues that may be covered in the surveys. They are NOT intended to be guides for do-it-yourself surveys, any surveys you need MUST be carried out by professionally qualified people.


The M&E Survey:

Air-conditioning – provides highest level of temperature control, especially in summer. Running costs will be higher than non air-conditioned space. Systems vary in price and running cost.

Mechanical ventilation – should not be confused with air-conditioning. This will provide air at outside temperature. On a hot day this may heat up the space inside the building, rather than cooling it at all.

Fan coils – are a cheap way of warming or cooling air. They may be placed around the perimeter of the space or concealed in the ceiling as part of an air-conditioning system. They can sometimes be noisy. They require high levels of maintenance.

Opening windows as a form of ventilation – will not work if the space is too deep (over 7.5m), or if the outside conditions are either too noisy or too windy (especially in a high building). This of course must be combined with a heating system.

Night storage heaters – are still commonly found in low-cost offices. Fan assisted models are better, giving more control.

Radiators – are still commonly found in offices. They are cheap and simple to run. Because of the design of radiators and the way they work, people sitting near radiators will often feel too hot, while people further away may feel cold. Do not forget, however, that the majority of heat from a radiator is convected (it warms up the air around you), not radiated (falling directly on you).

The electrical system. This will be divided into three parts. The main power supply will keep all essential services such as the lifts, fire alarms and power sockets for cleaners’ equipment. The lights will be powered by another set of circuits. The power for your PC’s, printers, etc will be supplied by the small power supply, as it is known. How this is distributed will vary from office to office. Your M&E engineer will advise on the capability of the building to supply the electrical loading you will require. He will do this by assessing your power requirements and comparing them with what the building can supply. In some cases, the incoming main may not be sufficient, in which case a new supply and possibly a new sub-station may be needed.

Wall sockets – are the most primitive form of small power distribution. These are fine for small offices where you can site all desks near a wall, but this is rarely possible.

Perimeter trunking – is a system where a continuous supply of power is sited along the inside of the external walls along with data and communication cabling. This is common in offices up to 7.5m deep. Sockets on columns will supplement areas