Finishes schedule

Office Building Finishes Grades

The workplace is considered a reflection of the employer’s attitude towards employees and other stakeholders. The workplace is also a key differentiator for people considering new employment – a means of attracting and keeping the right people. Today there are many exciting techniques and products that can help you get more from your space, whether this be in making an existing space more effective, or fitting out a new space.

Changing business circumstances result in minor changes and modifications for convenience, but these often lead to a gradual breakdown of efficiency and lack of cohesion in the workplace. As a rule, office environments tend to reduce in effectiveness the longer they are occupied.

With the effective use of space, comes the softer issues of the type of environment you wish to create and how your brand values and identity could be supported. This is encapsulated in the interior design of the finishes applied to a space. These finishes can be divided into three groups for illustrative purposes.

Grade A finishes

Grade A interiors comprise of high quality modern finishes. This is comparative to the definition of a Grade A building, which typically has a good quality lobby finish, quality access to/from an attractive street environment and other similar factors, such as safety and security. These finishes can be most effectively combined with good interior design principles to promote the unique identity of a company and to boost the morale and productivity of employees, but require greater financial input from the company.

The following standards are indicative of this finish level:

• Timber framed glass panels @R2650/m²
• Full height veneer doors with solid timber frames and architraves @R6750 each
• Berberpoint bitumen backed carpet tiles @R190/m²
• Grade 5 carpet sheeting from R285/m²
• Porcelain tiles @R440/m², Laminated flooring @R325/m²
• Timber skirtings from R65/m
• Flush plastered ceilings @R290/m² with bulkheads from R435/m²
• Wooden venetian blinds @R880/m², block-out roller blinds @R750/m²
• Wall paper, accent paint, specialist wall finishes from R55/m² to R350/m²
• Electrical allowance of 1 set @R1320 per 12m²
• One new fluorescent fitting and point @R980 each per 20m²
• Low voltage downlighters or specialist lighting from R460 each
• Deep cleaning of all areas @R15/m²

Grade B finishes

This grade of finishes, generally relates to older finishes, close to modern standards as a result of refurbishments and renovation from time to time. This is your middle ground with regards to cost effectiveness and effectiveness of overall interior effect. This, combined with effective space utilisation, removes the barriers to productivity, while attracting and retaining higher quality staff. The following items are standard to grade B corporate interiors:

• Aluminium framed glass panels @R1850/m²
• Full height painted doors with aluminium frames @R2200 each
• 70% Berberpoint carpet tiles @120/m²
• 30% Grade 5 carpet sheeting from R285/m²
• Aluminium skirting to new drywalls @R50/lm
• 30% Flush plastered ceilings @R290/m²
• Aluminium venetian blinds @R350/lm, Vertical blinds to external windows @R295/lm
• Wall paper from R100-R130/m² or paint to accent walls
• Electrical allowance of 1 set @R1320 per 12m²
• Move existing flourescent light fitting @R330 or one new fluorescent fitting and point @R980 each per 20m²
• Low voltage downlighters from R460 each
• Deep cleaning of all areas @R15/m²

Grade C finishes

This grading refers to older style finishes of lower cost, durability and aesthetic effectiveness, although cleverly combining this category with a sprinkling of Grade A and B finishes, could create an effective space that reflects the essence of a company’s image both to its employees as well as to the public, while being cost effective. Grade C finishes can be illustrated by the following:

• Standard height painted doors with aluminium frames @R1 685 each
• Berberpoint carpet tiles @120/m²
• Aluminium skirting to new drywalls @R50/lm
• Replacing of damaged ceiling tiles @R80-R105 each
• Vertical blinds to external windows @R295/lm
• Paint to new partitioning and existing walls @R38/m²
• Electrical allowance of 1 set @R1320 per 12m²
• Move existing flourescent light fitting @R330 or one new fluorescent fitting and point at R980 each per 20m²
• Deep cleaning of all areas @R15/m²

The trend in office furniture is moving toward, functional, collaborative energy efficient interiors. Read more about office furniture trends.