Top Considerations For Commercial Office Spaces
As people start returning to work, you might be looking for a new office space. While homeworking has never been more popular, there’s still something rather special about working in an active environment surrounded by your colleagues. It’s no secret that people are eager to get their lives back to some sort of normality!
Whether you’re upgrading your space, or even downsizing as you take a hybrid approach to your new working structure, there is a lot that must be considered. In this blog post, our team of foundation repair contractors uncover what you need to think about when it comes to property foundations when finding a new workspace. This advice will help you to save both time, money, and resource in the future.
Let’s set the scene
During COVID-19, office spaces were almost abandoned as the working from home routine took off. Many buildings did not receive the daily love that they were previously used to. From staff regularly using elevators to utilizing facilities such as meeting rooms and even communal kitchen spaces.
Because of the lack of use, combined with reduced maintenance as workers across the country were asked to isolate, some unforeseen problems could have presented themselves during this period. If you’re looking for a new space, and find out later that there are some issues, you could find yourself in a lot of trouble.
If an issue is discovered once you have moved into the premises, you will need to bring these up with the building owners to get fixed. Depending on the problem, this could cause some disruption to your daily operations. As a result, you need to carefully consider and inspect the building that you are moving into to ensure that it is in tip-top condition.
What to look out for
As mentioned, there are countless issues that could have occurred over the past year. Below we have listed some of the most common that you should look out for when viewing potential spaces:
- Cracks – wallcracks can be a tell-tale sign of foundation problems in any property. This means that the soil beneath the property has shifted and caused movement. If this is found in a commercial premises, it will need to be fixed straight away. This could cause some disruption for your workers until the problem is resolved.
- Unlevelled Car Park & Pathways – not all problems reside to the interior. If your building car park is bumpy, this does not give a good impression to your clients. Do not risk your reputation using a space that can do more harm than good.
- Sticking Doors – are you noticing that doors are sticking when heading into meeting rooms? Or are swinging back and forth without any assistance? This could also be down to foundation movement.
All of the above can cause some level of disruption for your business. As you look for your next commercial property, keep potential foundation problems in mind. Whether you’re buying or renting this property, make sure you ask questions.
If you’re a building owner, check out our guides…
If you’re the owner of a commercial property and are noticing foundation problems on your land, then look no further. We’ve built up a hub of resources that can help you take appropriate action and protect your building.
Alternatively, don’t hesitate to contact our team for further information.