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Commercial2021

Wolvercote Mill Offices

Cat B fit out of a converted mill in Oxford

Cat B fit out of a converted mill building, working around a retained brick shell and existing timber structure.

Refurbishment services
A brick commercial extension wrapped in scaffolding at dusk

Project facts

Client
Professional services firm
Location
Wolvercote, Oxford
Contract type
Traditional, JCT Minor Works
Contract value
£1.6m
Floor area
2,100 m²
Programme
34 weeks
Completed
June 2021

01 — The brief

Fit out a building you cannot fix to

A Cat B office fit out inside a converted mill, working around a retained brick shell and an existing timber structure that could take almost nothing new fixed to it.

The timber frame was sound but historic, and the brick shell was not plumb by up to 90mm over a storey height. Neither could be adjusted to suit an office layout drawn on a rectangle.

02 — Delivery

Survey first, draw second

The building was point-cloud surveyed before a single partition was drawn, and the whole fit-out was then set out from the survey rather than from the architect’s grid.

Partitions were freestanding and structurally independent, taking their lateral restraint from a new steel deck rather than the timber. Services were routed in a raised floor to avoid drilling the frame at all.

  • Point-cloud survey before design
  • Shell out of plumb by up to 90mm
  • Freestanding partitions throughout
  • Restraint from new steel, not timber
  • Services in a raised floor
  • No fixings into the historic frame

03 — The outcome

Not one fixing into the frame

FF Construction completed the £1.6m, 2,100 m² Wolvercote Mill Offices fit out in June 2021, with no new fixings taken into the historic timber structure.

The scheme was signed off by the conservation officer without amendment. The client has since taken a second floor in the same building.

Gallery

Working around a listed frame

  • A brick commercial extension wrapped in scaffolding at dusk
    The retained timber frame before the fit-out began.
  • Scaffolding and blockwork on a commercial site
    Freestanding partitions, restrained off new steel.
  • A steel frame going up on a new build site
    The finished floor, services hidden below it.

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Fitting out a
historic building?

Old buildings are rarely square and never forgiving. Tell us what has to be retained and we will survey before we draw.

Or call 01865 000 000, Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.