3 ms·

Are we running new sewer and water lines? Installing a drain pan? Retiling? I thought for an office, you need to frame w/ some metal studs and drywall, doors,

Are we running new sewer and water lines? Installing a drain pan? Retiling? I thought for an office, you need to frame w/ some metal studs and drywall, doors, and maybe blown-in insulation to abate sound. Not nearly as complex or skilled an endeavor.

regularfry 9y ago
Not as complex, but: electrics, lighting, networking, phone, smoke alarms, sprinkler system, ventilation, security... it does all add up.
- nerdponx 9y ago
  None of which costs more in cubes vs tables.
  - regularfry 9y ago
    It's not cubes vs tables, it's offices vs cubes.
Spooky23 9y ago
It's a pain in the rear. Also keep in mind that you're often stuck with landlord approved vendors some some trades. Your budget gets wacky when you're stiffed paying $75/linear foot for bullshit like plastic wire moulding.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Yup. Power over ethernet would have never caught on if it weren't for electricians unions and approved vendor/contractor requirements.
mattzito 9y ago
I think in this thread people are kind of conflating office construction vs. cubicle construction. It's true that cubicle construction is pretty comparable to open plan in terms of cost and speed, but cubicles have a bad rep. If you're trying to do real offices, individual or small group, the cost goes up quite a bit. For example, at least in NYC, the fire code dictates you need sprinklers and annunciators in every space, which increases the cost and complexity of the fire system. Plus, HVAC is much more complicated in office setups, as you can't rely on a large mass of air mixing to normalize temperatures, and have to manage longer vent runs with more exit points. Then there's the problem that in a lot of buildings, particularly in urban areas, there's a relative paucity of windows, and people find windowless offices less desirable, making it harder to design office plans that don't shortchange big chunks of the employee base. One benefit of open plans is its a lot easier to give employees some view of sunlight and the outside.

regularfry 9y ago

Not as complex, but: electrics, lighting, networking, phone, smoke alarms, sprinkler system, ventilation, security... it does all add up.

nerdponx 9y ago
None of which costs more in cubes vs tables.
- regularfry 9y ago
  It's not cubes vs tables, it's offices vs cubes.

Spooky23 9y ago

It's a pain in the rear. Also keep in mind that you're often stuck with landlord approved vendors some some trades. Your budget gets wacky when you're stiffed paying $75/linear foot for bullshit like plastic wire moulding.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
Yup. Power over ethernet would have never caught on if it weren't for electricians unions and approved vendor/contractor requirements.

mattzito 9y ago

I think in this thread people are kind of conflating office construction vs. cubicle construction. It's true that cubicle construction is pretty comparable to open plan in terms of cost and speed, but cubicles have a bad rep. If you're trying to do real offices, individual or small group, the cost goes up quite a bit. For example, at least in NYC, the fire code dictates you need sprinklers and annunciators in every space, which increases the cost and complexity of the fire system. Plus, HVAC is much more complicated in office setups, as you can't rely on a large mass of air mixing to normalize temperatures, and have to manage longer vent runs with more exit points. Then there's the problem that in a lot of buildings, particularly in urban areas, there's a relative paucity of windows, and people find windowless offices less desirable, making it harder to design office plans that don't shortchange big chunks of the employee base. One benefit of open plans is its a lot easier to give employees some view of sunlight and the outside.