This was a very interesting and challenging residential scheme for our team to deliver. We were appointed to convert existing offices, in the heart of a busy high street in Reading, into residential units. Including a fast-track refurbishment to the existing, operational, café below.
Works involved
- Full strip out to the two-storey office
- Associated M & E works
- Installation of kitchens and bathrooms
- Café strip out
- Asbestos removal
- Lowering ceilings
As with any project in the heart of a vibrant and busy town, access was very restricted, and the need to cause minimal disruption to the local residents and businesses was imperative to the project’s success. Materials were lifted up and over the building, or safely carried through the café, so health and safety of the occupied premises was always high on our delivery strategy. To overcome the restrictions on access we programmed in various works out of hours to minimise disruption as much as possible. As with any residential project, costs were high on the agenda, we researched and implemented various value engineering techniques on this project to help our client reduce the overall construction costs.
Site specific issue
The key driver for success throughout these schemes was ensuring our works did not impact or disrupt the café below which was operational throughout. We implemented out of hours works and utilised our team of skilled direct labour, to ensure we didn’t disrupt the everyday business within the café.
Value: £500,000
Completion: April 2016
