Furnishing a premises, floor, interior walls, electricity

[DagSa]

We have a firm that has so far been housed in our basement.
We have now secured a space with reasonable rent.
However, the space is completely unfurnished with an approximately 90 sqm room. Unfinished drywall on walls and chipboard flooring.
The ceiling height is normal by the window wall and at the opposite wall at the ridge at least 5 meters.

I would need some advice on how to quickly and easily make it move-in ready for an office environment without it costing a fortune.
What needs fixing are the floor, walls, interior walls, and electrical wiring.
We will have to outsource the electrical wiring, otherwise, I will probably do quite a bit myself.

Here is what I am roughly thinking:
FLOOR
First, lay the floor with click flooring like Pergo/ByggMax or similar. In that case, you could potentially move a wall afterward without having to redo the floor. Is it difficult with click flooring on large areas?
Possibly a tile pattern in the hallway area.

PARTITION WALLS
The ceiling height makes it too complicated to build the wall all the way up. It will have to be drywall height simply.
Is there a smart way to attach the partition walls to the floor so a wall can be removed afterward?
They don't need to be soundproof joints anyway since the sound travels through the ceiling.

Are there ready-made wall elements/modules that are quicker to assemble compared to building yourself?

WALL SURFACE
Spackle the seams and paint. Pre-painted baseboards and moldings.

CEILING
It will be completely open. However, I am considering placing standing boards cc 900mm.
Partly so there is something to attach ceiling lights and fluorescent fixtures to, and for the stability of the partition walls.
The span will probably be about 3 meters between walls.
Is this a good solution?

ELECTRICITY
There are boxes in the outer walls, and this should also be planned into the walls.
The electrical cabinet is outside in a corridor, and the electricity will probably be drawn in from the ceiling.
When should the electrician be brought in?

PLUMBING
We don't need to worry about water. Kitchenette and restroom are outside.
There is ventilation with large pipes in the ceiling. Probably new pipes need to be connected and adjusted, which should be done by a professional.
However, that is step two (I think) since there is already basic ventilation for supply and exhaust in the room.

Suggestions are gratefully received on material choices and work process. It should be quick and cheap, but nice.
I will provide a sketch once it is measured properly.

 

[andersmc]

Flooring: It's not particularly difficult to lay large click floors, but you can't lay them indefinitely large because they need to be able to move. There's a limit of about five meters. Check the instructions for your specific flooring. You may need to divide the floor and place strips in between.

Partitions: It sounds more like you would need those common partition walls used in office landscapes. It might be possible to find them second-hand.

Wall surface: A layer of fiberglass matting before painting makes the walls significantly more durable.

Electricity: What type of operation is it? Since you're planning to have click flooring, I assume it's more of an office than a workshop. The easiest way to run electricity is likely in a modular track (or whatever it's called) that goes around the entire wall. There, you have movable wall outlets, phone jacks, and network outlets.

 

[klaskarlsson]

Here's what I've been thinking in broad terms: FLOOR First, lay the floor with click flooring like Pergo/ByggMax or similar. In that case, you could possibly move a wall afterwards without having to relay the floor. Is it difficult with click flooring over large areas? Possibly a tile pattern in the hallway section. PARTITION WALLS The ceiling height makes it too troublesome to make the walls all the way up. It will simply be plasterboard height. Is there a smart way to attach the partition walls to the floor so you can remove a wall later on? There doesn't need to be soundproofed joints anyway since the sound goes via the ceiling. Are there ready-made wall elements/modules that are quicker to assemble compared to building them yourself? WALL SURFACE Fill the joints and paint. Pre-painted floor moldings and casings. CEILING It will remain completely open. However, I'm considering placing standing boards cc 900mm. Partly so there's something to attach ceiling lamps and fluorescent fixtures to, and also for the stability of the partition walls. The span will probably be around 3 meters between walls. Is that a good solution? ELECTRICITY There are sockets in the exterior walls and that should also be planned into the walls. The electrical cabinet is outside in a corridor, and the electricity will likely be drawn in the ceiling. When should the electrician be consulted? HVAC We don't need to think about water. The kitchenette and toilet are outside. Ventilation includes large ducts in the ceiling. New ducts likely need to be connected and adjusted, which a professional should do. That is, however, step two (I think) since there is already basic ventilation in the room. Suggestions are gratefully received on material selection and workflow. It should be fast and cheap, but nice. I will contribute a sketch once it is properly measured.

Flooring: Click flooring from Byggmax or why not IKEA is a good idea. Easy to lay and cheap, but still durable and looks quite okay. However, it should be laid floating, so you should not build any internal walls on top of such flooring. Even overly heavy constructions like safes, stoves, etc., can prevent the so-called floating. The floor must be able to move to expand with moisture/heat; otherwise, there's a risk of bowing and cracking. Partition walls: Build with a bottom rail that you screw in with assembly screws. The walls won't be completely mobile, but what needs to be done is to tear off the plasterboard, remove the screw, and then relay the click flooring. You don't need to rebuild the entire wall at least. Even more mobile might be to attach them with angle irons outside the wallboards, not as nice, of course... Otherwise, maybe a screen wall like many offices have could be an alternative? Ceiling: Sounds like a good idea, also to lower the ceiling height a bit and maybe place power outlets, etc., in there?! Electricity: If you want mobile walls, maybe electricity in the ceiling is a good idea? Then you can bring electricity and networking down via "posts" to the workspaces. The easiest is perhaps if the electrician installs external outlets in the "ceiling beams," so you can have extension boxes from those if you don't have actual electrical poles... /K

 

[DagSa]

The space is approximately 9x10 meters. Office and light service of small electronics. No walk-in customers, everything is mailed.

FLOORING:
Partition walls like an open-plan office are not so fun. Preferably not.
Still need to separate a service area from the rest of the office and a storage room.
A meeting room would also need a wall and door.

Considering the area, maybe click flooring wasn't such a good idea.
We have a 22mm pine parquet at home on an 8.5x9.3 meter space (area like a T), and it works.
I don't have a package to read, so I don't know the limitations on the area for click flooring.

The walls would, in that case, stop floor movements if attached with screws.
But if the wall is attached with glue to the floor, the wall can float with the floor. Could that work?

ELECTRICITY:
Electric poles were a good idea.
You set up a number of electric poles in the space and thus gain something to attach interior walls to at the top.
The pole rests on the chipboard and cutouts in the click flooring.
Interior walls might only need to be attached to the poles and outer walls, not the floor.

What do you think about that?

In that case, the workflow is:
First poles
Then electrician and flooring
Thereafter partition walls.

 

[Mats]

I want the walls first against the existing chipboard floor. Then click floor in each "room".

Electric poles are a good idea, but check the price on them. Pre-built ones for office use are usually incredibly expensive to say the least. A channel around the walls like thorsman is practical, but again there's a price tag on them.

 

[klaskarlsson]

The premises are about 9x10 meters.
Office and light service of small electronics. No drop-in customers, everything is mailed.

FLOOR:
Partition walls like a landscape office aren't so fun. Preferably not.
Still need to divide the service area from the rest of the office and a storeroom.
A meeting room would also need a wall and a door.

Considering the space, click-flooring might not be great.
We have a pine parquet 22mm at home, measuring 8.5x9.3 meters (surface like a T), and it works.
I don't have a package to read, so I don't know the limitations on the surface area for click-flooring.

The walls would stop floor movements in that case if fixed with screws.
But if attaching the wall with glue to the floor, the wall can float with the floor. Could that work?

ELECTRICITY:
Power columns were not a bad idea.
Install a number of power columns in the room and thus get something to attach the inner walls at the top.
The column can rest on the chipboard and recess in the click-flooring.
The inner walls may only need to be attached to the columns and outer walls, not to the floor.

What do you think about that?

Then the workflow is:
First columns
Then electrician and flooring
After that partition walls.

Maybe you can build your own power columns out of, for example, wood, painted conduit pipes, or something? As mentioned, ready-made ones can be quite expensive.

Gluing walls to click-flooring might actually be worse than screws:
- You cannot easily detach them if you use a glue strong enough to hold initially, i.e., You also risk glue marks on the floor.
- The "floating" of the floor is affected - depends a bit on the weight of the wall and if it's attached elsewhere, of course - but it probably needs to be - if you only glue it, you'd need a really large base area for the wall = not practical or nice

Regarding the walls, maybe you can screw substantial crossbeams into the ceiling, like tension rods that roof trusses have, and then attach the wall to them. On the floor, the wall would just rest on several rubber/felt pads. This means you would build relatively light wall elements, perhaps using steel studs+plasterboard+insulation. The floor should still be able to move since the wall is suspended from the ceiling so to speak. It does limit you in a way that you can't freely move the wall - but then I believe it's screen walls that would be needed...

Power columns could be attached to the same ceiling crossbeams and rest on the floor if these should also be able to move. Otherwise, you can assemble several that you screw into both "ceiling" and floor in suitable places...

/K