GUNWHARF QUAYS – STRIP OUT CASE STUDY

The requirements for this job was to knock through two units into one. One unit was already a double unit with an adjoining second unit to the side, where the dividing wall, all ceiling and floor coverings and all fixtures and fittings needed to be stripped out.

We also had to remove all services; A/C, water, electricity, HVAC and sprinkler system back to their inlets. We also had to provide a temporary fire alarm system for the new unit layout. The A/C removal provided its own challenges, as the two large condenser units that needed removing were situated underneath the unit at Gunwharf Quays, in the underground car park below, which brought its own access challenges.

Due to the extra-large size of this new unit, one of the existing double entrance doors needed to be removed and replaced with a new wooden framed, glazed shop front to match the existing design. This part of the project needed designing and an application made to building control for the relevant permissions.

Because we were taking the unit back to the original landlord’s walls, all fire stopping had to be made good and certificated and we installed temporary lighting for the incoming tenants’ shopfitters, to make working conditions easier all round.

All materials for this project were sourced locally, which helped with the delivery schedule, as the unit had no access to the nearest service yard, so all deliveries had to be made outside of the centres opening hours to ensure the safety of all.  We were also able to recycle rare “cant” style bricks when changing the shopfront over, which meant the feature look of the shopfronts could remain.

This was a challenging job, as noisy strip out works had to be done with the utmost of care, working outside of the Gunwharf Quays Shopping Centre opening hours, but also extra allowances were made for the 24hr Casino that situated directly above and any disturbance had to be kept to a minimum, so that none of our neighbours were inconvenienced, during the project.