What is a Cat A fit out?
How about a Cat B fit out?
What is a Shell and Core fit out?
And what is a Cat A Plus fit out?
Read on to find out.
A quick guide to the different types of office fit out.
There is often confusion with clients about the different types of office fit out. So this article tries to give some clarity around the subject.
For many years there were just 2 types of fit out referred to – Cat A and Cat B. (Cat is short for category). In essence, Cat A was a basic level of refurbishment or fit out that would be typical of an office ready for lease. A Cat B fitout would be the works done by the prospective tenant or occupier to make the space ready for them to move in.
In more recent years there have been two new terms used – “Shell and Core” and “Cat A Plus”. Shell and Core refers to the base build undertaken in a building where the outer “shell” and the main services “core” have been formed. This would normally include stairwell and lift, toilets and washrooms and also main service risers. Cat A Plus is a level of fitout between A and B. Typically it is a higher level of finish than Cat A that would enable occupiers to move straight in.
What is a Shell and Core fit out?
Shell and Core is the base build undertaken where the outer “shell” and the services “core” have been formed.
The Shell and Core is also referred as the Base Build. Thus it is the construction of the basic building, whether an office or industrial building. This would normally include stairwell and lift, toilets and washrooms and also main service risers. Items that would be excluded and left for the office fit out company to do would include.
- Raised access floors
- lighting
- power distribution
- air conditioning and ventilation
- suspended ceilings
- wall finishes
What is a Cat A fit out?
A Cat A Fit Out is the basic fitting out of an office or commercial space undertaken by the landlord. When an occupier takes possession of an office space the condition is usually described as Cat A.
What’s usually included in a Cat A fit out?
- Raised access floor,
- Basic carpet (usually a boring blue or grey),
- Suspended ceilings,
- Basic lighting (usually LED),
- Basic internal wall finishes,
- Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning (HVAC),
- Fire and Intruder alarms,
What is a Cat B fit out?
Cat B Fit Out is the full fitting out of an office or commercial space done by the occupier. As the name suggests, a Cat B fit out is the next stage on from your Cat A fit out. Usually all office areas are included in a Cat B fit out from general office space to meeting areas, breakout spaces, tea-points and washrooms.
A Cat B fit out also includes fitting out the various types of office spaces and furniture items that most companies need. As a result this requires much thought and office design input to get the end-result required.
It’s where the textures, colours, details and designs come together to reflect your brand personality and culture. Therefore creating the kind of head-turning office space you’ve always dreamed of! One that impresses your clients, motivates your colleagues and also leaves your competitors green with office envy. For an example of a Cat B office fit out have a look at our Meon case study.
What’s usually included in a Cat B fit out?
- Final Floor Finishes including carpet and hard flooring
- Partitioning to create the final layout
- Final ceilings including feature ceilings
- Feature lighting for accent areas
- Final wall finishes including wall graphics and wallpaper
- Heating, Ventilation and Air-conditioning to suit final layout
- Fire and Intruder alarms to suit final layout
- Furniture and joinery items
What level of fit out will your new office have?
It is essential to find out what level of fit out your landlord intends to provide during the initial contract negotiations.
You want to make sure that they are investing in a good standard of basic fitout including things like LED lighting, efficient heating and cooling. There may well be items that you could ask them to leave out, for example, carpet and even suspended ceilings. We often find that clients end up making do with a boring office design because they don’t want to redo work the landlord has done. However, this is even when the work has been done very cheaply using, for example, very cheap basic carpet.
So is an office refurbishment the same as a Cat B fit out?
The main difference is that an office refurbishment usually refers to an existing office space that’s being redone. It can be as basic as painting the walls and putting some new furniture in or as extensive as ripping out an old Cat B fit out to put a new one in.
