Domestic work moves. A kitchen can be finished next week instead of this week. Commercial work does not, because the opening date has staff, stock, marketing and rent attached to it.
We deliver shop fits across the UK from our base in Gloucester. This is what we have learned about keeping a fit out on programme, written for anyone preparing to open a site.
Work backwards from opening day
Start with the date you have to trade and count backwards through snagging, M and E commissioning, flooring, fixture installation, decoration, manufacture and design sign off. What is left is the date you need to start on site.
Most fit outs need a clear week at the end for snagging and for the client to merchandise. If the programme has no gap before opening, the first delay pushes straight into trading. Build the gap in from the start and protect it.
The lead times that catch people out
Joinery takes longer than most clients expect. Bespoke counters, display units and bar tops are made in a workshop, not ordered from a catalogue, and four to six weeks from final drawing to delivery is normal.
Other long poles you should book early: shopfront glazing, specialist flooring, refrigeration and commercial kitchen equipment, branding and signage, and any air conditioning. None of these can be compressed later by working weekends.
Design freeze before manufacture
Every fit out needs a point where the design stops changing. After that point, changes cost money and time because materials are already cut and items are already in the workshop.
Set the freeze date in writing, get sign off from whoever actually owns the decisions, and route all changes through one person. Fit outs that drift are almost always ones where three people can each approve a change.
Coordination with the other trades
Carpentry is usually one of several trades in a unit, and the sequence matters. First fix electrics and plumbing, then studwork and ceilings, then shopfront, then flooring, then joinery, then decoration, then the final electrical connections and commissioning.
Flooring going down before joinery is fitted protects the new floor from being scratched by workbenches. Joinery fitted before the final coat of paint avoids repainting the counters. Small sequencing decisions like these are worth more than any amount of overtime at the end.
Working out of hours
Most of our commercial work happens overnight or at weekends, particularly in shopping centres and high streets where the unit is in a managed building or a neighbouring business is trading.
Out of hours working needs planning: access arrangements, security, noise restrictions, lift bookings and permits. It usually needs more labour on site per shift too, because the same amount of work has to happen in fewer hours. All of it can be programmed for, but none of it can be improvised.
Site paperwork and inductions
On any main contractor site you will need ramS, insurance certificates, CSCS cards, inductions and sometimes permits to work. On a direct client fit out you may need landlord approval and building regulations consent for anything structural.
Getting the paperwork done before mobilisation is unglamorous and completely decisive. A team that cannot get on site on Monday has already lost a week.
Budgeting realistically
Commercial fit out costs vary enormously by sector, but a straightforward retail unit with new flooring, decoration, lighting and a mid range joinery package usually falls between £400 and £900 per square metre. Hospitality and food service units run higher because of the services.
Fixing a contingency of around 10 per cent is sensible. In existing buildings, what is behind the ceiling or under the floor is unknown until it is opened up, and that is where the surprises live.
Choosing a fit out partner
Look for a contractor who programmes, not just prices. Ask for a schedule, ask who is responsible for each trade, and ask what happens if a lead time slips. A fitter who only quotes a lump sum leaves the coordination to you.
We deliver commercial shop fitting across the UK for retailers, hospitality groups, franchises and main contractors, with Constructionline Gold accreditation and full insurance. See our shop fitting service for how we work, or request a free quote with your drawings, unit size and opening date and we will come back with a programme as well as a price.
How to brief a fit out contractor properly
A good brief saves weeks. Send the unit address, the floor area, a plan or a measured sketch, photographs of the empty unit, the target opening date, your brand guidelines and anything the landlord or shopping centre requires. Add what you must have and what you would like, separately.
Ambiguity is what turns a programme into a negotiation. If the drawing says one thing and the conversation said another, work stops while it is resolved. One written brief, circulated to every trade, removes that risk before it costs you a week.
The approvals clients forget until the last minute
Trading legally needs more than a finished shop. Premises or alcohol licences, food business registration, change of use consent, signage consent in a conservation area, and landlord approval for anything structural all run on council or landlord timescales, not yours.
Start them at design stage and they run in parallel with the build. Leave them until the fit out is finished and a completed unit sits empty waiting for a certificate. We flag the ones that apply at the first site visit and hand the paperwork list to the client early.
Handing over and opening week
The last week is not slack time, it is the week that decides how opening day feels. Snagging is closed out, the electrical certificate and commissioning records are handed over, the unit is deep cleaned and the client merchandises stock.
Build that week into the programme as a protected period. We hand over with a snag list already closed, the O and M information in one folder, and a return visit booked for a fortnight after opening to catch anything that only shows once the site is trading.