Fit-out and refurbishment

Decorating during a phased office move

Office lift lobby kept clean and finished while a construction hoarding closes off the floor above

A phased move means some floors are still under construction while others already have staff working in them, which turns a single building into several different working conditions at once. Decorating has to adapt floor by floor rather than following one uniform plan.

Different rules on different floors of the same building

A vacant floor still being fitted out can take daytime work, dust and noise that would be completely unacceptable one floor below where staff are already at their desks. We agree a floor-by-floor access and hours plan rather than a single building-wide schedule, and we check it against the move programme every week since move dates often shift.

Vacant floors worked during standard daytime hours
Occupied floors restricted to quiet hours or out-of-hours work
Shared risers, plant rooms and stair cores treated as always-occupied

Shared vertical circulation

Lift lobbies, stairwells and shared risers usually stay in use throughout a phased move regardless of which floors are occupied, so decorating in these spaces needs the same care as an occupied floor even while the floor either side is still a construction site.

Keeping finished floors clean until move-in

A floor decorated ahead of its move-in date can sit finished for weeks while other floors are still being built, and dust from ongoing construction elsewhere in the building can settle on it in that time. Protection and periodic cleaning of already-finished floors is worth pricing as its own small task rather than assuming the finish will survive untouched.

Questions we are asked about this

Can you decorate one floor while staff are moving into the floor below?

Yes, but noise and dust need managing carefully, usually with quieter working hours and stronger containment on the floor directly above or below occupied space.

How do you handle shared stairwells during a phased move?

We treat them as occupied space throughout, using the same access and cleanliness standards we would on a fully occupied floor, regardless of construction elsewhere.

What if a finished floor gets dusty before staff move in?

We price a light clean-down and touch-up visit just before move-in as standard on longer phased programmes, rather than leaving it to chance.

Staff working at desks on one office floor while decorating continues on an adjacent vacant floor

Share your phased move programme and we will build a floor-by-floor decorating plan around it.

Get a quote Call 023 9355 3460

Where this comes up locally

Southampton Eastleigh Fareham

More on this kind of work

Snag-free handoverA clean handover comes from inspecting properly beforehand, not from reacting quickly to a client's snag list.Cat A to Cat B office conversionCat A to Cat B decorating means working to a tenant-specific palette layered onto a landlord shell, not a single flat repaint.Sand and cement renderRender needs a proper tap survey before coating, since hollow or moving sections need repair, not paint.Exposed brickworkPainting brick is largely a one-way decision, so breathability and reversibility both need discussing upfront.

A phased move puts several different working conditions in one building at once, and decorating needs a plan for each floor, not one plan for all of them.

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Planning a commercial painting or decorating project?

Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.

Request a quote 023 9355 3460