A Cat A shell arrives with basic finishes already applied by the landlord, and a Cat B fit-out builds a specific tenant's layout, branding and finish on top of it. Decorating touches both stages, but in quite different ways.
Landlord Cat A finishes are usually neutral and functional rather than to a tenant's specification, and much of it gets covered, cut into or removed as partitions and joinery go in. We assess what's worth protecting and reusing against what will simply be demolished, rather than treating the whole shell as untouchable.
Cat B typically introduces glazed partitions, meeting rooms, breakout joinery and branded feature walls, all of which need their own paint specification distinct from the general office palette. Cutting a clean line where a glazed partition meets a painted wall is a detail worth agreeing before the partition goes up, not after.
Some Cat B programmes run with the tenant partly moved in already, which changes the working hours, protection and noise tolerance for decorating compared with an empty shell. Confirming whether any part of the floor is occupied before pricing avoids assuming daytime access that isn't actually available.
Either, depending on scope — sometimes we're asked to touch up Cat A finishes that survive into the fitted scheme, other times the whole floor is repainted for Cat B.
Usually the tenant's designer or fit-out contractor, and we work to that specification rather than proposing our own unless asked.
Yes, with adjusted hours and stronger containment around the occupied area, though it's slower than working in an empty shell.
Send us the Cat B design pack and we will price the decorating package against the actual finishes schedule.
Cat A to Cat B decorating means working to a tenant-specific palette layered onto a landlord shell, not a single flat repaint.
Speak to a Hampshire commercial decorating contractor that turns up, communicates clearly and delivers a finish that lasts.
