This project involved the repairs, refurbishment, modification and extension of a large retail (typical industrial) type building. B & Q was a tenant in large warehouse type building and they were reducing the proportion of the building that they occupied by 50%, the 50% of the floor space that they vacated was then to be split into three smaller retail units for Home Bargains, Matalan and Aldi.

Works to the fabric of the building comprised roof works including the testing of the existing mansafe system, replacing curved rooflights in the standing seam roof, lining the gutters and testing and repairing the siphonic drainage system. Elevational works undertaken involved adaptions to the structural steel frame in order to create openings for three new shopfronts, demolition works to form the openings and installation of new powder coated aluminium shopfronts. A large new canopy was constructed to run the length of the three new units on the front elevation Various door and window openings were created to the rear elevation and all the existing wall cladding was sprayed.

Internally two new party walls with umbrella details at the head were installed to create the new retail units. Minor modifications were made to the interiors of Matalan and Home Bargains for new services but major modifications were made to the Aldi unit. These involved the installation of new services, construction of a welfare pod, the lowering and strengthening of a section of the floor slab in order to accommodate the installation of new freezers in the back of house area and the installation of large amounts of new drainage within the retail area in order to facilitate the installation of Aldi’s chilled / freezer display units.

Very substantial modifications were undertaken to the drainage system externally, service yard areas were amended at the rear of the building and a new loading bay extension including dock leveller and ramp was constructed. To the side and front elevations footpath and car park areas were amended to suit the new layout.

The project had a value of circa £3.2m over 30 weeks and was undertaken on a D&B Contract. Whilst the project was a retail premises the content of work was very similar in nature to many of the items of work regularly experienced on dilapidation and refurbishment works on industrial buildings.