Project Summary

Value: £ 260,000.00 (Approximately £1800.00 per m2)
Size: 144m2, single story extension.
Contract: JCT Design and Build with the client design brief.
Duration: 7 months (28 weeks) due to the centre being live throughout the works.
To Provide: Three additional consultation rooms and utility/washroom

A couple of years ago, the team was appointed as Principal Contractors to build a large extension to a medical practice on Birmingham’s outskirts.
As a busy practice supporting the local community, the medical team were keen to provide the latest advice, techniques and medical advances to the people they served. They could only do this if they had more space to deliver these additional services, so an extension to the existing building was proposed and submitted to planning.
With permission granted and funding in place, the building work could commence.

As Healthcare Building Contractors we’re well aware of the specialised services provided in doctors surgeries. This mainly impacts the mechanical and electrical installations used to fit-out the building, but with a background in M&E (we are M&E Contractors Birmingham), we can both design and install all M&E related products and services. Combined with our construction services, we feel this is a massive advantage for our clients.

The building

The existing building was positioned at the corner of a busy road and made up of three sections that mirrored the corner. The new single-storey extension was to project out from one of the gable ends into the existing car park, which also housed the surgery’s main entrance.
The building was to house three additional and much-needed consultation rooms and a utility area.

Challenges.

A large part of the existing car park was set aside for the new build extension. This created parking issues for the general public, which was overcome by repurposing the car park across the road, space generally reserved for staff.
The existing building was quite a bit lower than the ground set aside for the new extension and sloping steeply at its furthest point. We knew from the get-go that the excavation was going to be a big part of the job. With a general lack of space, there was little room to store tonnes of spoil, so the timing of grab wagons was critical to the success of this part of the project.
With the surgery entrance relocated to its new position (the existing one sat within the building site), a new pathway redirected the public outside of the construction area, providing safe surgery access.
Keeping the main construction work separate from the existing building was easy until the new doorway was knocked through from the new extension into the existing building. This required some major structural work to support the brickwork above the opening and the erection of a temporary partition dividing the reception area from the building site, not an easy task considering the volume of patients passing through reception. There was no choice but to carry out these alterations over a weekend with all work completed to ensure the surgery could open on Monday morning.

Other more minor challenges included:

Re-surfacing car park whilst ensuring safe access to the surgery by the public.
Connections to the existing services and issues with the existing sewage and greywater run-offs that had been installed incorrectly.
Matching components to the existing wrought iron gates to maintain a consistent aesthetic look.
With construction work taking place over winter, we knew there was a good chance that the weather would play its part in the construction timetable. It was a particularly awful winter that year, and although the lads did well to work as much as they did, there were times when it was impossible to work.

Working Environment

With any project, we’re aware that we are moving into someone’s neighbourhood and in some way having an impact on their surroundings. A working doctors practice is busy; there are lots of comings and goings, and it’s our responsibility to ensure that we keep everyone safe and out of harms reach. We are also aware that people feel part of their surgery, it’s ‘their Doctors’, and they will always be interested in the work being carried out. To help keep people informed, we posted regular updates about the project on the companies website. We also fitted vision panels into the site hoarding to enable people to see the work taking place.
Before the project started, we posted explainer letters through the doors of people living in the vicinity giving details of the project and contact details of key people. The surgery also played its part by contacting patients about the changes taking place and any impact on their services.
We took every measure possible to keep the site safe and the surrounding environment clean and free from site debris and dust.

In conclusion

Overall the project went well, and we were able to deliver a project that was undoubtedly fit for purpose and one that the public will be able to use for many years to come.
As well as this write up, we’ve created a gallery that helps pull the project’s details together as well as a timelapse video showing the bulk of the external construction work.

Do you have a surgery or dental practice that needs extending or refurbishing? Feel free to get in touch.
Need to talk to us about the project or looking for Healthcare Building Contractors for your project? Call us on 0121 403 3693 we’d be happy to hear from you.

If you would like to find out more about Gravitas Build’s services, have a question or would like us to visit you to discuss your project requirements, please contact us here. We will be pleased to help.

Call us on 0121 403 3693 for more information.