Over the last year, we submitted several tenders to carry out new builds and refurbishments projects in the education sector. With much of the work contracted for completion over the six-week summer holidays, it’s always a busy time for us.
And although submitting a tender never guarantees we will win the work, the process itself is gratifying when the outcome is being awarded the contract.
With this in mind, we are thrilled to announce that the contract for the major refurbishment of a Birmingham school was recently awarded to us here at Gravitas Build Ltd.
With a contract value of c£1.1 million delivered over 22 weeks, the projected finish date is April 2023.

A forward-thinking, modern secondary school with the sixth form on site, much work and modernisations have already been carried out over the last few years to improve the facilities to match the student’s academic excellence.
With new build teaching blocks already constructed over the last few years, our remit was to upgrade/refurbish several different areas throughout the school, bringing them up to the high standard expected by students and staff alike. Aside from the modernisation work, a new storeroom attached to the rear of the gym will also be constructed. 

Building Refurbishment Contractors – Scope of works

• Construction store room attached to and accessed via the gym
• Remodelling the sports hall and changing rooms
• Remodelling the squash courts to create a studio
• Remodelling of sports changing rooms to create additional canteen space
• Fit out servery to the canteen
• Installation of new ceilings and lighting
• Decoration

Communication

With any construction project, as building refurbishment contractors communication is key to achieving a successful outcome and right from the off, a clear line of communication was established between us, the school management team, consultants acting on behalf of the school, and the trust. With regular meetings to keep everyone in the loop, we are a few weeks into the project and can already see the benefits of having such open communication channels.

Health & Safety

Health and safety is always an important part of our daily work, no matter what the project. However, when working in a school, we have to acknowledge that additional levels of awareness and consideration should be taken into account, particularly around the movement of children to and from the classrooms. Although much of the work is carried out during appointed holiday time, certain work will be carried out during term time.
Working closely with the school management team, public areas and classrooms will be allocated to us in phases, with the children essentially locked out of the area. This affords us the security of knowing that everyone within the exclusion zone is from a construction background and has health and safety high on their agenda.
Where we do have to work in live areas where the thoroughfare of children is a certainty, as well as taking the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe from the work carried out, all of our staff and contractors will be DBS checked to provide additional security in an environment considered to be used by vulnerable people.

At the time of writing, we are already a couple of weeks into the project, and massive progress has been made; it certainly bodes well for a successful outcome for all those concerned.

Looking for a building refurbishment contractor that covers the whole of Birmingham and the West Midlands? If you have a project that you’d like to discuss with us, feel free to get in touch, we’d love to help.

Call us on 0121 403 3693 for more information.