Project the future: brick by brick

Whether the plan is to build something new or refit an existing premises, the process requires thought and planning, as it can be easy to miss out on a build option now to save on cost, only to find that it’s needed much sooner than first thought. Retrofits are markedly more expensive and disruptive than doing the job correctly in the first place.

With independent practices experiencing a boom, buildings must be fit for purpose from day one; anything otherwise will prove costly to remediate.

Alex Darvill and Nicola Cosgrove from ACD Projects – architects, project managers, contract administrators, engineers, and specialists in veterinary construction and management – have defined views on how vets should plan for practice buildings.

Alex thinks that for many, undertaking the refurbishment or conversion of an existing building is very much harder than starting from scratch, since it is so much harder to predict costs. As he says, “you only need to take a wall down and discover dry rot, and that can completely change everything.”

It’s for this reason he would suggest vets build in a cost contingency of around 20% that should drop as the process proceeds through design. He adds that this value can be as low as 5%, precisely because all potential problems will have been resolved and designed out.

Leasing premises

Few businesses – and their owners – are so flush that they can buy a property outright. For them, leasing is the best option. In Alex’s experience, 65% of those in the independent sector that ACD Projects works with lease their building and pay for it to be converted.

In so doing he sees many opting for a “‘Screwfix-type’ building – the tin sheds that are on industrial estates”. He sees “very few problems with that sort of build, because there are no unforeseen things; the building will be to current building regulations and should be built to current insulation values”.

It’s interesting that he advises with sites such as these that vets apply early when they become aware of units being built. His reasoning is simple. He said: “You can put the drains in where you want them – a veterinary practice is probably one of the most serviced buildings around.”

In detail, Alex says that practices require plenty of drains, sinks, scrub sinks, tub tables, autoclaves and discharges. All in all, around 20 outlets may be going through the floor.

In terms of construction, many of these “tin sheds” are portal frames where side walls hold the roof up and nothing else is inside; they’re a blank canvas and are the easiest to meld to a practice’s needs since they can specify whatever they like inside them, including a mezzanine floor.

A cheaper form of construction is a propped portal frame, but these often have issues when fitting out. The props (or stanchions) can be in the way of an ideal flow.

But in either case – portal or propped portal – some vets take these buildings on and subsequently decide not to have a first floor, initially, thinking that they’ll install one a few years later. However, doing this can cause huge disruption and added cost, as well as mess and the need to redecorate.

As Alex highlights, this work can be “massive and will virtually double the cost of a mezzanine; so, we would say put the mezzanine in to start with and work round it from day one. You can always use it for storage”.

Some businesses can cope with disruption, but vets may not be able to. Installing a mezzanine later, when the practice has matured, could possibly lead to the practice having to close during the works.

It makes sense, then, to seek ways of funding a mezzanine as they can cost from between £60,000 and £120,000 – less if a floor isn’t laid initially.

The advice from Alex, therefore, is to “take into account how you want the practice to develop and do so with your planning from day one”. Strongly suggesting remembering that practices are expanding right now,he said: “Always think to the future from the very start of the project – don’t box yourself into a corner, as you will pay the price for that later on.”

Nicola adds another angle, noting that ACD Projects’ clients often come with a wish list. She said: “We ask them to tell us what they want from day one – the things they cannot live without. Then we ask for the things they would really like from day one, but could live without.

“After that we ask for what they really want, like CT and MRI, and that really helps us with planning a project and phasing for future development of that practice.”

Again, as with drainage and mezzanines, this all needs working out at the start to avoid later upheaval.

Something else to remember is that a vet leasing a building needs permission from their landlord to alter it. Once permission to alter is granted, companies such as ACD Projects can then be invited in to plan a scheme that fits the budget.

New builds and own designs

ACD Projects sees many vets seeking to build from scratch. For Alex and his team, that “is always very exciting”. Contingencies and unforeseen issues are much lower with new buildings. He said: “The beauty of stretching yourself and borrowing enough to build something from scratch is that it is your building, and when you come to sell the business on you are not just profiting from the business you are selling, but you are going to get money for the building, too.”

Many corporates don’t buy the buildings they occupy; they tend to lease them. So, a vet wanting to build from scratch will, in time, either get a great return for the practice, or an ongoing revenue stream when leasing out the building they still own.

Nicola adds more to think about. She says that the ideal is for a site that has flat ground. This might seem obvious, but slopes add problems and costs, too. Then she points out the need to bear in mind the cost of utilities. This can be high – especially if a practice has bought land that is a distant greenfield site; it might cost as much as £200,000 to get a power supply there. The same applies to water and drainage. The latter can be expensive – especially for out-of-town locations, as the building may well need a sewerage treatment plant.

Also, some planning authorities are said to be questionable of vets because of veterinary-specific (by)products such as radioiodine, or dog faeces and urine, which are often high in ammonia. Planning officers, says Alex, “only need the opportunity to understand how we/vets deal with any issues they face”.

The solution is talk to the right people before a site is bought, conduct due diligence and then seek advice on anything questionable, such as access, drainage or ecology.

Trees can also be an issue, along with existing structures. And it is also worth considering likely planning objections over noise, pollution and traffic.

As for extensions, these also need to be carefully planned to minimise disruption to clients and the ongoing operation – especially if the practice is to be kept open. In this situation, Alex recommends use of temporary buildings to house reception or a couple of consult rooms while the builders are in.

Fit and finish

A practice needs to be both fit for purpose and comfortable to work in. Less expensive finishes are possible, but practices need to remember that, for example, a year down the line walls may need filling and repainting – and this will become more frequent as time progresses compared with the maintenance required on a more expensive finish.

Alex thinks that in the long run it is likely to work out better value to go for the right finish to start with – a plastic finish with welded joints, not T-joints, is a case in point. He said: “Once done, it’ll not need to be replaced in the foreseeable future, it will clean easier and it’ll look good, too.”

Practices also need to think about other elements of the building that make them a good place to work, such as having good natural light with well-placed windows, being airy with a great staff room, places to charge phones, sinks and a dishwasher.

And there’s also the need, as Alex puts it, to “provide good access for staff to get outside for a breather, together with maybe an outside table”.

He said: “Things like that are very important.” The world has moved on from having staff only able to eat lunch sat opposite dogs in their kennels or in tiny spaces under stairs.

And the same applies to kennelling. No practice, logically, would buy inexpensively only to replace items in a few years; it’s much better to spend more so that it will last for years and still look good. It should be remembered that metal cages might be expensive, and look cold, but that is just perception – cages are only ever as cold as the room they are in. And that’s another consideration – noise. Good insulation between cages to soften noise is another worthwhile investment.

In summary

Veterinary practices are very complex buildings and owners should spend as much as the budget allows. Of course, ACD Projects understands that cost dictates what can be done and that there are limitations.

With this in mind, it should be borne in mind that construction costs have shot up since COVID and Brexit. Three years ago, a standard fit out for a practice might cost around £1,300 per square metre. Now it is £1,800 per square metre.

A 40% increase makes planning even more important.