Fit-out joinery: 4 trade-offs that secure your budget

Every office fit-out joinery project rests on four technical decisions that we settle with you at the upstream stage.

1. Standard versus bespoke. Bespoke work generates a significant additional cost on the joinery line item, but markedly reduces the site adaptations billed via change orders. This is a trade-off we settle with you right from the upstream stage. On irregular grids (Haussmann-era refurbishment, floors with offset columns), it becomes essential.
2. Workshop prefabrication versus on-site installation. Workshop machining secures tolerances to ±1 mm, against 3 to 5 mm with traditional installation (DTU, interior timber joinery). Beyond 2.80 m in height, logistical layout (lift templates, crane paths) must be anticipated.
3. Material and finish. HPL laminate withstands 1500 Taber abrasion cycles (ISO 4586-2), against 300 to 500 for varnished wood veneer. Veneer retains the advantage in renovation: sanding and re-varnishing are possible at 8-10 years.
4. Network integration. Power, RJ45 and local ventilation run through joinery-built partitions via calibrated access panels, provided the routings are locked before fabrication.

In practical terms at Kytom, the dogma of « systematic bespoke for premium » does not hold: below 80 sqm of uniform works, bespoke degrades the joinery ROI by 12 to 18% compared with an equivalent high-end catalogue standard. The prototype budget (3 to 5 k EUR) no longer pays off. We prioritise according to three filters: site constraints, usage profile and 10-year maintenance budget.

For a CFO or an Asset Manager, joinery is not a technical line item: it is a schedule-sensitive line item, and therefore an avoided-rent one. Across our office operations since 2018, three recurring errors degrade the date of entry into operation.

• Dimensional tolerances between structural works and joinery. A 2 to 3 cm misalignment on frame openings causes plaster reworks, finish touch-ups, sometimes refabrication. We require a signed adversarial survey before launching fabrication, in accordance with the applicable DTUs.
• Neglected multi-trade coordination. HVAC ducts, cable trays and demountable partition fixings must appear on the workshop drawings before machining. Discoveries during installation generate significant schedule delays, often hard to recover during the finishing phase.
• Underestimated handling constraints. A heavy, large element requires a clear path, a calculated lifting point, sometimes a temporary bay opening. On occupied sites, night-time delivery slots become the rule.

Your coverage ratio. On a Paris CBD asset leased at 650 to 850 EUR/sqm/year, 10 days’ delay on 850 sqm represents 15000 to 20000 EUR of avoided rent lost. The adversarial survey line item (1 to 2 days of a works engineer, around 1200 EUR) shows a coverage ratio of 12 to 16 to 1. It is the most profitable OPEX trade-off in the package. Anticipating these three points at the EXE stage avoids 70 to 80% of improvised adaptations.

On a recent office operation in the Paris Central Business District (850 sqm, 142 joinery works, Haussmann-era building on a partially occupied site), our team managed the complete integration over 12 calendar weeks.

Starting configuration. Floor with an irregular grid (offset cast-iron columns, variable heights from 2.75 m to 3.10 m), 60% bespoke works imposed by the geometry, 40% high-end catalogue standard in regular zones. Target rent 780 EUR/sqm/year, i.e. 663 k EUR/year: each week of delay was worth 12.7 k EUR in avoided rent.

Kytom trade-offs. Workshop prefabrication to ±1 mm on the 142 elements, prototype validated in week 4 on the most complex work, a full-height bookcase integrating data and HVAC. Adversarial survey in week 1: several discrepancies corrected before fabrication, avoiding significant site reworks.

Measured result. Delivery at D+84 in line with the initial schedule, zero joinery change order, with a rate of site adaptations clearly below what we usually observe on comparable programmes. The joinery line item represented 14% of the fit-out budget, in line with our premium office benchmarks. The client took possession on the contractual date, with no loss of avoided rent.

Our 5-phase method with maximum prefabrication is not universal. Three configurations call for a different strategy, and we tell you frankly before signing.

Heavy refurbishment of old buildings (before 1948). The dimensional discrepancies observed frequently exceed 5 cm. The DTU grid is no longer operative. You have to switch to on-site adaptation mode, accept a significant craft-based share and give up the goal of maximum prefabrication. In this case, we direct you towards a local master joiner rather than our industrial supply chain.

Very small operations (fewer than 15 works, under 200 sqm). The fixed cost of our 5-phase coordination outweighs the benefit. We recommend a high-end catalogue standard installed by a qualified craftsman, with a simple adversarial survey beforehand. The joinery ROI remains better that way.

New shell-and-core delivered compliant by the developer. If structural-works tolerances are guaranteed and certified, the first tension disappears. Our added value then concentrates on phases 2 and 3 (pre-sizing and coordination), and we propose a streamlined package.

This transparency about the limits of our approach has been part of our standard since 2006: calling us commits you to nothing, and our first recommendation may be not to use us.

1. Audit of constraints
   We carry out an adversarial dimensional survey on site, map the accesses (lift templates, lifting bays), and identify the interfaces with the other trades (HVAC, power, partitions). Deliverable: access plan, signed survey, interface matrix. Timeframe: 1 to 2 weeks depending on floor area.
2. Modular pre-sizing
   We arbitrate the standard/bespoke ratio according to the 80 sqm tipping point for uniform works, set the construction grid and select the materials (HPL, veneer, lacquered MDF) according to usage and 10-year maintenance budget. Deliverable: bill of materials, costed ratios, cost comparison. Timeframe: 2 weeks.
3. Multi-trade coordination
   We lock all technical routings (data, power, ventilation) on synthesis drawings before launching the workshop. Demountable partition fixings and maintenance access panels are calibrated. Deliverable: multi-trade-validated workshop drawings. Timeframe: 2 to 3 weeks.
4. Prototype validation
   A pilot element is fabricated and tested on site, on the most complex work in the programme. This phase prevents non-conformities in series across 50 to 200 identical works. Deliverable: validation report, locked series adjustments. Timeframe: 1 week.
5. Delivery sequencing
   We synchronise the staggered deliveries with the site’s storage capacity (often <30 sqm) and site progress. On occupied sites, night-time slots coordinated with building security. Deliverable: delivery schedule adjusted on an ongoing basis.