We will visit you to look at your site or property.

Discussion with you to define your brief requirements for the project, we will look at the site and property, carry out a measured survey and chat through with you what you would like to achieve such as number of consulting rooms, op theatres, overnight accommodation, number of kennels and cages, we will look in depth at mains services, infrastructure, building fabric, site area and boundaries, convey any initial thoughts we have at the time of the visit, the aim of the visit is for us to gain an insight of your working flow and for you to ask as many questions as possible so we have a good base to form the concept design.

Does the concept design put forward meet my needs?

The concept design is based around the existing site area, building parameters, site specifics and building on these elements to form the concept design, taking on board your brief requirements such additional consulting room, separate cat & dog waiting areas with cat friendly waiting, we may prepare one design or there may be a few options but we will present these to you to look over the working flow, the spaces achieved, we will work with you to define the design concept so this fits exactly right with you meeting your needs.

Have I got space for veterinary equipment (either future purchases or relocation of existing equipment) is there enough capacity in the kennels, cages, Op theatres, should I have a CT scanner?

These questions we ask at our first meeting but as the design concept evolves so does the project requirements, if you have any existing premises we will take the time to measure your equipment, lab, autoclave, digital processor, kennels, cages, ICU cages, tub tables, scrub sinks, op lights anything that you feel is important and want us to find a home, or if you are looking at new equipment we are able to estimate from the number of consulting rooms and op theatres formed we can gauge the size of the cat and dog wards for cage capacity. We can future plan so if you think you want to install say a CT scanner in the future we can plan a room that would be able to accommodate this when required.

I’m happy with the design concept but can I afford to do the building works?

Based upon the agreed design proposal, a construction cost will be prepared, this is an accurate costing detailing the building works, materials, building contractors costs / labour / overheads / phasing will all be considered presenting you with a detailed breakdown.

I have the construction cost estimate, can I obtain the funding to carry out the works?  You can utilise this construction cost estimate to form part of your business plan to suitable funders for the project, we are on hand to answer any queries or provide any relevant further information.  What other monies / items will I need to budget for?  Within the construction cost estimate there will be an itemised list of inclusions such as fixtures / fittings, flooring, sanitary fittings but it will also show exclusions such as kennels, cages and medical gases as you may have this equipment or have preferred suppliers, but it does define other items you will need to consider and budget for with your project.

As a client you will have a choice of suitable commercial flooring products whether it be a slip resistant sheet vinyl or smooth vinyl, we will outline to you the guidelines under the Workplace Act and ‘slips and trips’ for a place of work so that you have an informed choice.  Choosing the right flooring product is where our expertise helps as we have seen what works and what doesn’t, flooring products that may offer a saving but do they actually last or work well for a veterinary surgery in terms of performance, looking good, have longevity and ease of cleaning, these are the key aspects that we carry out for any product put forward.

Picking the fixtures and fittings for your project, whether a proprietary kitchen type base units for a consulting room or more suitable healthcare unit this is all designed depending on the room layout, equipment and budget needs, we would ensure the fittings are of high quality, durable for the intended purpose with a wipeable surface finish.  Having in house designers we are able to detail bespoke fitted furniture such as a reception desk, cat & dog seating units, operating theatre kit cupboards, office desks and merchandising all tailored to the space and your individual requirements so each piece of furniture is unique.

A veterinary surgery commands different wall surface finishes than a home environment, where standard trade emulsion will suit the end use just fine, but for a clinical environment such as in the preparation room a more hard wearing, washable surface finish is applied to withstand harsh chemicals used and in the case of a walk in kennel to be of different / robust surface finish as this is in direct contact with the patients, over the years we have seen what works and what we can improve on for our clients enabling us to provide a balanced choice for your project.

The build process is an exciting part of any project and is when the finer details really come alive, the spaces are realised once the walls are formed, seeing the robustness of your build, good quality materials chosen to adapt to your environment and overall design, for veterinary centres we look for a more traditional type of construction this has proven to stand up to the round the clock demand on the premises, we also have practical solutions for wall & ceiling protection for X ray Room / Imaging Room / CT Scanning and MRI Suites to meet criteria set out by your RPA.

Balancing natural light in a building design is of key importance, but also highlighting special features and having the right amount of light in each space depending on the task at hand, having light fittings that provide a long life, good light levels, look atheistically pleasing but also work correctly in the event of an emergency evacuation, we also work with you on positioning and support restraints for operating theatre lights and examination or dental lights achieving the right balance throughout the practice.

When running through your project we discuss your requirements for Medical gases and scavenging, early on we will make provision for bottle storage, whether this is an external unit or internally stored within a clinical waste store, the design for ease of ingress for bottle delivery / collection is something that is considered in the concept design, together with positioning of the bottle for distribution to the clinical areas.  At the construction phase work alongside your chosen supplier to ensure the pipework routes and outlets within the rooms or specialty fittings such as the service column are detailed and programmed into the works at an early stage.

Whilst we do not include for kennels and cages within the build process as this is a personal choice such as stainless steel, polypropylene, stainless steel bars to the cage doors or fully glazed there are so many different manufacturers or variations in the design, we simply form the room around the amount of cages or kennels your building requires, at all times having separate cat & dog wards, vision panels for monitoring where possible, ensuring there is power for heat pads or monitoring equipment together with medical gas, all in all getting creative with storage of cat baskets but also bearing in mind ease of use and welfare of staff with transferring and monitoring patients.

If you are looking to incorporate a CT scanner in your existing building, extension or new build there are certain criteria such as size of room, positioning of the equipment in a building and most importantly is access to that room for firstly delivery of the equipment and future repair and maintenance as it’s a large investment in both the equipment but also in your building so it’s important to plan around the equipment rather than the other way from the outset.  Whether hydrotherapy walker, grooming room, MRI suite or orthopaedic theatre, we are able to adapt to utilise are knowledge of the requirements to incorporate into the design, plan and manage the installation as required.