Indoff - Movable Walls - Weblog

Sustainability

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:00:33 CDT

Sustainable

Rapid reconfiguration with reusable parts, fewer trades and no demolition.

And with the Indoor Advantage certified components, movable walls helps improve indoor air quality and contribute points for LEED projects.

Going Green at the Office

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:26:06 CDT

So what the heck is a green workplace, anyway? Start with the building. If it meets standards for water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, it can be certified by a nonprofit called the U.S. Green Building Council. The council created its LEED (which stands for leadership in energy and environmental design) certification in 2000 in response to the demand for standardization in the area of green architecture.

Movable walls assist with LEED certification with the materials used in the components of the walls. And more importantly whenever a company needs to move or reconfigure the interior layout of the walls, they will now reuse the materials. In conventional drywall configuration you would be hauling all of the old materials to your local landfill.

New Look

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:12:44 CST

Change seems to be the one constant in the Office Environment today. Either you need to change the layout to accomodate a new job function, or you need to add more furniture to accomodate more employees. Movable walls are a great answer to keep change in the office but not have such a large expense in construction costs. It always seems that once we change an office size, in a year or two we need to change it back to the way it was. Modular walls allow you to move a wall around without feeling guilty that you may have to move it back in a year.

Electrical issues

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 12:11:32 CST

Save money on rewiring. In many cases, movable walls offer the option of prewired data and power that can be factory installed for vertical or horizontal distribution. This represents significant cost savings. Some of the highest costs during initial installation and subsequent reconfigurations are the costs of moving voice and data lines through conventional drywall. You are not limited on the type and amount of data and network cables you can have installed nor location is not a problem either.

Movable Walls - Why?

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 16:59:18 CDT

Why Buy Movable Walls?

Minimal permitting requirements and G.C. involvement simplify the construction process.
Installs faster with minimal mess, dust, disruption; over carpet, after building finish-out, shortening overall the construction time line.
Work can be done incrementally allowing for weekend, evening installations while customer occupies space and productivity is minimally affected.
Easy to move, reconfigurable, responsive to new demands, new tenants, non-progressive/unitized construction.
More durable than traditional construction methods (drywall), less maintanance.
Can offer greater acoustical privacy.
Has the ability to hang multiple manufacturer's systems furniture.

Still not sure? contact us to help explain in more detail.

Technology

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:31:51 CDT

Power and communications adaptablility are essential to the effective working of every office environment. Movable walls provide the abiilty to integrate electrical, data and communications requirements while still providing flexibility, ease of reconfiguration and a superior finished and functional product.

Power/data cables can be routed through movable walls panel interior with standard outlets installed at any height on the panel surface, integrate modular power components through the wall panels or panel connectors.

Electric Capabilities:

Panel interiors act as cable management conduits.
Modular 4-circuit power capabilities install anywhere within panel
Standard receptacle plates installed in base trim and/or at any height in panel
Panels are shipped with electrical conduit installed ready to connect to buildings's electrical sources.

Building Sustainability

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:15:54 CDT

Buildings have a tremendous impact on environmental quality, resource use, and human health and productivity. Sustainable building meets current building needs and reduces impacts on future generations by integrating building materials and methods that promote environmental quality, economic vitality, and social benefit through the design, construction and operation of our built environment. Sustainable design encompasses the following broad topics:

efficient management of energy and water resources
management of material resources and waste
restoration and protection of environmental quality
enhancement and protection of health and indoor environmental quality
reinforcement of natural systems
analysis of the life cycle costs and benefits of materials and methods
integration of the design decision-making process

The benefits are many. Movable walls in the facility also adds benefit to the long term life span of the building. Each time a tenant needs to move around walls or add, it saves on materials, labor and protects our environment by not sending unusable materials to the local land fill. In planning how to incorporate sustainability into your facility, consider all the benefits movable walls can provide.

Sound Issues

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:01:40 CDT

Too much noise in an environment can cause too many distractions and therefore cause problems with employee production and concentration. Design of the space is one of the most crucial issues to consider when placing your movable walls. Here are some items to consider:

Group noisy equipment together in the same area.

Choose equipment that generates less noise.

Consider enclosing the noisy equipment with partitions.

Consider the travel of the sound and the acoustical
properties of the area.

Locate your office away from the noisy areas.

Choose an area that is isolated and protected.

Design the office with doors or windows facing away
from the noise source.

Design the office with matching sound deadening components.

Place closets or store rooms etc. on the walls closest
to the noise source.

It is usually less expensive to avoid noise problems than to correct them

Green, Green, Green

Tue, 24 Jul 2007 16:03:05 CDT

What is all this discussion about the color green? Regarding buildings, it is not the color that is the current hot button, but energy savings and saving the environment.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit composed of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

The U.S. Green Building Council's core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.

Installation - Drywall vs. Movable Walls

Fri, 20 Jul 2007 16:26:32 CDT

If you make a thorough comparison, you’ll see that you can achieve significant savings by implementing movable walls instead of drywall. When you add up complete project costs including those for installation, demolition, paint or coverings, hardware and the time required to install and reconfigure and all related hardware, you’ll see you come out ahead with movable walls. And of course, you get built-in flexibility that’s simply not possible with drywall. Compare for yourself.

Moveable Walls

Less expensive to install - only one trade required
No disposal costs on reconfiguration
Fast, clean installation.
Pre-finished - no further painting or finishing needed.
Less disruptive to employees
Reconfiguration can be done in hours

Drywall

Higher installation costs - six or more trades plus supervision required.
Reconfiguration requires disposal - adds to cost
Slow, messy installation.
Needs paint or other finishes - adds to time, costs, environmental considerations
Cannot be done with employees working nearby
Reconfiguration takes weeks

Above are just some points to take into consideration. Check into this link for more details.