What equipment you need:

1. Something to draw on.

I always like to use graph paper, but you can of course use anything where you can fit the right amount of detail that you want on! Lined, plain etc. But I find this helps keep my lines a bit straighter! Pencil / Pen – whatever works.

2. A Measuring device!!!

A tape measure - 5m would be best, 10m would be awesome. Or an electronic one for the long distances. These are really great, but if you’re just measuring something as a one off, you don’t need to go to the expense of buying a ‘leccy’ one. A tape measure will do just fine.

3. A marker.

If you’re using a tape measure, and the room is bigger than the tape measure goes – you need an item to mark out where the end of the tape goes to. I’ve used all kinds of inanimate objects before – tape dispenser, phone, cup – something that won’t move!

To get started.

Draw the layout of the room in the middle of the page, leave plenty of space around the edges to make notes and put measurements on. We’re using a fairly standard rectangular example here (because if its really complicated, we could come out and do the job for you!)

Start in one corner and work your way around the room. If you’re using an electronic measure, this is fairly straightforward – point and click your way around. If you’re using the tape measure, having someone to help will make this easier. Use the marker to show you where the next full length is measured from – and don’t forget to add them together.

Use millimetres so you get things as exact as you can. – feet and inches is a no-no, centimetres is ok.

Write down the units as you go, along the outside of the wall layout on your plan – I find this makes it less cramped in the middle for any radiators, windows, sockets you might want to add in the space.

Our example includes radiators and floor boxes – I’ve written a key at the bottom and then added these to the inside of the layout to show where they go. These aren’t always essential, but its useful to annotate where sockets and data go along walls so we know where the furniture might go best.

Add any doors and the way that they swing using a quarter shape. And measure the size of the door, so you know how far that comes out. (not the door frame)

Where you have complicated bits, such as a beam in the middle or a bit that ‘sticks out’ just measure the width/depth of the item and how far it might be from a wall. It’s useful to give 2 points of reference, such as two walls to measure from.

You should now have a reasonable sketch of your office and its measurements. You can send this to us, and we will draw that up on CAD and be able to discuss what furniture you need in the space.