Do you hear private conversations in the office next door, even if you shut your door?

For some companies, this is merely a nuisance and productivity drain.  But in industries dealing with confidential legal, health, or financial information, a lack of privacy is a nonstarter and soundproof office space is essential.

To keep conversations from being heard through your office walls, your landlord must be notified during your lease negotiation that you have a special buildout requirement -acoustical treatments between interior office walls are not typically included in standard office designs.  Instead, interior walls are usually just metal and sheetrock.

Tenants who are concerned about a lack of privacy in their new office space should specifically request upgrades that will provide more sound-proofing.

These may include things like:

• Adding insulation in interior walls
• Extending the sheetrock all the way to the ceiling (instead of just above the ceiling tiles)
• Thicker glass for glass doors and walls
• Solid-core wood doors or insulated metal doors with sound seals
• Acoustical ceiling tiles

In addition, construction details should include acoustical caulking, staggered joints, framed penetrations around studs and appropriate sealing of penetrations.

Tenants with special office buildout requirements (such as sound proofing) should work with their tenant representation broker to make sure the tenant improvement work letter addresses the special requirements.

At Golden Group Real Estate, we specialize in tenant representation real estate services for office space users in the Chicago area, helping local business owners find office space and negotiate lease and purchase agreements. We never represent landlords, so we are prepared to negotiate aggressively on behalf of our tenant clients.

For more on Golden Group Real Estate, read about our real estate services.  Let us know if we can help you find office space for rent or buildings for sale.  Call us at (630) 805-2463, email us at troy@goldengroupcre.com, or enter your office space search criteria below.