The ideal design for your medical or veterinary fitout can be influenced by many factors. From how you want to deliver your services, to local planning restrictions, there can be a lot to consider. A major factor that can dictate a lot of your decision making is your budget. This will ultimately determine what you can achieve.

How much should you expect to pay for a medical or vet fitout? Here we look at the various elements that can affect the cost of both the design and build. To help with your budgeting, we have also outlined some indicative costs for the different types of veterinary and medical fitouts.

The Main Types of Veterinary and Medical Fitouts

Most medical and veterinary fitouts will fall into one of two main categories – warm shell fitouts or cold shell fitouts.

Warm Shell Fitouts

A warm shell is a commercial space with all services connected, but an interior that is largely unfinished. These spaces often have key fixtures in place, like fire systems, air conditioning, and even lighting and ceilings.

Warm Shell fitouts are generally less involved and less expensive.

Cold Shell Fitouts

A cold shell is essentially just that – a shell. The term generally refers to a space that has both an unfinished interior and minimal (if any) services connected. This usually means no lighting, finished floors, or ceilings, and no interior walls or partitions.

This generally means that there is more work required to fit out the space to a standard suitable for a medical or veterinary practice.

Is a Warm or Cold Sell Fitout Better?

It’s reasonable to assume that a warm shell would be the best option for a new clinic. However, this would depend on your requirements as cold shells can give you greater control over your design and layout. Suitable warm shell spaces can also be more difficult to find and can often come at a premium.

If you are unable to find a space that suits your plans, you may need to consider building your own. This allows you to design a clinic that is perfectly tailored to your specific needs. However, as it can mean starting from scratch, it can be much more expensive and time-consuming.

Other Factors Affecting the Fitout Cost

Size

The size of the space will also have a major impact on the cost of design, construction, and fittings.

Generally, once over a certain size, costs can be roughly calculated on a square meter rate, as the area will dictate the fitout cost.

Fixed Costs

There are certain fixed costs that will apply to all medical and vet fitouts, regardless of size. This includes things like design costs, planning approvals, and site establishment fees. For this reason, medical and veterinary fitouts in smaller spaces tend to cost more per square metre than in larger spaces.

Location

The location of your new practice can also have a major impact on the cost of the construction and fitout. For example, if you are planning to open a clinic in a remote area, getting materials and trades to the site could be more expensive. On the other hand, some shopping centres and inner-city sites have specific additional costs imposed by building management or council conditions.

For more information on designing your vet clinic, we have covered 11 things you need to consider in a previous blog post.

Indicative Costs for your Medical or Veterinary Fitout

With all the above in mind, it’s clear that fitout budgets can vary significantly depending on their size and scope, as well as the level of finish required and any special requirement ts or equipment. You will need to speak to an experienced fitout specialist, like Cyclo Group, to get accurate costs. As a guide, we have outlined below what you could expect to pay.

  • Warm Shell Fitout: $1,800 – $2,500 per square metre.
  • Cold Shell Fitout: $2,600 – $3,200 per square metre.
  • New Clinic Construction: $5,000 – $6,000 per square metre.

Some points to bear in mind;

  • Very small fitouts can be more expensive per sqm
  • Small extensions to buildings can also be well over new build costs per sqm
  • Fitout rates above wouldn’t include for example replacement of shopfronts or other external works
  • New build costs in particular can be heavily affected by site conditions and constraints

Want more information?

To discuss a quote for a medical or veterinary fitout, contact Cyclo Group today. We are experts in medical fitouts and veterinary construction, with over 30 years of experience designing and delivering fit-for-purpose spaces.

For more information on our services, or to arrange a detailed quote, contact our friendly team today!