An office refurbishment in Dublin typically costs between €400 and €900 per square metre, depending on the scope of work. That’s a significant investment — but so is doing nothing. A tired, poorly configured office quietly drains productivity, talent, and money every month it stays unchanged. Here’s how to tell if your workspace has reached that tipping point, and what a refurbishment actually costs in today’s market.
How do you know when your office needs a refurbishment?
Most businesses don’t wake up one morning and decide to refurbish. It’s a slow accumulation of friction — the meeting room that’s always booked, the reception that no longer impresses clients, the energy bill that keeps climbing. The signs are usually obvious in hindsight, but easy to normalise when you see them every day.
We’ve completed refurbishments across Dublin for companies ranging from 10 to 300+ staff. The triggers tend to fall into five categories. If two or more apply to your office, it’s worth having a serious conversation about what a refurbishment could do for your business.
Sign 1 — Your office layout no longer fits how your team works
This is the most common trigger we see. Your office was designed for a team that worked differently — perhaps before hybrid working, before you hired a design team, or before your sales department doubled in size. The layout hasn’t kept pace with how your people actually spend their days.
Typical symptoms include:
- Not enough meeting rooms. A 2024 survey by Morgan McKinley found that 68% of Dublin-based office workers now split their week between home and office. When people come in, they come in for collaboration — and that requires bookable spaces, not rows of empty desks.
- Too many fixed desks. If your office has 80 desks but average daily occupancy is 45 people, you’re paying rent on space that serves no purpose. A refurbishment can introduce hot-desking, focus pods, and breakout areas without increasing your footprint.
- No quiet zones. Open-plan offices without acoustic separation force people to book meeting rooms just to take a phone call. That’s an expensive use of space.
A well-planned refurbishment restructures the floor plate around actual work patterns. We typically start with a two-week occupancy study before touching a single wall. Learn more about our approach to office refurbishments.
Sign 2 — Wear and tear is affecting staff morale and client perception
Offices age faster than most people expect. Carpet tiles in high-traffic areas show wear within three to four years. Painted walls in breakout spaces start looking tired after two. Ceiling tiles stain. Door handles loosen. None of these are catastrophic individually, but collectively they send a message — to your staff and your clients — that the business isn’t investing in itself.
A cosmetic refresh (new flooring, paint, lighting, and soft furnishings) can transform perception without structural work. These projects typically come in at €400–€550 per square metre in Dublin and can be completed in two to four weeks with minimal disruption.
If your last refurbishment was more than seven years ago, the wear is almost certainly more visible than you think. Ask someone visiting for the first time — their reaction will tell you everything.
Sign 3 — Your lease renewal is approaching
Lease events are natural decision points. In Dublin’s commercial property market, a typical office lease runs for five to ten years, with a break clause at year three or five. When that date approaches, you have three options: move, renew, or renegotiate.
If the space fundamentally works for your business — the location is right, the floor plate suits your headcount — a refurbishment during lease renewal often makes more financial sense than relocating. Moving offices in Dublin costs roughly €1,200–€1,800 per square metre when you factor in dilapidations, agent fees, fit-out of the new space, and downtime. A refurbishment of your current space at €400–€900/m² can deliver a like-new office at half to two-thirds of the cost of moving.
Some landlords will contribute to refurbishment costs as part of a lease renewal negotiation, particularly in buildings where vacancy rates are above average. It’s worth having that conversation early.
Sign 4 — You’re losing talent to competitors with better offices
This one stings, but it’s real. A 2023 study by the CIPD Ireland found that 41% of employees cited workplace environment as a factor in accepting or declining a job offer. For sectors competing for the same talent pool — tech, financial services, professional services — the physical office is part of the employment package.
We’ve worked with several Dublin firms who initiated refurbishments specifically after exit interviews flagged the office environment. One professional services firm on Fitzwilliam Square saw their Glassdoor rating for “office and culture” improve from 3.1 to 4.3 within six months of completing a refurbishment.
It’s not about installing slide-out desks or putting a beer fridge in reception. It’s about providing a workspace that adults actually want to use — good light, comfortable temperatures, proper acoustics, and spaces that support different types of work. Our commercial fit-out service covers everything from space planning to furniture procurement.
Sign 5 — Your energy costs are climbing
Older offices tend to be energy-inefficient. Single-glazed partitions, outdated HVAC systems, fluorescent lighting, and poor insulation all contribute to energy bills that are higher than they need to be.
Replacing fluorescent tubes with LED panels typically reduces lighting energy consumption by 50–65%. Upgrading to a modern VRF (Variable Refrigerant Flow) air conditioning system can cut heating and cooling costs by 30–40% compared to older split systems. These aren’t marginal gains — for a 500 m² office in Dublin, the annual energy saving can be €8,000–€15,000, which means the refurbishment partly pays for itself over the lease term.
There’s also the regulatory angle. Ireland’s Climate Action Plan targets a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030. Buildings account for roughly 12% of national emissions, and commercial property is increasingly under scrutiny. A BER (Building Energy Rating) upgrade during refurbishment future-proofs your space against tightening regulations. Read more about our approach to sustainability in office fit-outs.
How much does an office refurbishment cost in Dublin?
Refurbishment costs in Dublin vary significantly depending on scope. Here’s a realistic breakdown based on projects we’ve delivered in 2024 and 2025:
| Scope of Work | Cost per m² (ex. VAT) | What’s Included | Typical Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmetic Refresh | €400 – €550 | New flooring, paint, lighting upgrades, soft furnishings, minor joinery | 2 – 4 weeks |
| Partial Refurbishment | €550 – €750 | Layout changes, new partitions, updated M&E (mechanical & electrical), kitchen/breakout fit-out, furniture | 4 – 8 weeks |
| Full Refurbishment | €750 – €900+ | Strip back to shell, new layout, full M&E, ceilings, floors, bespoke joinery, AV, IT infrastructure | 8 – 14 weeks |
For a 300 m² office (a common size for 30–50 staff in Dublin), that translates to:
- Cosmetic refresh: €120,000 – €165,000
- Partial refurbishment: €165,000 – €225,000
- Full refurbishment: €225,000 – €270,000+
These figures include professional fees (design, project management, quantity surveying) but exclude VAT and furniture unless stated. Use our Fit-Out Estimator for a quick budget figure tailored to your space, or read our detailed office fit-out cost guide for a full breakdown.
What’s the difference between a refurbishment and a fit-out?
People use these terms interchangeably, but they describe different things:
- Refurbishment means upgrading or renovating an existing, occupied (or recently vacated) office. You’re working with the bones of a space that’s already been fitted out. The goal is to modernise, reconfigure, or refresh without starting from scratch.
- Fit-out means building a workspace from a shell or bare condition — typically when moving into a new lease. You’re creating the office from the ground up: partitions, ceilings, M&E, finishes, furniture, everything.
In practice, many projects blur the line. A “refurbishment” that strips an office back to its shell and rebuilds it is functionally a fit-out. The distinction matters mainly for budgeting — fit-outs from shell tend to cost more (€800–€1,400/m²) because there’s more base building work involved.
We handle both. Our refurbishments service page has more detail on what’s involved, or you can explore our commercial fit-out page if you’re moving into new premises.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we stay in the office during a refurbishment?
It depends on the scope. Cosmetic refreshes can often be done in phases — one floor or zone at a time — so your team stays on-site throughout. Full refurbishments usually require temporary relocation for 8–14 weeks. We develop phasing plans specifically to minimise disruption, and can advise on short-term serviced office options in Dublin if needed.
How long does an office refurbishment take from start to finish?
Allow 4–6 weeks for design and planning, then 2–14 weeks for construction depending on scope. A cosmetic refresh of a 300 m² office can be turned around in 2–3 weeks on site. A full refurbishment of the same space typically takes 10–12 weeks. We provide a fixed programme at contract stage so you can plan around it.
Do I need planning permission for an office refurbishment in Dublin?
Internal refurbishments rarely require planning permission, as they don’t alter the external appearance or use of the building. However, you’ll likely need a fire safety certificate if you’re changing the layout significantly, and landlord consent is required for most works in leased premises. We handle the compliance side as part of our project management service.
Is it cheaper to refurbish or relocate?
In almost every case, refurbishing is cheaper. Relocating a 300 m² office in Dublin typically costs €360,000–€540,000 when you include dilapidations on your current lease, agent fees, fit-out of the new space, IT migration, and business downtime. A full refurbishment of the same space runs €225,000–€270,000. The gap narrows if your current building has fundamental issues (structural problems, poor floor plate, wrong location), but for most businesses, refurbishment is the more cost-effective route.
About the Author
Simon Chawner, AssocSCSI, is co-founder and Quantity Surveyor at Chawner & Trench. With over 15 years’ experience in commercial refurbishment and fit-out projects across Dublin, Simon specialises in cost planning and procurement strategy. He provides honest, data-driven budget advice to help businesses make informed decisions about their workspace investment.
