The Commercial Strip-Out Checklist

A strip-out is fast, noisy work that happens inside someone else's building, usually on a deadline. The physical removal is rarely the hard part. The planning is. Use this checklist from the first conversation to the final handover.

1. Define the scope

• Know why the space is being stripped. A lease make good, a new fit-out or a sale each set the scope differently.
• Get the governing document. The lease make good clause, the landlord's schedule, or the incoming designer's demolition plan.
• Walk the space with a floor plan. Mark every item: partitions, glazing, joinery, kitchens, ceilings, floor coverings, signage, supplementary air conditioning, server rooms, security and access control, cabling.
• List what stays. Base building services, landlord's items, anything the incoming tenant wants to keep. Tag these on site.
• Define the finish. Removal only, or reinstatement too — ceilings, paint, carpet, lighting.
• Agree the scope in writing with whoever will sign it off.

2. Building and landlord approvals

• Landlord or building manager approval for the works.
• Building rules — permitted hours, noisy-work windows, loading dock and lift use.
• Work permits — general works, hot works, fire isolations and any roof or plant room access.
• Contractor inductions for everyone who will be on site.
• Insurance certificates and other documents the building manager requires.
• Safe work method statements for high-risk work.
• Council or certifier approval if the work goes beyond the tenant fit-out or affects structure, fire safety or the building's approved use. Check with the building manager and a certifier if unsure.

3. Hazardous materials

• Check the asbestos register. Workplaces in buildings constructed before the national ban are generally required to have one. Read it before any work that could disturb ceilings, floors, walls or service risers.
• Survey areas not covered. If the works will disturb areas the register does not cover, arrange further inspection by a competent person before they are opened up.
• Use a licensed asbestos removalist for any asbestos in the scope, with clearance before general strip-out continues in that area.
• Identify other hazards — synthetic mineral fibre insulation, refrigerants in air conditioning and cool rooms, old fluorescent fittings and batteries, and any chemicals left by the tenant.

Asbestos rules are specific and are enforced. If you are unsure what applies, check with SafeWork NSW (or your state regulator) or a licensed asbestos assessor before work begins.

4. Services isolation and make-safe

• Electrical — circuits isolated and made safe by a licensed electrician, with redundant cabling traced back to the source.
• Data and communications — identify what is live, what belongs to the base building and what can be removed.
• Plumbing and gas — capped by licensed plumbers and gasfitters.
• Fire services — sprinklers, detectors, speakers and exit signage isolated and reinstated only through the building's fire services contractor and permit process.
• Mechanical — supplementary units decommissioned, refrigerant recovered by a licensed technician.
• Security and access control — disconnected by the right contractor, with the building told.
• Base building services protected — they are the landlord's, and damage is expensive.

5. Logistics

• Working hours fixed for noisy, quiet and after-hours work.
• Loading dock and goods lift booked for every waste run.
• Route protection — lift linings, floor protection and corner guards through common areas.
• Neighbouring tenants told what is happening and when.
• Street loading — in dense centres, check whether a work zone or loading permit is needed.
• Dust, noise and vibration controls agreed with the building manager.

6. Waste, recycling and salvage

• Waste plan — how each stream is separated: metals, timber, plasterboard, glass, carpet, ceiling tiles, general waste.
• Recycling targets if the landlord or tenant has sustainability requirements, with disposal records to prove it.
• Salvage — racking, cool rooms, glass partitions, furniture and commercial kitchen equipment may have resale value if removed intact and a buyer is lined up.
• Asbestos and other regulated waste kept separate and disposed of at licensed facilities, with records.
• E-waste from IT and AV equipment handled through a proper e-waste channel.

7. During the works

• Daily sign-in and adherence to building rules.
• Progress photos, especially before ceilings and walls are closed or removed.
• Stop-work triggers — anything unexpected, such as suspected asbestos or live services, stops the work in that area until it is checked.
• Clean common areas at the end of every shift.

8. Handover

• Walk-through with the landlord, building manager or incoming builder against the agreed scope.
• Defects list closed out promptly.
• Documentation handed over — asbestos clearance certificates, electrical and fire isolation records, waste and recycling records, and photos.
• Services confirmed safe and base building systems operating.
• Keys, cards and access fobs returned.
• Permits closed with the building manager.

Common mistakes

• Starting from a walk-through instead of the lease. The document defines the job; the floor only shows what is there.
• Leaving approvals too late. Building bookings and permits can take longer than the physical works.
• Assuming the ceiling is clear. Services, cabling and sometimes asbestos hide above it.
• Stripping out a base building item. Once it is gone, reinstating it is on the tenant.
• No photos. Without them, any dispute becomes one person's word against another's.

If you're in Sydney, we can walk the space, write the scope against your lease or design, and quote the strip-out as a fixed price.

Where to go next

• Office strip outs — removing a fit-out in an occupied building.
• Retail strip outs — shopfronts and tenancies within centre rules.
• Strip-out cost guide — rough bands and what moves them.