What is a Modular Office?
A modular office is a prefabricated interior building. It is typically utilized in manufacturing and warehouse facilities. Their purpose is to quickly and efficiently create office and work space within an existing facility. Included are all interior necessities such as flooring, lighting, HVAC, electrical, network, doors, and window configurations. They can be installed anywhere within your existing facility and outfitted to any specification.
A few examples of how they’re used include office space, break rooms, control rooms, clean rooms, and guard houses. You might consider a installing a modular office if you’re company has outgrown its main office space, but has room in the warehouse to convert to extra office space. Rather than leasing or buying new space, a modular office build out is far more cost effective.
For what reason should I choose a modular office over a traditional interior build out?
There are a couple reasons, modular may be a better fit.
The first is flexibility:
All the components of the modular office are prefabricated. In other words everything is pre-made, whereas in traditional build outs most fabrication (wood cutting, framing, drywall plastering) is done on site. This allows for faster assembly. Modular offices are also portable. They can be moved to different locations throughout the facility as needed.
Secondly, there are financial advantages to building modular offices; specifically in the tax realm.
You are able to depreciate the cost of the modular build outs over the course of 7 years. In traditional construction it takes 31 1/2 years to depreciate fully.
Let’s look at an example:
Take a Modular Office purchased for $30,000. The asset depreciates completely over a period of 7 years. Assuming a 34% tax bracket, the overall tax savings for the buildout would be $10,200 ($30,000 x .34 = $10,200). Over that same 7 year period the traditional build out would still have 24 ½ years left to fully depreciate. The tax savings come to the consumer sooner.
Whether you’re looking for more space or better functioning space modular offices are a great solution. For warehouses and manufacturing facilities, I would recommend modular offices most every time because of their incredible flexibility in changing environments and practical financial advantages.
Casey Moore
Steiner B. Moore Corp.
Casey@steinerbmoore.com