A lift lobby is the front door of a fit-out. Everything and everyone passes through it, occupiers see it daily, and the finishes behind it are usually the most expensive on the floor. It is also usually protected with whatever was left over from the hoarding package, which is why lobbies are so often the worst-looking area at practical completion.
What actually happens in a lobby
Continuous wheeled traffic from material deliveries, repeated impacts from pallet trucks turning in a confined space, and idle contact from people waiting. Materials get stood against the walls because there is nowhere else. Then it is cleaned, often with whatever is to hand, several times a day.
Designing the protection as a room
Treat the lobby as a lined box rather than a set of surfaces. Floor panels and wall panels meeting at a sealed junction stop slurry and grit getting behind the protection, which is the usual cause of damage right at the skirting. A rebated or lipped joint at the floor-wall line is worth specifying up front because it cannot easily be added later. We covered the same principle for temporary partitions in temporary partitions and barriers.
Appearance during occupation
Occupied buildings need hoarding that looks deliberate. A flat, clean panel in a single colour reads as intentional; taped-up offcuts read as neglect. Where the client’s staff walk past daily, budget for replacing the most visible panels mid-programme. It is a small cost against the impression it protects.
Fire strategy usually governs
Lobbies frequently form part of an escape route or a fire-fighting lobby, which tightens the requirements considerably. Confirm the classification needed with the fire consultant and get it in writing before the hoarding package is ordered. Guessing here is expensive and, worse, unsafe.
Protection around the lift itself
Lift car and landing doors need specific protection, and lift contractors are usually protective of their own equipment. Agree with them what may be applied to the doors and architrave, in writing, before installation – adhesive residue on stainless lift doors is a common and avoidable handover dispute.
Strip-out order
Lobby hoarding usually comes down last, after final clean and before client demobilisation inspection. Sequence the floor protection to come up after the wall protection, otherwise grit falls behind panels onto a floor you have just finished cleaning.
Keeping the lobby usable for deliveries
The lobby is usually the only route for large deliveries, so protection has to accommodate materials passing through every day. Leave the walking route narrow and clear rather than protecting the whole floor: a defined clear corridor with protection either side handles both requirements, whereas full coverage tends to get walked on and damaged anyway.
Agree delivery windows with whoever is occupying the building, and align them with when protection is most firmly settled – not immediately after cleaning while surfaces are wet. Where oversized items are expected, plan for a temporary lifted section rather than discovering the constraint when the item is on the pavement outside.
Who cleans it
Lobby hoarding is cleaned more often than any other protection on a project and by whoever has a cloth, which is how unsuitable chemicals end up on it. Name who cleans it, with what, and how often – otherwise appearance degrades quickly in the one area the client sees every day. The occupied-corridor version of the same problem is in wall protection panels in live corridors.
What we can do
We cut honeycomb hoarding panels to size with sealed edges and coordinated returns so floor and wall protection meet cleanly. Send the lobby dimensions and whether it stays in use, and we will quote both the protection and the mid-programme replacement panels you are likely to need.