Shopfitting glossary
The fit-out terms contractors, landlords and agents use, in plain English.
- Shopfitting
- The design, manufacture and installation of the interior of a shop or commercial unit, including joinery, fixtures, finishes and the services behind them.
- Fit-out
- The work that makes a building shell or vacant unit ready for a specific occupier to use and trade from.
- Shell and core
- A unit delivered with structure, envelope and capped services, but no internal finishes.
- Cat A fit-out
- A basic landlord fit-out that makes a space usable, typically ceilings, lighting and services.
- Cat B fit-out
- The occupier's own fit-out that tailors a space to their business.
- Licence for alterations
- The landlord's formal written consent for a tenant to alter leased premises.
- Strip-out
- Removing the previous occupier's fixtures, finishes and redundant services back to a clean shell.
- First fix
- Installing services and framing before walls and ceilings are closed, such as cabling, pipework and stud work.
- Second fix
- Fitting the visible parts after plastering, such as sockets, light fittings, skirting and ironmongery.
- Stud partition
- An internal wall built from metal or timber studs lined with plasterboard.
- Suspended ceiling
- A ceiling hung on a grid below the structural soffit, hiding services and allowing access to them.
- Gondola
- A freestanding, double-sided shelving unit used in aisles.
- Slatwall
- A grooved wall panel that takes interchangeable hooks, shelves and brackets.
- Cash desk
- The retail counter where payments are taken, usually with EPOS, storage and a bag shelf.
- Back bar
- The shelving and equipment run behind a bar counter.
- Fascia
- The board above a shopfront that carries the business name.
- Stallriser
- The solid panel beneath a shop window, between the glass and the pavement.
- Transom
- A horizontal bar dividing glazing, often above a shop door.
- Mullion
- A vertical bar dividing panes of glazing.
- Advertisement consent
- Permission from the local planning authority to display certain signs, especially illuminated ones.
- Building warrant
- Approval needed in Scotland before starting most building work, including many fit-outs.
- Completion certificate
- Confirmation from building control that the work meets the building regulations.
- Extraction canopy
- The hood over commercial cooking equipment that captures heat, grease and fumes.
- Grease trap
- A device on kitchen drainage that separates fats, oils and grease before they reach the sewer.
- Snagging
- Identifying and fixing small defects before handover.
- Practical completion
- The point at which work is finished apart from minor snags and the unit can be used.
- Retention
- A percentage of the contract sum held back until defects are put right.
- EPOS
- Electronic point of sale: tills, card readers and the software that runs them.
- Visual merchandising
- Arranging products and displays to guide customers and increase sales.
- Planogram
- A diagram showing where each product sits on shelving.
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