First fix and second fix are terms used in the UK and Irish

housebuilding Home construction or residential construction is the process of constructing a house, apartment building, or similar residential building generally referred to as a 'home' when giving consideration to the people who might now or someday reside th ...

and commercial building construction industry. First fix comprises all the work needed to take a

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

from

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

to putting

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for Molding (decorative), moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of ...

on the internal

wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...

s. This includes constructing walls,

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...

s and

ceiling A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

s, and inserting

cables Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

for electrical supply and

pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...

for

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

. Some argue that First Fix starts after the shell of the building is complete, and ends when the walls are plastered. Here is a list, in no particular order, of the elements of First Fix. * Drain runs: must be downhill and straight * Spare conduits: draw strings * Soil pipes * Copper pipes * MVHR (mechanical

heat recovery ventilation Heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), is an energy recovery ventilation system which works between two air sources at different temperatures. Heat recovery is a method which is used to reduce ...

runs) * Push-fit or other plastic piping * Electrical back boxes * Electricity cable runs * Telephone, data and audiovisual cables * Socket location * Security * Fire alarm * Normal pipes * Door bell * Door frames * Pocket doorframes * Stair well: floating / cantilevered? * Sound insulation * Plasterboarding The list is not exhaustive. Second fix comprises all the work after the plastering of a finished house. Electrical fixtures are connected to the cables,

sink A sink is a bowl-shaped plumbing fixture for washing hands, dishwashing, and other purposes. Sinks have a tap (faucet) that supply hot and cold water and may include a spray feature to be used for faster rinsing. They also include a drain to ...

s and baths connected to the pipes, and

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

s fitted into doorframes. Second fix work requires a neater finish than first fix. The division of work is a convenient description because

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

s and

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...

s will probably have to make two separate visits to one property under construction, at separate times.

Project manager A project manager is a professional in the field of project management. Project managers have the responsibility of the planning, procurement and execution of a project, in any undertaking that has a defined scope, defined start and a defined f ...

s can report "first fix complete" or "second fix 50% done" and others can understand. Some construction companies specialise in first fix work or second fix work, but most do both. In North America, terms such as roughing in and finishing or rough-in and finish work are often heard, referring to similar concepts. Another related set of terms is outside work and inside work (the building is closed to the weather when the latter occurs). Carpenters speak of rough work and trim work (or framing versus trimming), and other fields have analogues, such as

machining Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...

(roughing versus finishing cuts) and communications (rough

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

versus revised draft).

Electrical installations and "third fixes"

Electrical installations can be further divided into first, second and third fixes: * First Fix: Positioning and securing of accessory boxes * Second Fix: Preparation and positioning of cables * Third Fix: Termination of conductors to accessories and protective devices As modern society's reliance on technology increases, the need to properly house sensitive electronic equipment becomes a greater concern. The installation of this equipment takes place in the "third fix" segment of a construction project. It is especially important that installation of sensitive electronic equipment be installed only when a construction site is dust-controlled and prepared for what would be considered "dust free" conditions. For example, for the modern computer

server room A server room is a room, usually air-conditioned, devoted to the continuous operation of computer servers. An entire building or station devoted to this purpose is a data center. The computers in server rooms are usually headless systems that c ...

, equipment would be installed only when dust and atmospheric conditions are minimized and controlled. Similar to the atmospheric needs of medical and scientific research laboratories, the production of

discrete Discrete may refer to: *Discrete particle or quantum in physics, for example in quantum theory * Discrete device, an electronic component with just one circuit element, either passive or active, other than an integrated circuit *Discrete group, a ...

semiconductor device A semiconductor device is an electronic component that relies on the electronic properties of a semiconductor material (primarily silicon, germanium, and gallium arsenide, as well as organic semiconductors) for its function. Its conductivity li ...

s and

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

s is undertaken in a

cleanroom A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

atmosphere where low levels of environmental pollutants such as particulates and airborne microbes are strictly minimised and most preferably eliminated. The UK national building specifications, British Standard 5295:1989, specifically addresses "clean room" environments serving electronics manufacturers, as well as the pharmaceutical industry (the Pharmaceutical Industry has, for some time, worked to the ISO standard 14644 which is subtly different). Standard 5295:1989 specifically pertains to constructed interior spaces where higher than normal environmental standards must be maintained, in order to control particulate contamination, temperature and humidity. It is only at the third fix stage, when building site conditions are rendered virtually ''dust free'', so as to minimise the introduction, generation and retention of particles which may contaminate equipment serving the electronics and pharmaceuticals manufacturing process, that the build-out of "clean room" spaces can commence.

References

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