In any property, whether it’s a new build or a refurbishment project, there are often exposed interior and exterior pipes that need concealing to improve safety or aesthetics. Covering exterior pipework is also common practice to provide protection from accidental damage and act as a deterrent to tampering or vandalism.
For social housing providers, large quantities of exposed pipework can present several challenges, as part of the property management process, especially when dealing with older housing stock requiring upgrades such as retro-fit fire sprinkler systems or low-carbon, fuel efficient heating system improvements.
To illustrate this, where fire sprinklers need to be located within individual flats and communal areas, they can be readily incorporated into new builds at the design stage and can be hidden within risers and ceiling voids. However, for retro-fitted installations, this is not an option and in most cases the surface mounting of sprinkler pipework is the only practical cost-effective solution.
It’s a similar situation for heating system refurbishment programmes. Upgrading boilers to more fuel-efficient models together with new radiator pipework or the installation of low-carbon district heating schemes, all involve the surface mounting of pipes and, in many cases, electrical cabling, all of which need to be concealed.
A key advantages of surface mounted pipework, whether it’s for sprinklers, heating systems or boilers, is the simplicity and comparative speed with which it can be installed by skilled contractors, which helps keep costs under control. Clearly, choosing a method of concealment that is also quick and easy to install, makes sound economic and practical sense.
Encasement’s pre-formed plywood boxing and casing solutions have become the preferred solution for many HAs and LAs when concealing interior pipework, while its ‘Arma’ range of metal pipe boxing, manufactured from tough aluminium, is used to cover and protect exterior services, such as gas supply pipes, electrical cabling and distributed heating pipework.
For interior use, the company’s comprehensive range includes Riva; Versa 5 and Versa 8 pipe and fire sprinkler boxing products, as well as boiler pipe casings, which are all pre-finished in white melamine. This removes the need for on-site painting, which helps save time and money.
Information gathered by Encasement from its own experience of working with contractors on countless UK social housing projects has shown that the company’s pre-formed pipe and fire sprinkler boxing can be fitted in less than half the time of traditional boxing methods that are fabricated on site.
A further advantage to Encasement’s pre-formed casings is apparent when assessing ‘whole life’ costs, which escalate significantly when routine maintenance visits are considered. In most situations, site made casings are damaged or destroyed during their removal, as screw heads are usually filled and painted over, making them impossible or extremely time consuming to dismantle or re-assemble.
Managing routine maintenance and inspection can also become more complex. For example, a joiner may be required to remove the site made boxing prior to any maintenance being carried out by a service engineer and would then need to revisit the property once the work is completed to either refit the casing or construct a new one.
With preformed pipe boxing solutions, it is usually a simple process of removing the securing screws and then the individual lengths of boxing can be removed and replaced quickly and easily. For boiler pipe casings, this process is even simpler, as they are often self-supporting and require no screws to hold them together, so they can be easily removed and replaced in just a matter of seconds.
With more than 40 years manufacturing experience in the design, manufacture and supply of casings to this sector, Encasement estimates that well over 100,000 kilometres of its pipe-boxing have already been installed in social housing projects throughout the UK.