Pipe boxing for social housing – covering up with Encasement
For social landlords, large quantities of exposed pipework can present several challenges as part of their property management processes, particularly when dealing with older housing stock requiring upgrades, such as fuel efficient low-carbon heating improvements or retrofit fire sprinkler systems.
To illustrate this, the upgrading boilers to more fuel-efficient models, with their associated new radiator pipework, or the installation of low-carbon heating solutions, such as ground source heat pump and shared loop arrays, all involve the surface mounting of pipes. In many cases, other utilities, such as electrical cabling, will also need to be concealed.
It’s a similar situation for fire sprinkler systems where pipework needs to be located within individual flats and communal areas. In new builds, they can be readily incorporated into at the design stage and can be hidden within risers and ceiling voids. For retrofitted installations, this is not an option and surface mounting of sprinkler pipework is usually the only practical solution.
A key benefit 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, Encasement’s Riva; Versa 5 and Versa 8 pipe & fire sprinkler boxing, alongside its boiler pipe casings, have become the preferred solution for many HAs and LAs and are in widespread use in social housing projects across the UK. Manufactured from pre-
formed plywood and pre-finished with a decorative resin impregnated paper, which removes the need for on-site fabrication and painting, which helps save time and money.
Where exterior services, need to be concealed, such as distributed heating and ground source loop array pipework, or electrical cabling and air source heat pump installations, Arma metal casings provide a highly effective solution. Bespoke manufactured to individual project specifications from 2mm thick aluminium, as standard, they provide tough and durable protection.
A further advantage to Encasement’s pre-formed casings becomes clearer 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 difficult and potentially 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.
On site, time is money, which is why the simplicity, speed and economies that can be achieved using preformed boxing solutions can be a key advantage when planning housing upgrade programmes.
