Going undercover – Pipe boxing and casings for social housing

Pre-formed plywood casings from Encasement Ltd have been the preferred solution for social housing RMI for decades and with over than 30 years manufacturing experience in the sector, the company estimates that more than 100,000 kilometres of its pipe-boxing have already been installed in social housing sites throughout the UK.

Together with central heating upgrades and distributed heating system refurbishment projects, the growth in fire sprinkler installation is now another key area where the company’s specialised products are being widely used to conceal pipework.

Encasement’s fire sprinkler boxing, pipe boxing and boiler casings are constantly specified by HAs, LAs and their contractors to conceal interior pipework, while its ‘Arma’ range of tough, lightweight aluminium casings are used to cover and protect exterior services, such as gas supply pipes, electrical cabling and distributed heating pipework.

As one of the first manufacturers and suppliers of decorative casings to achieve the FSC® Chain of Custody Certification from the Forestry Stewardship Council, since 2010 Encasement has offered an FSC® certified option on its full range of pre-formed plywood casings to comply with customers’ sustainable procurement policies.

Also, all of the company’s plywood casings, which include the Riva; Versa 5 and Versa 8 ranges of pipe and fire sprinkler boxing products, together with its boiler pipe casing range, are pre-finished in white melamine which removes the need for on-site painting and helps save time and money on site.

Martin Taylor, Encasement’s Managing Director, explained: “From our experience of working with contractors on countless social housing projects where pipework needs to be concealed, we know that pipe and fire sprinkler boxing can be fitted in less than half the time of site made alternatives.”

For housing associations, local authorities and their contractors, this time saving provides a number of benefits. It helps ensure that heating systems, boilers and fire safety upgrades can be completed within shorter timescales. This minimises disruption for tenants and can also have a positive impact on improving maintenance and tenant satisfaction KPI’s.

Potentially the most important advantage is that the time taken to complete the projects can be reduced without compromising the quality or integrity of the installation, which can also help reduce costs.

“From day one, we set out to manufacture and supply the most comprehensive range of pipe boxing and casing products for the social housing sector and we now offer more than 200 different products, profiles and sizes within our standard range,” continued Martin Taylor.

He added: “Our Versa range of pre-formed pipe boxing has rapidly become a key solution for concealing retro-fitted fire sprinkler pipework in flats and communal areas, whilst the launch of our flame retardant Versa ‘FR’ boxing was a first for the market. Versa FR is also pre-finished in white, while our Arma aluminium casings can be specified and manufactured in any RAL colour.”

For more information visit the Encasement website

Tel: 01733 266 889

Email: sales@encasement.co.uk