Durapipe fits the bill in London apartments

Our pipework has been utilised to tackle the complex issues with installing pipe within a listed building, as part of a London apartment development. Following a fire at the House 51 Gloucester Terrace in central London, an extensive renovation project is underway to transform the Victorian listed building to a new apart hotel. Once complete, the RCA Hotel operated building will provide 85 self-catering fully serviced apartments, ranging from studios to two bedroom apartments, on a hotel basis. As part of the refurbishment project, a new pipe network was required to cater for the hot and cold water services and The Full Electrical Services Company Ltd was tasked with sourcing an effective solution. The structure itself posed a challenge to the specification as, due to it being a listed building, there were a lot of wooden joists so pipe systems that require hot works, soldering and crimping were not an option. The pipework also needed to be fitted within the walls so space was limited and the use of heavy equipment needed to be avoided. The Full Electrical Services Company decided on a plastic pipework system to avoid the need for hot works and welding and selected our SuperFLO ABS and HTA systems as they met the criteria both in terms of installation benefits and performance properties. Durapipe SuperFLO ABS was installed, in sizes up to 110mm, to convey the softened cold water, while Durapipe HTA was utilised in sizes up to 63mm to transport the softened hot water. Reconfiguring the existing pipe network, The Full Electrical Services Company Ltd installed two new booster sets with water softening tanks in the basement of the building. Our pipework systems were then connected to the softening tanks to distribute the softened hot and cold water to the risers on each floor, which feed the individual apartments. The lightweight nature of both Durapipe SuperFLO ABS and Durapipe HTA made it easier to handle on site and, combined with the simple solvent weld jointing technique, aided the installation process and significantly reduced labour time and costs. Commenting on the installation, Ben Moore from The Full Electrical Services Company said: “There were a few challenges to installing the pipework on this project, due to the structure of the building. We needed a plastic system and we have used Durapipe on previous projects and so recommended its SuperFLO ABS and HTA systems as the most appropriate for this job. We were working in very tight spaces so the lightweight properties of the Durapipe systems made fitting the product much easier.” Manufactured from C-PVC, Durapipe HTA is a high performing alternative to copper for domestic hot and cold water services. Its lightweight properties, combined with its easy solvent weld jointing technique, mean it is quicker and easy to install, significantly reducing installation time and costs. Corrosion and limescale resistant, the system retains a smooth bore, ensuring optimum flow rates remain throughout the life of the system. Specifically designed to cater for chilled and boosted cold water applications, Durapipe SuperFLO ABS remains ductile in temperatures down to -40°C, while its limescale and corrosion resistant properties significantly reduce maintenance requirements. With its lightweight nature and easy solvent weld jointing technique reducing labour time and cost, Durapipe SuperFLO ABS offers a superior alternative to steel options.

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