MILLIONS COULD BE SAVED ON SOCIAL HOUSING REFURBISHMENT SAYS NEW STUDY FROM ENCASEMENT

HOUSING REFURBISHMENT SAYS NEW STUDY FROM ENCASEMENTSavings of up to £¼ million could be made on social housing and Decent Homes Standard refurbishment schemes simply by using pre-formed casings to conceal boiler pipe work rather than making them on site, according to initial findings from an ongoing study conducted by Encasement. Although the research is still some months from completion, the results so far have already identified significant cost savings due to the reduced time needed by contractors when covering exposed boiler pipe work with pre-formed casings compared to fabricating the boxing on-site from wood or MDF. Encasement’s Managing Director, Martin Taylor, explained: “Since we launched the boiler casing 12 months ago, we’ve seen a significant increase in the number units being sold, particularly within social housing refurbishment projects related to the Decent Homes scheme. As a result, we were keen to identify the reason why the product was so popular and where possible, to quantify the cost benefits. “During the past few months, we’ve established that on average it costs £45 for a contractor to box in gas and central heating pipe work below a boiler by making the casing on-site, compared to a cost of £20 when using an n-case pre-formed casing. Boxing in flues and other pipes above the boiler doubles the cost and the saving.” He added: “The costs savings really hit home, when you consider that a number of authorities have refurbishment programmes that include more than 10,000 homes, so a saving of £25 on these volumes means that budgets could be easily reduced by well over £¼ million just by using pre-formed boiler pipe casings.” All n-case boiler casings can be used free standing between a work surface and the boiler or secured using mastic adhesives, mechanical fixings or even Velcro pads, enabling the casing to be removed easily for routine maintenance or inspection. Also, as the casings are pre-finished with a durable white melamine finish, there is no need for additional painting, which saves further time and cost on site as well as improving the overall finish and consistency between dwellings. Manufactured from lightweight and durable 8mm thick plywood, n-case Boiler Pipe Work Casing is available in both a standard profile and jointed options. The standard single piece ‘U’ shaped casing measures 400mm wide x 200mm deep with optional heights of 295, 495 or 3000mm, which can easily be cut to length on-site for multiple projects. A 416mm x 208mm profile is also available with the same height options. For installations where more awkward pipe layouts need to be covered, the n-case jointed casing uses two separate ‘L’ shaped sections connected with a jointing strip to give a clean finish and enables casings to be produced to meet individual boiler sizes. The n-case Boiler Pipework Casing is part of Encasement’s comprehensive Riva and Versa range of pre-formed decorative casings used to conceal central heating, water and waste pipe work.

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