Durapipe contributes to installation speed of modular construction
This £12 million student-accommodation development in Luton has a pod design and has utilised Durapipe HTA pipework to help speed installation. Hatbox is an 11-storey building with 199 rooms and operated by CRM students
There are 151 studio bedrooms with shower room and 35 en-suite bedrooms over the top nine floors. There is also a range of communal leisure facilities, a pharmacy and a doctor’s surgery occupying the ground and first floors.
Elements Europe made and installed the 199 pod rooms. They were made off site in 11 weeks and installed at a rate of 13 a day over a 7-week period.
Thames Valley Mechanical was responsible for installing the hot and cold water system and turned to Durapipe HTA for the pipework requirements.
Durapipe HTA in sizes up to 110 mm was installed for the main service riser, which transfers water from the main storage tank in the basement via a pumpset to the top-floor plant room, which houses the boiler.
Smaller risers distribute hot and cold water to each floor, which are all connected to the main pipe run and cold returns on the first floor.
Thames Valley Mechanical had not previously used Durapipe HTA but selected the system for this project specifically due to its speed of installation, which aided the quick connection of the pods on site. As a new user of the system, Durapipe UK’s technical support team provided extensive assistance with on-site training for installers, as well as offering detailed advice regarding the quantity and positioning of expansion loops throughout the pipe network.
