Wellsbourne, Whitehawk Road

Challenge

The anchors had already been cast into the slab at Wellsbourne when we came on board posing the challenge of fixing balconies to third party pre-cast anchors. Due to the use of a mobile crane the balconies needed to be installed quickly to keep costs to a minimum.

The project was also located near the coast, so the materials used in the balconies had to be a carefully considered to guard against corrosion. The project was to be occupied by elderly residents meaning the balconies needed to be designed and installed appropriately.

Solution

The design team had to work with the positions of the anchors rather than planning this in harmony with the balconies from the early stages. The design and placement of our 2-piece balcony arms was planned in accordance with the placement of the anchors to ensure optimum rigidity.

To protect the balconies from the corrosive effects of the sea air the aluminium balcony structure and handrail were polyester powder coated. To ensure there were no defects in the coating the balconies were comprehensively quality checked throughout production and given a full report upon arrival to site.

As a quick install rate was needed to reduce the costs of the mobile crane the modular Glide-On™ innovation allowed the balconies to be installed prefinished far faster than traditional alternatives.

Installation process

Step 1: Anchors had already been cast into the slab prior to Sapphire’s involvement. The design and installation team worked with the existing positions of the anchors to ensure balconies could be installed efficiently and achieve optimum efficiency.

Step 2: Cassette® balconies were preassembled offsite, including the balustrades, decking & soffits.

Step 3: Cassette® balconies were transported with balconies ‘nested’ onto each pallet making transport both cost effective & safe. Balconies were pre-slung offsite ready for installation upon arrival at Wellsbourne.

Step 4: Once lifted into position, the Cassettes® simply Glide-On™ to the pre-erected support arms, before completing the simple mechanical fixings.