Walraven RapidRail® Rail Systems makes light work of ceiling hanging pipe supports

Chris Illingworth, a plumber, has started using Walraven RapidRail® Systems for his large domestic and light commercial installations, and recently found it particularly useful on a job for fabricating ceiling hanging trapeze frames.

This installation was a large, new, ultra-modern house that a ground source heat pump would heat. Chris and his team were tasked with fitting out the plant room and installing all the pipework throughout the property for the heating system.

The Problem – Installing at height

This installation required ceiling-hanging pipe supports throughout the property. Usually, Chris and his team would have used a standard 41×41 strut channel to create trapeze frame supports for suspended pipework. However, the 41×41 strut is heavy, weighing around 2.5kg per metre and comes with basic fixings for attaching pipe clips. When installing overhead, this can become challenging due to the weight and the meticulous nature of using basic fixings. Chris decided to try Walraven RapidRail® Rail, which weighs less than 1kg per metre, to see if using a lighter channel with fully pre-assembled fixings would make a difference.

The Solution – Walraven RapidRail® Rail System

Walraven RapidRail® Rail 30×20 was used on this job for both the wall-mounted pipework and for fabricating trapeze frames to carry the pipes through the ceiling space. The trapeze frames were constructed using two Walraven RapidRail® Rail pieces with Walraven RapidRail® Slide Nuts to drop the threaded rod down and connect the two pieces of channel. Walraven Hammerfix Nuts with pre-cut stud were used to attach the pipe clips, quick and easy!

Chris commented, “Part of the reason for using Walraven RapidRail® Systems is the fact that it’s light and easy to use at height on the scaffolds whilst installing the framework. This, alongside the really easy Walraven Slide Nut and Hammerfix Connectors that just twist into the rail, really helped bring the installation time down from what we estimated it would be using the heavier 41×41 strut channel. The system really exceeded our expectations and made the installation at height much easier.”