It’s official – Pendock boxing saves over 70% on time & cost
An independent report from specialist consultancy, Baily Garner, has shown that savings of over 70% can be achieved on the time and costs for installation, when using Pendock pipe boxing over site-made MDF and ply options.
The three-month long study was undertaken to accurately quantify the differences between pre-formed, and site made pipe boxing while also providing data that could be of benefit to high volume installers of boxing in residential refurbishment projects, such as social housing landlords and contractors.
To obtain direct comparative data, Baily Garner focused on the fabrication, installation and finishing of 75mm x 150mm site made boxing, manufactured from both ply and MDF, against the same size of Pendock pre-formed casing, the MX75x150, when used to complete the same task.
Assessments were made on a 100 metre run of boxing, as well as a single 2.5 metre length to give a practical and relevant basis on which to prepare figures using multiple industry standard reference sources. These included BCIS TPI and Spon’s Price Book, alongside Baily Garner’s own extensive tender database on social housing projects, to arrive at a reliable and robust average labour rate.
When comparing Pendock casing against MDF and ply site made options, the time for installation, including finishing, together with their corresponding labour costs showed Pendock’s pre-formed boxing to be 73% lower, which equates to a saving of over £2,400 per 100 metres of boxing.
Even allowing for the higher material costs of the pre-finished Pendock casing profile, when compared to sheets of MDF and plywood, this is more than compensated by the considerable reduction in labour, giving an overall saving of around 20%.
Pendock Director, Helen Gough, explained: “It was essential when we were commissioning the study, that the entire process must be completely independent, otherwise the results would be compromised and not give a true representation of the facts, which was a key reason why we chose Baily Garner. Their reputation, immense experience and reach were also important factors.”
She added: “The results provide compelling evidence that pre-formed boxing can deliver significant savings in time and costs, which is vital for social landlords, contractors and decision makers operating within an increasingly budget conscious commercial environment.”
As Pendock boxing is pre-finished with a white resin impregnated décor paper, this also had a significant influence on the finishing element. Baily Garner found the finishing time for Pendock is around one-third of site made ply and MDF options, as there is no requirement for filler, primer, undercoat or topcoat.
Unsurprisingly, Baily Garner’s main conclusion is that there is a clear cost differential between the three methods evaluated, and Pendock’s product offers significant savings against both site fabricated alternatives.
But that’s not the whole story, as the report acknowledges further potential cost saving opportunities also exist. Whilst multiple site visits may not affect the base labour price, there may be other costs associated, such as resident liaison on social housing refurbishment projects. They may also influence other factors, such as resident or tenant satisfaction, due to repeated disruption and inconvenience, whereas pre-formed pipe boxing can be installed fully in a single visit.
The report recognises that quality assurance could provide a further commercial benefit that was outside the scope of the study. As Pendock, is pre-finished product, it may provide better consistency in finish against site fabricated boxing, which has a greater opportunity for inconsistencies in finish due to the increased number of components and the level of trade involvement.
A copy of the Baily Garner Pipe Boxing Cost Comparison Report is available for download here.
