Glide-On™ Key to Rail-Side Install at Deptford Foundry

Deptford Foundry is located in a historic area of south-east London and sits on of a former metal foundry dating back to 1831 and once home to engineer Josiah Stone. The area’s rich industrial heritage is reflected in the design of the balconies featuring tie wires and bronze Cassettes® and soffits. This potentially hazardous site located next to a railway line is no challenge thanks to offsite manufacture and Glide-On™ install.

Once a thriving centre of exceptional design, the area is now home to premium apartments each benefitting from access to private balconies and terraces. The development is located adjacent to two railway lines adding an element of complexity to the install. The proximity of the railway lines meant that traditional balcony designs would have been hazardous to install as nothing could hang over the boundary in the process.

Sapphire’s Glide-On™ solution overcame these concerns as the modular prefinished design arrived to site complete and ready for install. The project manager commented that the offsite manufacture of our balconies was “invaluable to this site because of the issues of site logistics”.

The simplicity of the install process meant the balconies could Glide-On™ to the awaiting arms and secured in place without the need for installers working below a live load. Installers remained inside the apartments behind our internal door guards preventing any risk of the leading edge. Once the balconies were on the arms they could be safely bolted in place and the final boards of decking could be fixed in place.

While working alongside the railway lines would often be a headache for traditional balcony methods the Glide-On™ system made light work of the tight space. The project manager said, “balconies were installed straight from the lorries” and that the system was “fantastically simple”.

Our logistics team worked with the site team to ensure the balconies arrived when they were needed and when the site was ready for install. The site team reported a fast install limited only by the façade progress and the needs of other trades on site.

Deptford Foundry is a prime example of the benefits of Glide-On™ balconies helping to solve the challenges of many construction sites. When the site location makes for a complicated install the versatility and simplicity of the Glide-On™ method can be applied with impressive results.