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FRF Accident Repair Centre is the premiere car body repair specialist for Swansea and the surrounding area. The repair centre situated in Plasmarl had an old chain link fence around its perimeter. The chain link fence had degraded to the extent where it had become dangerous and totally ineffective at securing the perimeter.

As they have numerous high value vehicles left over night while in for repair, FRF contacted Ark with the brief to erect security fencing system which would secure their compound, and look pleasing to the eye.

Ark’s recommendation was to use our V Mesh Security Fencing system. It is designed to be unobtrusive whilst still offering a good level of security. The weld mesh panels with longitudinal profiles are manufactured from 6mm (nom.) horizontal and 5mm (nom.) vertical wires to give 200 x 50mm maximum wire centre spacing.

The panels are fixed to 60 x 60 SHS posts with steel clips threaded inserts and security fastenings.

The V Mesh is Polyester Powder Coated to the colour of your choice in the RAL colour range. FRF decided on tRAL 5015 which matched with their corporate branding colours.

This type of fencing system also makes any repair work very simple to carry out, as you are able to unbolt the panels using the security drive bit to loosen the fastening, allowing the removal of panels in turn allowing easy access to replace any damaged posts.

V Mesh Security Fencing installation

The first step was to remove the old chain link fence, which Ark also disposed. Once the old chain link fence was removed the process of erecting the fence could start. The process involved digging the hole to set your first post, then using the panel to set the second post. The posts were secured into the ground using our standard practice of 2 bags of postcrete per post. Then repeating the process until the fence was complete.

To finish off the installation a double leaf gate was fitted with a heavy duty pad-lockable sliding latch and drop bolts.

The entire job was completed in 4-5 days.

Martin contacted Ark as the fence at the bottom of his garden was in a poor state of repair and was no longer fit for purpose. So a new fence was required. Mr Williams also wanted to have a deck built too. The decking would add an extra useable space in his garden, as the proposed area for the deck was rough ground with a steep slope into a drainage gully.

Ark were able to design a deck along with a feather edged perimeter double boarded fence. Double boarding meaning constructing the fence with feather edged boards on both sides of the framework. This makes the fence a more secure construction, otherwise the framework provides a convenient ladder for any would be intruder.

The first task was to clear the existing fence and the chainlink fence that was also there. Next the mini digger moved in to level off and build up the bank ready for the posts of the framework to be concreted into place. We used 3.6 metre 100mm x 100mm posts which we could then build the framework off.

Once the posts were in place the Chris and Dominic the fitters were able to construct the remainder of the frame with using 150mm x 50mm & 100mm x 50mm joists.

Our standard Decking Boards 125mm x 38mm were used to board the decking area.

With the decking complete , it was a case of railing the posts ready to receive the feather edge boards, with a fitter working each side to quickly get the double boarding completed. On time and too budget.

If you are looking to improve your garden and enhance your security, get in touch with Ark today for a free no obligation quotation.

C.E.M Days of Swansea is one of the longest running business’s in Swansea, it was established in 1926. They recently had to expand their office at their Motor Park site in Plasmarl. They decided to install a new pre-fabricated office on their site, a very efficient way to quickly expand your office space. However the base is raised from the ground to protect from water ingress, it creates an unsightly area between the ground and the bottom of the office. This does not present the right impression to prospective customers.

Day’s contacted Ark to see what solution they could come up with. Once we had visited the site and spoken to the customer, we were able to design a stylish decking area with an access ramp.

The deck was to have a glass balustrade all around to provide safety and to finish the deck off with a stylish look. The sides of the deck framework were cladded all around with loglap, which tidied up the gap from the floor to the bottom of the office, to create a professional and more attractive appearance.

Decking with Glass Balustrade Installation

The first step was to fix a wall plate fixed to the substructure of the unit. The wall plate allows us to fix joist hangers for the decking framework. The rest of the frame work could then be constructed and supported with 100mm x 100mm posts fixed to the ground with galvanised bolt supports, which were drilled and bolted down.

The next task was to construct the access ramp, where our skilled fitters hand cut the angled frame work to create a seamless transition from the ground onto the ramp.

To create a more attractive finish to the decking we decided to fix the newel posts inside the deck framework. This meant that the deck boards have to be individually cut to fit around the newel posts. With the deck boards being laid at an angle into a chevron pattern, this meant there were multiple angle’s to be cut on the boards which interfaced with the newel post. Whilst this creates a lot more work, and requires a far higher level of skill.  it makes for a more attractive finish to the decking.

Usually when fitting glass panels for balustrade we check the measurements after construction and then order the glass to suit. However on this occasion, in order to complete in the allotted time, we pre-determined the measurements of the glass and made sure that the newel centres were accurate during construction. This requires working to a tolerance of around +- 5mm.

We used marine grade stainless steel glass panel clips, fixed to the newel posts with stainless steel screws.

The entire project took 3-4 weeks to complete.

Following their promotion to the premier league back in 2011, Swansea City football club came to Ark with a specification for a fenced and gated area to aid with crowd control of the away fans on match day. There was a lot of discussion between ourselves the architects, Swansea council planning department and the football club, in order to find the right type of fencing to meet all the criteria set by each party.

Ark fencing recommended, their 868 Double Bar Security Fencing system its rigid construction makes it ideally suited to the application. The strength within the panels is achieved by sandwiching, a 6mm vertical wire between rows of twin 8mm horizontal wires spaced at 200mm intervals. This mesh configuration ensures that the panels offer a high resistance to vandalism.

Features:

• Rigid Perimeter Mesh System
• Compliant to BS 1722 Pt. 14
• M8 Security fixings
• Rigid Double wire design

Suitable for:

• Schools, Colleges & Universities
• Industrial Units
• Theme parks
• Sports Stadiums

Security Fence Fitting

After the plans and specifications had all been agreed, the fitting had been planned to take place over the next month. However the Saturday before work was due to commence the Cup Tie was drawn with local rivals Cardiff City. The two clubs having a very volatile history meant that fence had to be installed before the match day in 2 weeks!

This was no easy feat as the dig for the posts, which had to have holes 1 metre square by 1 metre deep, had to be dug through the tarmac top layer and then into the hard ground. The ground had iron ore deposits left over from the old industrial sites the stadium was built upon.

We used a Pan mixer for standard 4/1 mix for the posts as opposed to the usual postcrete, for cost effectiveness and ease of use.

Matches were still playing during the installation period. This meant the site having to be safe for the public and for nothing to be left that could be used as a ‘missile’, all 4 o’clock on match days.

Together with Spencer environmental who were supplying the plant machinery Ark put extra fitters on the job and working 12-14 hrs a day 7 days a week to ensure the job was completed in time.

The fenced and gated area is now affectionately called ‘The Cage’.

Problem:
Gowerton golf range have a solar array residing on their land, it is situated off to one side from the golf range and behind the fishing lake. Originally it was thought the solar array was a sufficient distance from the range for there not to be any problems with balls hitting the panels. But a rather over zealous customer managed to send a few balls over to the panels resulting in 2 sections becoming smashed.

Solution:
In order to protect the panels from errant golf balls, the best solution was to erect a 4 metre high ball stop netting over a length of 25m. The netting is a woven mesh specific for stopping golf balls. We used galvanised line wires across the length to add extra strength and stability. As the stop was required to be 4 metres, it was critical that we calculate the structural requirements to work out he correct depth and volume of concrete required to ensure maximum strength and stability of the erection. Using Rolled hollow section for the posts, again to ensure plenty of strength through the full height. We left a 900mm gap underneath the ball stop to allow easy access for maintenance.

Wayne from from the Gowerton Golf range contacted us while they were in the process of refitting their facilities. They wanted to give the customers more room in each of the bays, so it was decided to extend the bays by 1 metre. The existing bays were constructed on a concrete slab. In order to extend the bays using the same method, would cause a lot of disruption and at excessive cost. There would have been the need to bring in machinery to excavate, and the material to be taken away, all of which would have been causing disruption to business and increasing the costs.

So Wayne contacted Ark to see what solution we could offer and for the work to be completed during the quieter time in the week and be ready to open of the busy weekend. After a site visit, we were able to come up with a proposal to extend the bays with 1 metre of pressure treated redwood timber. The decking would be supported by posts fixed into concrete and a wall plate for fixing joist hangers to. The wall plate being drilled and bolted to the existing slab. We had to liaise and coordinate with the crew installing the partitioning of the bays, which meant working to a very tight time schedule. In order minimise the impact to the business the entire job was completed in four days, on budget and on time for the range to open on the Friday afternoon ready for the busy period over the weekend.