Using offsite construction processes, Sapphire Balconies bridges the years to deliver balconies embodying quality craftsmanship and time-saving processes to today’s construction sites. It’s often said that balconies add visual and lifestyle value to high-rise residential buildings. But because balconies are either built in-situ or bolted on to the main structure – rather than being an integral part of it – they have tended to be at the centre of cost, timing and safety issues on some building sites.
With the high demand for new residential accommodation driving demand for faster building, architects and developers have welcomed the new materials and methods now available for use within modern regulatory standards. But while offsite has become virtually the norm for high-rise homes, there are still some challenges related to the detail. Balconies, for example, challenge designers to reduce installation time and costs – as well as contributing to increased site safety. It would be a tough challenge without Sapphire’s own offsite solution.
Sapphire Balconies is a specialist offsite manufacturer of balcony systems which complement offsite processes on building sites – as well as meeting the aesthetic and economic requirements of architects and developers and providing valuable ‘outdoor’ space for residents. Sapphire’s Glide-On™ Cassette® balconies are delivered fully assembled, including balustrades. They are then simply craned into position and slid on to steel support arms for final attachment. Minimal further finishing is required, making this time-saving installation so fast that it is possible to fit more than 30 balconies in a single day.
There’s no requirement for on-site storage, which is a great help on inner-city building sites where space is invariably very limited. Sapphire’s balconies are delivered by thirdparty logistics specialists who collect and store balconies in line with site programmes and crane availability. This flexibility gives contractors a faster and more reliable flow than the alternative ‘just in time’ approach. On delivery, the prefabricated balconies can go virtually straight from lorry to lift – although in practice they may go to a temporary holding area to release lorries more quickly.
Building on specialist factory production lines adds real quality to Sapphire’s craftsmanship. There is a high degree of quality control at each stage of the process, ensuring not only that each balcony is sized for a perfect fit, but also that it provides ample rigidity to overcome any risk of a ‘bouncy balcony’. In fact, building in this way ensure levels of quality that are almost impossible to achieve with on-site construction.
The offsite approach also saves money. For example, because the balconies are fixed by installers from inside the building, external scaffolding can be removed prior to balcony installation. In practice, these two processes can even be simultaneous as Sapphire’s Glide-On™ Cassette® balconies can be installed top-down. This is possible with Sapphire’s counterbalanced lifting system, which offsets the crane hook. Sapphire’s offsite process also helps to reduce overall costs through the time and material efficiencies that can be enabled in a dedicated factory environment.
