About & resources
Installing IPS duct and access panels
A fitting sequence for IPS panels made to order in Bolton, written for the contractor who has the panels on site and the sanitaryware still boxed.
- Made in Bolton since 1998
- Free UK mainland delivery
- Constructionline Gold
- SSIP accredited
- Trade prices exc VAT
IPS panels are made to your surveyed sizes, so the install is mostly setting out and fixing rather than cutting. The panels arrive machined for the sanitaryware you specified. Get the carcassing and the first-fix pipework right and the panels go on quickly. Get them wrong and no amount of packing will hide it.
This guide covers sequencing, setting out, fixing to studwork and to masonry, handling access panels, and the tolerances the panels are made to. It also sets out what we supply and what the installer provides. IPS panels and units are manufactured in Bolton on a 7–9 working days lead time.
What we supply
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Before the panels arrive
First-fix pipework tested and signed off, carcassing complete and plumb, floor finish level known, and sanitaryware on site. Panels cannot be set out against services that are still moving.
IPS panels explained -
Setting out the run
Establish a datum line at the finished floor level, mark the duct face, then work cut-out centres from the sanitaryware setting-out drawing rather than from the pipework as installed.
Request setting-out sheet -
Fixing to studwork
Fix through into noggins and studs, not into plasterboard alone. Add noggins behind every panel joint, behind the access panel frame, and at any point carrying a fixing or a bracket.
Ask about fixings -
Fixing to masonry
Battened or direct-fixed with suitable plugs and packers. Masonry is rarely flat, so pack behind the fixings to keep the duct face true instead of pulling the panel into a hollow.
Ask about fixings -
Access panels last
Fit and adjust the access panel with the pan, seat and flush plate in position. Check it lifts clear before the silicone goes on, not after the room has been handed over.
View IPS panels
Specification
| Stage | What to do | Tolerance or watch-out |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check the delivery | Count panels against the schedule and check machined cut-outs against the sanitaryware on site before anything is fixed. | Report a discrepancy before you start cutting. Once a panel is modified on site it cannot be remade as a supply error. |
| 2. Datum and setting out | Mark a level datum from the finished floor level and set the duct face line along the whole run. | Work to one datum for the whole run. Taking a level off the screed at each pod is how a run ends up stepped. |
| 3. Carcassing check | Confirm studwork is plumb and noggins are in behind joints, brackets and the access panel frame. | Studwork out of plumb by more than a few millimetres over panel height will show at every joint. |
| 4. Fix the duct panels | Fix into studs and noggins, or plug and pack into masonry. Start from a fixed corner and work along the run. | Keep the face plane true. Pack rather than pull the panel in. Do not rely on the joint to close a bow. |
| 5. Cut-outs and services | Offer up pan brackets, flush plate, tap and waste through the machined openings. | Cut-outs are machined to the sanitaryware you specified. A substitution on site means the openings will not line up. |
| 6. Access panel | Hang and adjust with the pan, seat and flush plate in place, then check the lift-off clearance. | The panel must clear the pan and the flush plate through its full lift. Check before sealing, not at handover. |
| 7. Seal and trim | Seal to floor and wall as the project specification requires, and fit any capping or trim. | Do not seal the access panel shut. Sealing an access panel defeats the point of having a duct. |
| 8. Manufacturing tolerance | Panels are cut on CNC and a Homag beam saw in Bolton to your confirmed sizes. | Allow a scribe or shadow gap where a panel meets an existing wall. Buildings are not square; the panels are. |
Why buy direct from the manufacturer
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Machined, not site-cut
Cut-outs for pans, flush plates, taps and wastes are CNC machined in Bolton from your sanitaryware setting-out, so the panel arrives ready to fix rather than ready to modify.
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Made to your survey
Panels are cut to the sizes you confirm, not to a stock module you then have to trim. That removes most of the on-site cutting and the dust that comes with it.
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Remakes come from us
If a panel is damaged on site or a sanitaryware model changes, the replacement is made on the same machines from the same file, so it matches the rest of the run.
Common questions
What is supplied and what does the installer provide?
We supply the IPS panels, access panels, any framing or units ordered, and the fixing and trim items listed on the order confirmation. The installer provides the studwork or battening, plugs and screws suited to the substrate, packers, sealant, and all first-fix plumbing. Read the order confirmation rather than assuming the fixings are in the box.
Can IPS panels be fixed straight to plasterboard?
No. Fix into studs and noggins behind the board, or batten out and fix to the battens. Plasterboard alone will not hold a duct panel carrying a flush plate, and it certainly will not hold a panel that people lean on. Add noggins at joints, bracket positions and around the access opening.
What if the sanitaryware changes after the panels are made?
The cut-outs will be wrong. Machined openings are set from the make and model you gave us, so a substitution at fit-out stage usually means a remade panel. Tell us as soon as the change is known and we will requote the affected panels. Remakes run on the same 7–9 working days lead time.
How much tolerance should I allow against an existing wall?
Allow a scribe or a shadow gap. Panels are cut square on CNC and a beam saw in Bolton; the building will not be. Where a run terminates against plaster, tile or brick, either order a scribe strip or set out so the joint falls on a trim. Do not rely on sealant to close a tapering gap.
How should access panels be fixed?
However the order specifies: lift-off, magnetic catch, or screw and cap. Whichever it is, hang and adjust the panel with the pan, seat and flush plate in position and check it lifts clear through its full travel. Never seal an access panel to the adjoining panels or the floor. That is the one mistake maintenance cannot undo.
Can we get panels delivered to suit a fit-out programme?
Yes, within reason. IPS panels and units are made to order in Bolton on a 7–9 working days lead time, and delivery is free to UK mainland. Tell us the required date at enquiry stage so the job is planned into the right production week. Highlands, islands and Northern Ireland carry a surcharge and longer transit, agreed before production.
Related guides
Send the survey and sanitaryware schedule
We machine IPS panels to your setting-out in Bolton on a 7–9 working days lead time, priced exc VAT.