‘Trendy’ to mount kit on strut for no other reason?

[Rockingit]

Am I behind the times here? I’m being urged to mount a whole host of boards, iso’s, meters etc onto unistrut for no good reason (there’s perfectly good wall available and frankly it’ll look awful) because apparently it’s a current trend to do so?? Anyone come across this lately?

 

[SparkySy]

Strange you should say that as today I went to look at some work in a commercial unit and that had two brand new db's with a 6x6 header trunking across the top all was secured to 41x41 slotted strut fixed to a perfectly flat concrete panel wall! I couldn't see the logic in it either and with the ends of the strut sticking out at each corner looked awful!
Went to another one 2 weeks ago and that was the same also.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Yep , I have noticed this bizarre trend of mounting everything onto a length(s) of strut

i personally can’t get me head round it , perhaps if the walls were completely uneven or you needed to space stuff away from the wall due to damp

but most strut I see is on a nice flat wall for no good reason

a bit like the youtuber sparks running everything I’m flexicon , it’s just weird

 

[Rockingit]

Strange you should say that as today I went to look at some work in a commercial unit and that had two brand new db's with a 6x6 header trunking across the top all was secured to 41x41 slotted strut fixed to a perfectly flat concrete panel wall! I couldn't see the logic in it either and with the ends of the strut sticking out at each corner looked awful!
Went to another one 2 weeks ago and that was the same also.

Out of curiosity, given that the cases of the db’s were presumably painted, had the additional metalwork been bonded (or any indication of earth continuity testing)?

 

[ipf]

I like unistrut and find it very useful......but only when it's required.
I must say, it looks a damn site better than a load of the old Dexion and angle iron methods. I am talking about multi distribution points, generally.....busbar, fused switches and DB's.

 

[SparkySy]

@Rockingit No I there wasn't any bonding on the strut today and the db's were Hager so we're coated. The one I went to two weeks ago definitely had a 10mm flying earth to it as I remember seeing the yellow earth do not remove tag on it. This one was to a lot higher standard than today's offering wish I'd taken a picture now!
I agree with you @ipf strut done in the right place properly has its uses!

 

[Midwest]

We’ve got some uninstrurt installed behind our fire panels. We find it dead useful, so when the wall leaks water after rain, the rain water doesn’t enter the panels.

 

[richy3333]

I’m guessing it’s because the YouTubers are all doing it at the moment?

 

[Ian1981]

As said it’s good for damp environments to keep switch gear off the walls but other than that.........

 

[pc1966]

Also useful as you can fix it to the beams and not have to worry where the mounting holes for any heavy DB, etc, are lined up to.

The ends can look untidy, and be a bit of a cut-hazard as well, but plastic end-caps are available from both sizes of strut and fairly cheap too:

Products Archive - Direct Channel

directchannel.uk.com

 

[UNG]

Am I behind the times here? I’m being urged to mount a whole host of boards, iso’s, meters etc onto unistrut for no good reason (there’s perfectly good wall available and frankly it’ll look awful) because apparently it’s a current trend to do so?? Anyone come across this lately?

I was using unistrut frames for mounting distribution equipment on walls 40 years ago so it isn't a new idea. Having seen the quality of some building works and materials in recent years it might look like a perfectly good wall but is it.
I did a fixings course about 25 years ago which covered everything from general fixings through to fixing and testing fall arrest eyes gets interesting when that "perfectly good wall" doesn't stand up to the Hydrajaws pull test

Strange you should say that as today I went to look at some work in a commercial unit and that had two brand new db's with a 6x6 header trunking across the top all was secured to 41x41 slotted strut fixed to a perfectly flat concrete panel wall! I couldn't see the logic in it either and with the ends of the strut sticking out at each corner looked awful!
Went to another one 2 weeks ago and that was the same also.

Was it a prefab concrete panel as they are not the best for fixing to especially if you damage the rebar

 

[SparkySy]

@UNG yes they were prefabricated 6x2m panels. The thing that got me was that they were fixed to the panel with screws and washers, and probably more than would have been used if just fixing the db unit and trunking to it due to the extra weight of having the strut in the first place.

 

[UNG]

@UNG yes they were prefabricated 6x2m panels. The thing that got me was that they were fixed to the panel with screws and washers, and probably more than would have been used if just fixing the db unit and trunking to it due to the extra weight of having the strut in the first place.

I've worked with a lot of people that will use far too many of the wrong type fixings or use the wrong fixing method to fasten something to a building without understanding the building structure and the damage that can be caused with a hole drilled in the wrong place