International House needed its main switchboard replaced and its ageing distribution brought up to standard. The businesses and residents inside had to keep their power, so the work happened at weekends.
International House
LV Switchgear Replacement
Project Information
- Client:
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Sector:
- Commercial
- Duration:
- 5 Months
- Services:
- LV Switchgear Replacement, Electrical Installation
As Principal Contractor, Gratte Brothers | Building Services Maintenance designed, supplied, installed, commissioned and tested a new main LV switch panel rated at 3,000A. We also relocated and added LV meters across all nine LV panels and their sub-main services.
Working on a Live Site
Most of the work took place over weekends, in planned windows agreed with the client and the building’s occupiers. Over the programme that came to around 9 weekend isolations, each running Friday evening to Monday morning. Every window had a fixed plan: what came off, what went back on, and what temporary supplies kept life safety systems running in between. The building opened on Monday morning as normal, and there were no unplanned outages across the project.
Electrical works, fire alarm cabling, containment and security provisions all had to be coordinated around each other, under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations.
Out with the Old
Early in the programme, we stripped out the existing LV switch panel and associated MEP services from the switch room. That meant disconnecting, dismantling and removing redundant equipment, with disposal and recycling handled responsibly. Alongside this, we validated the existing HVAC, life safety, lighting and small power systems to confirm they’d work with the new installation.
Builders' Work
Builders’ work was a big part of the job. We completed fire stopping, made good the building fabric and waterproofed the switch room’s rear wall, all to British Standards and local regulations. Waterproofing the rear wall had to be sequenced around the switchboard installation so the new equipment was never exposed.
Handover
The new panel, wiring, containment and integration works were fully commissioned and tested before handover. International House now runs on a modernised, compliant electrical distribution system, and most of its occupiers never knew the work was happening.