With its tax haven status, yachting culture and reputation as a millionaire’s playground, Jersey has had more than its fair share of showpiece, luxury developments over the years.  However, the £50 million Castle Quay development in St Helier is something extra special.  The Dandara scheme will see the redevelopment of a prime area of St Helier’s sea front, helping to breathe new life into the quayside of Jersey’s capital with a mix of residential accommodation and high quality restaurants.  Just a few months into a three-year build programme, the scheme is already becoming a significant local landmark.

Designed by architects Axis Mason, Castle Quay is split over two blocks and comprises 384 apartments, civic and commercial spaces, subterranean car parking and ground floor restaurant space that has already been snapped up by celebrity chef, Marco Pierre White.  While the electrical installation for the restaurants has yet to be put out to tender, work is progressing quickly on the first fix for the residential element of the scheme and the contractor delivering the programme is Jersey-based firm, DIS Electrical Contractors.

Comments Gary Frame from DIS Electrical Contractors: “The development includes a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments and the specification is varied with standard, mid and high specification units available to maximise the appeal and saleability of the scheme.  Our first task is to complete the containment/ first fix installations within the landlord areas of Block A.  The network of trays has to be flexible enough to answer the varying specification requirements of the apartments and the choice of Cablofil steel wire tray containment system is ideal for this scenario.”

Complex Cabling
Dandara was keen to use steel wire tray containment at Castle Quay as it has been the developer’s containment method of choice for several years.  However, specification of the individual system was DIS Electrical Contractors’ choice.

Gary continues: “Cablofil provides a true system with a wide range of widths and depths, bracketry, quick couplers and pre-fitted couplers to ensure that it’s fast and simple to install whatever the challenges on site.  On such a large job, reliability of supply is also important and we know that we can be confident that the supply chain from Cablofil, though our local distributor, ES&M, will ensure we have the materials we need on site, when we need them..... even if those needs change as the job progresses.”

Throughout the landlord areas DIS Electrical Contractors have installed Cablofil steel wire tray both in the ceiling voids and as risers.  Each of the five storeys of residential accommodation in block A will have three risers, carrying the cabling up to the floor above.  From the risers, the cables will then be diverted into the steel wire tray containment network in the ceiling void as required.  DIS Electrical Contractors have used 150mm, 200mm and 300mm widths of Cablofil to accommodate the varying types and number of cables at different parts of the installation.

Gary continues: “The risers begin in the basement and carry the infrastructure cabling up into the building so that it can be laid throughout the landlord areas to supply core distribution equipment.  Cablofil has also been used for ladder rack containment within the basement areas to support the supply authority main distribution cabling.”

Above ground too, it is the Cablofil system that carries the cabling for the lighting system throughout the landlord areas and the containment network will also be used to feed the low voltage mains cabling to each apartment, for the telephone, internet and satellite TV cables and for the door entry system, fire alarms and security systems.

Gary adds: “While the installation is reasonably straightforward, there are large numbers of cables in a single run of steel wire tray in some places so ensuring that we’re using the strongest and most load bearing wire tray in the market is key to getting the job done quickly, efficiently and to a quality standard we can be proud of.”

Supplier Support
One of the ways in which Cablofil has supported DIS Electrical Contractors in delivering a high quality installation is by offering advice on the specification of the system to ensure that the contractor can maximise the speed of installation whilst maintaining the quality of the finished job. 

Cablofil has also helped DIS Electrical Contractors to save time by offering on site training. Explains Carl: “DIS Electrical Contractors use the Cablofil system a lot and the installation team is very experienced with the product, so they didn’t request any training.  However, I went down to site and was able to show them ways of shaping and fixing the system that they hadn’t used before and they were quickly able to take on board those few tips to enhance the installation and keep them ahead of programme.”

Flexible & Futureproof
At Castle Quay, the challenge for DIS Electrical Contractors is not simply the sheer volume of containment that the job requires, but the exacting timetable for the installation.

Gary continues: “In order to deliver the project to programme we are working alongside other trades to complete the electrical installation. That means co-ordinating with them to decide where the containment will go and being flexible about routing it around other services where necessary to ensure we all make best use of the limited space available in the ceiling voids.  The great thing about using a steel wire tray system is that it’s not only faster and easier to install than a traditional perforated steel system but it’s also more flexible.  That means if we need to make last minute changes to accommodate other trades or if there’s a need to add new elements to the installation we can do so quickly and simply there on site.”

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