Tibshelf Services, Derbyshire
A replacement freezer at Tibshelf Motorway Service Area, built inside the retained side and rear panels to avoid removing external walls.
Type of Cold Room: Freezer Room Replacement Within Retained Panels
Replacing an ageing freezer can involve more than changing insulated panels. Working alongside the site’s refrigeration service partner, Scandia designed a replacement around the existing building, retaining the old side and rear wall panels and installing a new freezer room within them.
Specifications
- Project Type: Replacement freezer enclosure installed inside retained existing panels.
- Panels: 80mm PIR walls with 100mm PIR ceiling and floor insulation, with an allowance for the specified vapour-barrier gap to the retained panels.
- Floor: Heater mat and 2mm aluminium wearing surface.
- Door: 800mm × 1900mm clear opening, insulated hinged door with locking handle and internal release.
- Fittings: New pressure relief valve; four-tier wire shelving along both sides and across the rear, leaving a central aisle.
- Refrigeration: Disconnection and reinstatement by others, keeping the room works distinct from the refrigeration works.
Client Requirement
The existing freezer was degraded and required replacement, but removing the existing wall panels would also have required the site to remove surrounding external walls.
Our Solution
Rather than make that wall removal part of the scheme, the revised layout retained the left, right and rear panels in situ, with a new insulated freezer enclosure designed to fit inside. The finished room has a bright interior with white panel finishes and aluminium treadplate flooring, with shelving bays set out around the narrower enclosure. For operators and refrigeration contractors facing an awkward replacement, Tibshelf illustrates the value of reviewing what can remain in place before deciding how to rebuild: bespoke manufacture allowed the new room and shelving layout to respond to the retained structure.