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Understand the link between poor ironwork installations and pothole creation. Our new whitepaper Potholes - More than a surface issue is now available. Get your copy
A quality above the rest Unite™Unite is our highest quality range of access covers and gully grates with over 500,000 installations and zero reported failures. Available with a 10 year warranty*, Unite is engineered for a long life and has been in service on highways for over 20 years, providing substantial savings on both installation costs along with unnecessary road disruption. 
Superior quality and conformanceUsing the very latest tools and software, the Unite range of manhole covers and gully gratings has been engineered for an extremely long life. Key to Unite’s longevity is minimising seat wear between covers/gratings and frames. The range has the stiffest cover/grating structure in its class and on top of this, seating which is less vulnerable to any movement caused by covers and gratings flexing. In fact we're so confident in Unite's performance, it's available with a 10 year warranty*. Unite has also been design to work sympathetically with bedding mortars, reducing stresses on the frame foundation – identified by WRC as a major cause of manhole cover failure. To increase surface contact with bedding materials the underside of the Unite frame features an engineered tread pattern, and to inhibit crack initiation all contours of the Unite frame, where it engages with the bedding materials, are fully rounded. 
Unite manhole covers
Our industry leading manhole cover range. Full of unique design features that give Unite the longest life and lowest whole life cost of any manhole cover available.
Unite gully grates
Unite gully grates deliver super long-life and therefore the lowest whole life cost of any gully grate, with features that promote pedestrian and cycle safety.
 Unite 10 year warrantyWhen installed with either our Unipak polymer resin bedding mortar, or Instarmac Envirobed® CD534 flowable bedding mortar, the Unite range is available with a 10-year product warranty*. Due to its unique design and overwhelming success in the local authority and utilities sector, Unite is the proven choice for durability and longevity for highway ironwork installations. View further warranty information * Subject to terms and conditions Unite in numbersUnite is a proven range, in service for over 20 years and offers significant benefits to asset owners, contractors and end users.
POTHOLES - MORE THAN A SURFACE ISSUEHelping local authorities find solutions to the UK's pothole problemPotholes across the UK’s road and highway network are a real problem. But did you know ironwork specification and selection can affect and even increase the likelihood of a pothole forming? Our new report explores;
Meeting the needs of National Highways CD 534 v0.1.0 with UniteNational Highways has updated CD 534, a significant set of its requirements for manhole covers and gully grates installed on their road network. First released in February 2020 and updated to version 0.1.0 as of May 2022. Frame flange areaCD 534 v0.1.0 now sets a minimum flange area of 190,000mm² for D400 and 285,000mm² for E600 covers, this equates to 2.1N/mm² as in HA 104/09. Frame depth and weightA 150mm frame depth is now required on motorways and all purpose trunk roads. A lower limit frame weight is also specified to ensure frames are stiff enough. Skid resistanceThe WRc test mehod is now the only accepted test method for calculating skid resistance on raised chequer. This test measures a small tyre’s resistance to sideways slip caused by the cover surface. D400 or E600E600 manhole covers are to be installed in place of D400 covers where the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of light goods vehicles travelled on a road is greater than 1,500 in each direction. Check road traffic statistics for AADT
How much can I save?Ironwork replacement typically takes around 3 hours*. Studies show the 2,000 users per hour of A-roads are delayed by an average of 4 minutes in roadworks**. This loss of earnings and productivity equates to over £3,000 per hour. The saving to society of not having a 3-hour long unnecessary manhole replacement is at least £9,000 and cuts the associated noise, dust and waste.
*Based on independent analysis commissioned by a major water utility. 
> 1,500 Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT)?With the introduction of CD 534 there were several key changes. This includes the requirement for E600 manhole covers to be installed in place of D400 covers where the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of light goods vehicles travelled on a road is greater than 1,500 in each direction. As a "rule of thumb", most A roads will have an annual average daily traffic number over 1,500 light goods vehicles. Full traffic data can be found for many locations around the UK on the Government website. 
More than 100,000 units supplied to Thames Water As a key supplier to Thames Water, whose adoptable assets are installed in some of the most high profile and heavily trafficked roads in the UK, we've managed to reduce their manhole cover failures to 0 through the use of Unite. We have now supplied more than 100,000 Unite units to Thames Water without one recorded failure over a 20-year period. We’re incredibly proud of our Unite series and how its pioneering design has been underlined by its fantastic performance. Unite in action
Contact usWhether you are looking for live project support, or are in the initial stages of specification, we are always on hand and happy to help. | |||||||||||||||||||||
