Conference Rigging

[markcoster]

Hi All,

 

Sorry to sound inept but I have a interesting question about conference rigging. It seams quite common for a lighting companies to use the runners for the dividing doors to hang small amounts of lighting or other AV equipment from.

 

Though my question that no one seams to have a answer for is; how much weight can these door runners hold?

 

Look forward to your responses

 

Mark

[mac.calder]

From memory, and you are best to check with the venue first before hanging anything from the runners, the track clamps are usually rated to 25kg.

[danjshelton]

As a rule I generally never hang anything from the Air Wall tracking, it can be done, I've seen it done, but always thought (and so have fellow colleagues) it's a bit dodgy. It's generally not really rated, and the condition of it is not really known and venue almost certainly doesn't have it inspected (as it's not intended for hanging equipment).

 

Cheers

 

Dan

[James Remo]

Each door track / air wall fitting I've ever seen has been of a different design to another, fixed to a different roof by different methods (from chemical bonds to wood screws) You should consult a structural engineer before hanging anything off any part of a structure (read building in this case) that doesn't come marked with a swl and in date test cert. The thing that really make me uneasy is that I've seen people use standard unistrut fixings for door track where the unistrut nut can easily drop out with a small rotational force.

[Dancetech]

I agree with most of the above. Although there may well be a rating for the door tracks they are not rated for hanging/rigging lighting and so you take your PLI into your own hands.

 

It is however, handy for routing cables as long as the retaining mechanism (whatever that may be) is fit for purpose.

 

in addition (and why not) if there is a door track in there, there should be some head room above the pressumed false ceiling to get some proper hanging points in. It doesnt take too long and can be reused

 

useful?

[Pete McCrea]

Also worth noting that people can sometimes become confused between the Unistrut tracks that are designed for some for of loading, and those that are there simply to stop the wall panels falling over.

[mikienorth]

Although not technically the right way to hang things, hanging things from an acoustic wall track, as long as you can prove the fixing used to suspend the track, is probably no bad thing.

 

Our venue's wall sections are around 250kg per section, suspended on two areas of the track 6"square or less. That is quite a point load.....

 

Our main venue's fixings are there for all to see as well, so we tend to hang from the fixings for the tracks rather than from the tracks.

 

Just remember, forget to take out a hanging device, and that hugely expensive bit of wall is going to get damaged, at your cost.... Not to mention whtever you have on the hanger! Our wall system in the main space cost around £1million. I don't want to break ANY of it!

[markcoster]

Thanks for all your responses. The venue in question is the Thistle at Heathrow. I have just spoken to there guy on site there and he says that the rails have been tested in the past for 1-ton. Though because the thistle don't have on site riggers they cant give me any advice.

 

Does it anyone have any experience of the thistle?

 

Regards

 

Mark

[johnhuson]

You need to ask the question as to whether it is Unistrut or door hanging track, I haven't worked at the Thistle Heathrow so can't comment specifically on that venue but there are plenty of hotel conference rooms with Unistrut.

 

If it is Unistrut then it will of been installed for the purpose of hanging equipment but not at ton, often nearer 200Kg per point but it's dependant on how it's fixed to the building structure. If it is a door track then there are specific airwall hangers available but as they're manufactured in the states it's possible they don't comply with European legislation and you need to make sure that you have the correct hanger for the manufacturer of the track.

 

The real danger arises when people use Unistrut fixings to hang of wall tracks.

 

You really need to get some definitive answers from the hotel themselves in writing before you can take things further. Though I appreciate the difficulty of this, trying to get information like this from your average C&B manger is often like trying to get blood from a stone!

[Rob]

IIRC, the Thistle does not have Unistrut or any dedicated production hanging points. Good load in though :)

[Joe Betts]

You need to step back from the fact that others have done this and consider:

 

1) Does anyone here really know anything about the instalation of these?

The installation was probably done years ago, before onyone onsite arrived.

 

2) Do I really expect this to have a load rating? Afterall, its designed for one purpose: Supporting sliding wall elements

And as such hanging of ancillary equipment is unlikely to have been considered during design.]

 

3) Am I competent to decide this? Not trying to inferr anything, but and engineer should have been involved in

rating the rails for holding the walls, surely this should also be the case for loading!

 

4) You are also intoducing the potential for a dynamic load, if the equipment swings, or is hit, and this may be enough

to twist or bend components of the track / suspension system.

 

I have seen many strange practices, and this is no stranger to me, but I personally would not do it.