Custom Enclosure Guide: Cost, Sizing & Timeline

After nearly four decades designing enclosures, we treat most non-standard applications as custom projects rather than forcing equipment into a fixed box. We tailor enclosures to the specific needs of each site. Reach for a custom design when you have any of the following:

• Oversized or multi-component equipment that won't fit a stock footprint
• Skid-mounted assemblies that need a non-standard base instead of a concrete slab
• Non-standard pipe penetrations for supply and return lines
• Multiple access points or separate compartments for different equipment
• Ventilation, viewing windows or heating requirements a stock unit doesn't offer

Bottom line: If standard sizing can't accommodate the equipment, the mounting or the spec, a custom-built unit is usually the better path than modifying a stock enclosure in the field.

Dimensions, access, heating, ventilation, penetrations, mounting and finish are all configurable, which is what lets a single modular system fit applications a stock unit can't. This is the heart of the design work: matching the unit to the specific needs and environmental conditions it will face.

Enclosure customizations include:

• Overall dimensions and footprint
• Door and access-panel location, size, style and quantity, including multiple doors for separate compartments
• Heaters and insulation configuration for the site's worst-case low temperature
• Exhaust fans and louvers for ventilation and thermal management
• Pipe penetrations for supply and return lines
• Window panels for at-a-glance inspection of gauges and controls
• Skid mounting in place of standard slab attachment
• Color and custom graphic vinyl wraps for branding or facade matching

We can assist with specification language. Submittals, cut sheets and CAD renderings are available for standard models, and the engineering team can produce project-specific drawings for custom work. That level of documentation supports clean integration with the rest of the assembly at the submittal stage.

Sometimes you need to go custom to stay compliant with your local policies and standards. For example, Columbia County Utilities located in Georgia developed a standard for all their valve cover enclosures to be green so they blended into the environment. We delivered Hartford Green enclosures (one of our four standard color choices) in many custom sizes to provide security and protection while also adhering to local code.

Duplex and Triplex Pump Packages

Pumps need protection from the elements, ventilation to run efficiently and sound dampening. We build pump enclosures ranging from small units for companion pumps up to large pump house-style enclosures. Our designs protect equipment and minimize noise, all at a cost that beats construction, like these slab-mounted HVAC custom units.

Glycol Pumps

For a complex glycol pump system, we designed two skid-mounted enclosures from the ground up, the larger measuring 71 inches wide by 175 inches long by 109 inches tall. The build included hinged access doors, removable wall panels for 360-degree access, custom penetrations for supply and return lines and louver systems for airflow.

Quench Systems

Quench systems demand consistent cooling and reliability. We built a custom enclosure for a glass plant that required pipe penetrations, window panels for one-glance inspection, a slab-mounted heater to hold internal temperatures in winter, and an exhaust fan and louvers for summer ventilation.

Water Booster Pumps

For a cost-effective alternative to a traditional building, a golf course in Canada commissioned us to build a booster pump cover for a skid-mounted triplex system. We added climate control, fans and louvers, and a heating system as well as a partition room separating the electronics room from the pump equipment and a fully removable roof for equipment replacement.

Fire Water Storage Tanks

Our modular approach to design and manufacturing lets our team turn around large-format solutions quickly, so custom size doesn't have to mean high cost or long lead times. That's the case for these two water storage tank enclosures.

Large-Scale RPZ

A municipality needed to house dual 12" RPZ backflow preventers with a 12" meter and strainer, so they turned to us for a custom enclosure solution. The final product was a 390 sq. ft. enclosure that accommodated the piping layout.

For custom industrial work, aluminum holds up against UV exposure, moisture and temperature extremes without the corrosion, warping or degradation that steel, plastic and polycarbonate can show over time. That longevity is a core reason engineers spec aluminum for harsh conditions and demanding environmental factors.

Marine-grade aluminum panels are also easily customizable. Our enclosure exteriors have a corrosion- and weather-resistant finish, while the inside of our panels are braced with California redwood and insulated to protect against freeze and absorb up to 85% of internal sound.

These materials give each unit the structural integrity to hold non-standard configurations, with up to a 30 year typical lifecycle. Plus, if a panel is damaged it can be replaced independently and recycled thanks to our modular construction approach.