01 / 06

What actually ships in a flat-pack kit

A kit is a complete envelope, not a bundle of sheets. Panels are cut to your internal dimensions before dispatch, which is why the order sheet asks for finished internal height rather than external — the difference is the panel thickness, and getting it backwards is the most common ordering error we see.

• Wall panelsPre-cut insulated sandwich panels with a factory cam-lock edge on both sides. Thickness is specified by duty: chiller rooms sit at the lower end, freezer rooms at the upper.
• Ceiling panelsSame construction, spanning the short dimension. Long spans are supported from above rather than made thicker.
• Floor panelsFreezer kits only. Chiller rooms are normally built directly onto the existing slab.
• Cool room doorHinged or sliding, supplied in its frame with gasket, closer and internal safety release already fitted.
• Flashings & trimsInternal coving and external corner trims — the parts that turn a joint into a sealed, cleanable surface.
• Seals & fixingsFood-grade silicone, sealing tape and the screws for flashings. The cam-locks themselves need no fixings.

The cam-lock is the reason the system works without a workshop. Each panel edge carries a hook-and-cam mechanism driven by a hex key through a small port in the panel face; a quarter turn pulls the adjoining panel tight and holds it under permanent tension. There is no welding, no wet trade, and no structural frame to square up first — the locked panels are the frame.

02 / 06

The base decides the build

Almost every problem that shows up later — a door that will not latch, a corner that will not close, a visible light gap at the ceiling — traces back to the slab. Panels are rigid and perfectly square. A floor that falls 10 mm across three metres does not bend them; it opens the joint at the top instead, and no amount of silicone will close it afterwards.

Check the base with a laser or a straightedge and a level before the kit is unwrapped, not after. Sweep it properly. Confirm the room’s footprint fits with clearance for the door swing and for the condensing unit’s service access, and check that the slab is dry — a chiller built onto a slab that still holds construction moisture will condense against the underside of the panels for months.

Panels must be erected on a level, clean and dry base. Variations greater than 5 mm across the room footprint must be packed or ground out before the first panel is stood.

From the kit’s installation sheet

If the fall is small, packers under the wall panels will take it up. If it is not, grind or self-level the slab and let it cure. That delay is far cheaper than dismantling a locked shell.

03 / 06

Standing the shell: five moves

With a prepared base and two people, the sequence below is genuinely a one- or two-day job for a small room. Work from one corner and keep going in the same direction — cam-locks are handed, and reversing halfway around the room means a panel that will not engage.

1. Set out and check the baseMark the footprint, confirm level and clearance, sweep the slab clean.
2. Stand the first cornerTwo wall panels, locked to each other and braced. This corner sets the geometry for everything after it.
3. Run the wallsPanel by panel around the perimeter, cam-locking as you go and checking plumb every second panel.
4. Fit and lock the ceilingCeiling panels drop in and lock down into the wall tops, which is also what stops the walls spreading.
5. Hang the door, then sealDoor frame plumbed and gasket compression checked, then coving, flashings and a continuous silicone bead on every internal joint.