Description
Two profiles in this range share the same 93 mm channel and differ only in the gauge named on one of them. That makes this page the one place in the base-track ladder where the choice is not about board thickness at all.
Which UK Projects Take the 93 mm Starter Profile
Base track 93mm 2.5m is the starter profile fixed above the DPC before any board goes up, and the 90 mm graphite EPS usually matched to this channel declares 2.80 m²K/W under EN 13163:2012+A1:2015. Renders World holds it on the matched insulation fixing accessories shelf.
That resistance belongs to the board rather than to the profile. What the track contributes is geometry: it holds the bottom edge of the insulation to one line, lifts the board clear of the ground, and gives basecoat and render a defined stop at the plinth.
- Solid-wall retrofit above a standard build-up, where the calculated thickness lands a step deeper than the most common domestic specification and the base line has to be set for the first time.
- Elevations that change thickness, where a narrower channel serves reveals and returns while the datum stays continuous around the building.
- Phased and terrace programmes, where the value of the track is a reference that survives between visits rather than anything on a datasheet.
- Work tied to an existing DPC, where the render stop at the base has to meet a fixed height rather than a convenient brick course.
Why the Channel Width Is Settled Before the Boards Arrive
Ordering the track after the boards is the sequence that causes trouble, because the channel is the one component sized against something else on the pallet. Each point below is about that dependency.
- One datum, levelled once. The cheapest accuracy on an EWI job is the base line, and every board course, bead run and sill above inherits it whether it was set carefully or not.
- Selected against the board in front of you. The profile is named for its channel rather than for a system code, so the choice is a measurement, not a compatibility lookup.
- It works against a documented board strength. The graphite EPS declares tensile strength perpendicular to its faces of at least 80 kPa and bending strength of at least 75 kPa, which is what the adhesive bed and the shelf act against once a board is seated.
- The gauge question is separate from the width question. A second 93 mm profile in the range is named for a heavier gauge, so width and stiffness are chosen independently.
- The load path above it is settled elsewhere. Plug length and count come from a manufacturer table rather than a rule of thumb, and the plug length calculation method works that sum through before the first board is bonded.
- A 2.5 m module keeps the take-off simple. Ordering against measured elevation runs is straightforward arithmetic when every length in the range is identical.
Price, Stock and What One 2.5 m Length Covers
| Figure | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Price per length | £8.00 per 2.5 m length | Store listing, August 2026; no VAT label was shown alongside the figure |
| Per linear metre | £3.20 per metre | £8.00 ÷ 2.5 m = £3.20; materials only |
| Stock state | Listed as available | Store listing, August 2026 |
| Weight per length | 2 kg | Store-declared despatch weight, not a manufacturer figure |
| Listed brand | PROFIGIPS | Store listing; no PROFIGIPS document was retrieved this session |
Both money figures are material cost and nothing else. Labour is priced by the installer and no rate on this page comes from the store, so a fitted cost per metre is a separate calculation with a separate source. The despatch weight is worth knowing before ordering thirty lengths for a first-floor scaffold lift, since two kilograms a length adds up faster than the volume suggests.
Figures on File for a 90 mm Base Course
Two figures below come from the product's own name, five from the board document fetched this session, and one row records what could not be sourced at all. Gauge, material, finish, channel tolerance and fixing centres are in that last category.
| Parameter | Value | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Named channel width | 93 mm | Product designation, not a measured dimension |
| Named length | 2.5 m | Product designation |
| Declared thermal resistance at 90 mm | 2.80 m²K/W | EPS 032 Fasada Extra at 90 mm; declared value, not thickness divided by λ |
| Declared thermal conductivity | λD 0.032 W/mK | EPS 032 Fasada Extra graphite EPS board |
| Tensile strength perpendicular to faces | ≥ 80 kPa | EPS 032 Fasada Extra board |
| Bending strength | ≥ 75 kPa | EPS 032 Fasada Extra board |
| Reaction to fire | Class E | EPS 032 Fasada Extra board alone, never the class of a rendered build-up |
| Profile gauge, material and finish | Not published | No profile document retrieved this session |
Declared resistance is the figure worth quoting because it is the one the manufacturer stands behind, and dividing thickness by conductivity returns a slightly different answer that appears on no document. The graphite EPS insulation boards shelf publishes the thickness ladder those figures belong to; board format and pack area are confirmed on the order, because the technical card declares its available sizes and computes its pack table against two different board formats.
Setting Out the 93 mm Track From One Datum Line
The starter profile is the first component on the wall, so all of this happens before a bag of adhesive is opened. Order matters more than technique, because a datum set twice is a datum set wrong once.
- Establish one datum and project it. Set the base line above the DPC with a laser, carry it to every elevation from that single reference rather than transferring between elevations by spirit level, and snap a chalk line so the height survives until boarding starts.
- Check the channel against the actual board. Offer up an off-cut with its adhesive bed allowed for and confirm the board seats squarely on the shelf rather than riding on the lip.
- Dry-run the lengths before drilling. Lay them end to end along the chalk line and mark the fixing positions through, which catches a fixing point landing on a movement joint or a service penetration while it is still a pencil mark.
- Fix to the profile's own pattern. Drill diameter, plug type and fixing centres come from the profile instructions or the system designer for the substrate in question, confirmed on the first length rather than carried over from the last job.
- Keep the run continuous at external corners and leave the movement allowance between lengths that those instructions call for, so the base reads as one line around the building.
The base track datum and levelling method covers the first day on site in full, and the insulation fixings installation sequence picks the elevation up from the first bonded course.
Site Notes on Substrate, Movement and Handling
Treat the width in the name as a designation and confirm the fit physically: an off-cut of the board, plus the adhesive bed, offered into the channel before the first course is bonded. Where a project needs the pairing in writing, request the profile's own instructions with the order.
Pull-out per fixing differs markedly between dense masonry, lightweight aggregate block, aerated block and older lime-mortar brickwork, and on a pre-1919 wall it can differ along a single elevation. Test fixings driven at the start of a run are the practical answer, because they report on the substrate before board weight is on the track rather than after. The schedule itself belongs to the manufacturer table and the wind-load calculation for the site, and the fixing pattern and spacing method owns that calculation. For the property types where a deeper solid-wall specification recurs, the solid-wall Victorian retrofit guide gives the wider system context.
Handling is the small discipline that protects the datum. A length stored flat and unloaded stays straight, and a straight length is what makes levelling quick, so lay the bundle against a wall with nothing heavy on top and take the first length from it before the boards land on site.
Same Width, Two Gauges: the 93 mm Pair Compared
Renders World stocks the ladder rather than a single width, and at 93 mm it stocks the width twice. The table compares on the only properties these names declare, which is channel width and, on one member, gauge.
| Profile | What the name declares | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| 83 mm base track profile | 83 mm width, 2.5 m | One step down; shallower channel |
| 93 mm base track (this product) | 93 mm width, 2.5 m; no gauge named | Standard member at this width |
| 1 mm gauge 93 mm base track | 93 mm width, 2.5 m, 1 mm gauge | Same channel, named for a heavier gauge |
| 103 mm base track profile | 103 mm width, 2.5 m | One step up; a 10 mm deeper channel |
The honest reading of that middle pair is that one profile names a gauge and the other does not, so a specification calling for a particular thickness of aluminium is answered by the named member. No document setting out the gauge of either was retrieved this session, which makes a like-for-like stiffness comparison something to ask for rather than something to read here.
Choosing the Channel and Placing the Order
- Measure the board, then pick the channel. Take the board thickness at the base course, allow for the adhesive bed, and choose the channel that seats it without slack. The order line then reads base track 93mm 2.5m, one length per 2.5 m of base line plus corner allowance.
- Does the specification name a gauge? If it does, the 1 mm member above answers it directly; if it does not, this profile is the standard choice at the width.
- Does the thickness change across elevations? The 83 mm and 103 mm profiles handle the step either side while the base line stays continuous, and all three run to the same 2.5 m module.
- Order the boards on the same delivery. Pairing the track with the graphite board ladder keeps datum, channel and first course consistent, and both sit on the starter tracks, plugs and discs shelf structure.
FAQ on Gauge, Quantities and Channel Fit
How many lengths and how much for a given run?
Divide the measured base line by 2.5 m and round up. A 12 m run gives 12 ÷ 2.5 = 4.8, so five lengths cover it, and at the listed £8.00 a length that is 5 × £8.00 = £40.00 in track, materials only, at the August 2026 price. A sixth length is worth carrying where external corners have to be cut.
What separates this from the 1 mm profile at the same width?
The name. One member of the pair declares a 1 mm gauge and this one declares no gauge at all, while both share the 93 mm channel and the 2.5 m length. Where a system specification or a designer calls out a starter rail thickness, the named member answers it; otherwise this is the standard profile at the width.
Which board thickness does the 93 mm channel take?
No manufacturer table for this profile was retrieved, so the answer is a method rather than a number. The channel is sized a few millimetres over the board it is matched to in this range's naming convention, and the fit is confirmed with an off-cut and its adhesive bed before the first course is bonded. Written confirmation can be requested with the order.
Does the track set the fixing schedule for the boards above it?
Fixing count and plug length are system and manufacturer figures, taken from the fixing table and the wind-load calculation for the building rather than from the starter profile. The track sets the line and carries the first course; the schedule above it comes from the design.
Does a given board thickness on this track satisfy building regulations?
Compliance is a whole-wall calculation and never a property of a board thickness or a channel width. The u-value calculation for wall insulation thickness sets out the method, and the target applying to a particular project is confirmed by the assessor or designer working on it. A deeper build-up also moves the facade line out past the existing sills, so sill projection is measured on site before the render stop is set.