Shoes and Saddles
Shoes and saddles for cutting branch connections into spiral ducting. Rather than dismantling a run to insert a T-piece, a saddle or shoe fits over a hole cut in the existing duct and gives you a properly formed branch take-off — the standard method for adding drops to a live system, and often the neatest way to build a manifold in the first place.
Four ways to branch a duct
- Flat shoes (3 inch to 40 inch) — a straight take-off from the duct, the simplest branch connection in the range.
- 45 degree pipe saddles — bring the branch in at 45 degrees for smoother airflow, with branch diameters from 4 inch to 28 inch fitting main ducts up to 40 inch.
- 90 degree pressed saddles — a right-angle branch, pressed for a clean saddle fit, with branches from 3 inch to 12½ inch onto mains up to 28 inch.
- 90 degree curved boots — a curved-entry right-angle branch with the widest choice in the range: branch sizes from 4 inch to 40 inch.
Every saddle is sized as branch diameter x main duct diameter, so browse by the branch you need and pick the curvature to suit your main. Extraction systems favour the 45 degree entry, which keeps air and material sweeping in the direction of flow; general ventilation is usually happy at 90 degrees. Fitting is the same across the family: cut the opening in the main duct, seat the saddle, fix with tek screws and seal the perimeter with duct sealant from our fixings range — the run stays in place throughout, which is exactly why saddles beat tees for retrofits. Flat shoes are held in stock in every size, as are pressed saddles and curved boots in the popular smaller sizes — stocked items ordered by 3pm are despatched next day — while 45 degree pipe saddles and the larger sizes are made to order and despatched in 2-5 working days, with free UK mainland delivery on orders over £400 ex VAT.
