Elevated walkway, looking for ideas (materials to use)
Discussion
We have an elevated walkway which is currently plain wood decking which is rotting.
I've looked at composite decking, but looking for ideas for other materials.
The walkway has a steel sub structure, but it's not strong enough to support concrete slabs for example.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
There are two areas, one is long and narrow (approx. 25m x 1m) - the other is a square area approx 25sqm.
I've looked at composite decking, but looking for ideas for other materials.
The walkway has a steel sub structure, but it's not strong enough to support concrete slabs for example.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
There are two areas, one is long and narrow (approx. 25m x 1m) - the other is a square area approx 25sqm.
TonyRPH said:
Aluminati said:
Might want to check fire regs requirements for that one.
Good point - I should have added in my OP that any material needs to be fire resistant as a minimum.RATATTAK said:
What's the situation at present with regard to fire regs ? I understood the present material is timber.
Yes, the existing decking is timber - very old timber (12 years or so) and I suspect not very fire resistant at all (there's even some doubt as to how this got building sign off but that's a whole other story!).But we want to fit something that's as fire resistant as possible - nothing that I've looked at so far seems to be guaranteed fire proof.
andye30m3 said:
I'd look at something like https://www.alideck.co.uk/
This or Ryno deck, which is available in aluminium or composite. They are non-combustible and very low maintenance.You will obviously need to confirm loadings and suitability for your particular project.
My gut feeling is that composite/grp/plastic decking will be worse for fire rating that wood, which actually takes quite a while to catch light, and burns in a reasonable controlled fashion with not too much smoke, no dripping of hot flaming material, etc.
Just go like for like every ten years? Maybe look at a copper based pressure treated timber.
Just go like for like every ten years? Maybe look at a copper based pressure treated timber.
dhutch said:
My gut feeling is that composite/grp/plastic decking will be worse for fire rating that wood, which actually takes quite a while to catch light, and burns in a reasonable controlled fashion with not too much smoke, no dripping of hot flaming material, etc.
Just go like for like every ten years? Maybe look at a copper based pressure treated timber.
As my comment above, there are specific alu/composite options which are A1 fire rated and designed for this type of installation. They will be more expensive than timber, but are non-combustible and require minimal maintenance in their design life (circa 60 years for a product we are installing on a current large project).Just go like for like every ten years? Maybe look at a copper based pressure treated timber.
Given this does not look like a domestic setting, the OP will need to seek advice to make sure he is compliant.
Thanks everyone - we've not been able to find a tradesman who can offer this sort of advice.
I had looked at aluminium decking previously, however some reviews suggested it was noisy with footfall, and also noisy with heavy rain.
As was suggested, this is not a domestic setting - and I'm aware we need to get this right.
I had looked at aluminium decking previously, however some reviews suggested it was noisy with footfall, and also noisy with heavy rain.
As was suggested, this is not a domestic setting - and I'm aware we need to get this right.
Aluminati said:
This looks ideal, although I note is 3x heavier than typical decking boards.I'll need to get an engineer in to establish if our existing steel structure can handle the additional load or if it requires reinforcement.
Fortunately, I believe the company that originally constructed it is still in business.
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