Sika CarboDur Plates Hold Up Bullring

Over a kilometre of Sika CarboDur carbon fibre plates has been installed during the refurbishment of the old Wades building.

This is part of phase 2 of the Bullring re-development programme in Birmingham, currently being undertaken by main contractor Laing O'Rourke.

The original building, which was built in the 1960's, is being modernised internally to accommodate 25 new retail units.

To level the existing floor areas, and install new stairways and lifts, holes have been cut in the floor slab.

As this involved cutting through the existing continuous load bearing beams, extra strengthening work was required.

Consulting Engineers, Waterman Group, working from their Birmingham office, specified the Sika CarboDur carbon fibre structural strengthening system as the ideal solution for this project.

The Sika CarboDur strengthening system comprises pultruded carbon fibre plates, available in various widths, thicknesses and strengths, and a specially formulated, cold cure two-component epoxy adhesive, SikaDur 30.

Specialist contractors, Laser group of Powick, applied 1.1 Kilometres of CarboDur plates to the underside of the affected beams, and to the top surface around the slab openings.

Using the Sika CarboDur system was a fast and efficient solution, especially compared to the traditional method of adding extra columns and beams.

An additional advantage is that the carbon fibre plates are inconspicuous, take up little room, and can be fitted around existing services.

Sika CarboDur is a tried and tested system with an excellent track record, offering high performance with good technical support.

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