An area of concern for contractors when working on composite steel floor decks is the safety of their workers. Many contractors tell stories of their workers catching their boots on the wire mesh fabric, falling and injuring themselves. This can lead to costly workers compensation claims for the employer. Also, there is the added cost of storing the wire mesh fabric on the job-site, as well as then safely craning the wire mesh fabric to each deck level. In many cases it’s difficult to place the wire mesh fabric in the proper location, especially the thin concrete cross-section above the corrugation. The Wire Reinforcement Institute states, “Only when the wire mesh is properly selected, placed and supported can its use be recommended and it’s cost warranted.”
FORTA-FERRO® macro synthetic fibers eliminate a number of these issues.
FORTA-FERRO® has UL certification for use as an alternate or in addition to wire mesh fabric in Floor-Ceiling D700, D800 and D900 series designs.
FORTA-FERRO® macro synthetic fiber reinforcement is used in numerous applications including, precast, slabs-on-ground, decorative concrete and more. FORTA-FERRO® is being used in more composite steel floor deck – slabs. Typical dosages range from 4.0 lbs. to 5.0 lbs. per cubic yard of concrete. The Slab on Deck Institute references macro synthetic fibers as a, “viable alternate to traditional wire mesh fabric as temperature and shrinkage reinforcement for crack control purposes other than to resist stresses from quantifiable structural loadings.”
