Car Park Decking
REIDsteel can offer three types of Car Park Decking / Flooring:
Pre-Cast Concrete Decking
A Precast concrete deck is made of precast hollow-core concrete slabs that are supported by steel beams.
The disadvantage is the depth of the resulting car park flooring, because the concrete slabs are quite thick and they sit on top of fairly large steel beams. The floor ends up deep, a distinct disadvantage on multi-storey car parks where ramps are needed. Also because of the differences in expansion between concrete and steel waterproofing and screeding often ends up with cracks. Construction depth can be saved using shelf angles but these are costly and time consuming.
There is a small saving of steel because no joists are needed, but of course the planks need to be purchased.
The planks are placed on the car park decks by REIDsteel during the erection.
Normally they are placed on top of the main beams, which makes construction depth bigger than other car park decking methods.
Also, the planks themselves are thicker than the insitu deck, and may mean having more closely spaced main beams.
It is possible to reduce the depth of the car park construction by placing the planks onto ledge angles within the main beams but this is expensive and time consuming.
Precast planks can be placed over the whole car park deck and ramps.
After placing the precast planks the surface is screeded to provide a suitable car park flooring surface, and to smooth transitions, and provide skid resistance. The screed will be 50mm deep, but costs about the same to place as the 140mm in situ deck (below).
Steel Car Park Decking
The beauty of steel decking is its modular construction. The steel deck car park is very quick to erect on site, and easily de-mountable if the building is relocated later. The steel deck is sturdy and long lasting. You should always have a roof if you are using steel decking as the steel cannot be waterproofed.
All-steel car parks can be completely taken down, relocated and re-used. This construction of all steel multistorey car parks gives lighter foundation loads, and a structure which can tolerate more movement. The steel decks are simply lifted into place. Such car parks are difficult to seal, so need a roof if they are not to leak in the rain.
Composite Style Parking Decks
Your insitu decking on our lost formwork. This Composite Style Decking provides a very strong, lightweight, long lasting slim floor for your car park. It combines the properties of concrete and steel. It is made by supporting steel trays between steel beams. The trays are then filled with concrete giving a flush concrete surface. The steel trays will support the weight of the wet concrete with no propping and REIDsteel provide the trims around the edges of your car park decks.
In multistorey car parks the most usual form of decking is a reinforced concrete slab on lost formwork. The galvanised steel frames span 15.5m across the car park, with galvanised steel joists at fairly close centres between them.
Galvanised steel decking is laid across the joists, usually at a level just below the main beams. This decking can be white enamelled or plastisol coated on the underside to make the car park light and bright. This decking does not usually act compositely as multi storey car parks are open to the weather and we do not want corrosion of the decking to limit the life or increase maintenance.
A concrete slab, usually about 140mm thick (but the concrete volume equivalent of 110mm of plain slab - 2.64kN/m²) is poured onto our decking with no propping or shaping. One rebar is spaced in each trough, anticrack mesh is placed overall, and some light anticrack rebars placed over the main beam. REIDsteel provide all the edge trims so the concrete is quick and cheap to place, making a light but strong car park deck.
REIDsteel always recommend you put a roof over a car park. It produces more valuable parking, and costs less than waterproofing. REIDsteel prefer slight slopes on all decks so they self drain.
If you choose not to put a roof over the car park than the top deck must be waterproofed and drained.
Waterproofing
If a car park is covered there is no need to waterproof the decks. See Roofing
Summary
|
Feature |
Steel & Precast |
Steel & Insitu Lost Formwork |
Concrete |
Steel Anti-skid Deck |
|
Shallow construction |
no |
yes |
no |
yes |
|
Large spans |
yes |
yes |
yes * |
yes |
|
Waterproofable |
yes |
yes |
yes |
no |
|
Demountable / Re-useable |
no |
no |
no |
yes |
|
Cost |
med |
low |
med |
low |
* Large spans are possible with concrete, though more expensive. Many concrete car parks have thick internal columns, thickly decorated with car paint.
