You can’t put a price on the quality of reinforcing
July 28, 2022
With the economic climate squeezing us all, it is understandable that fabricators are trying to reduce costs, however, VEKA wants fabricators to recognise that when it comes to reinforcing, cutting corners is not the best course of action.
Paul Kennington, Technical Director at VEKA plc said, “The first thing to understand is that not all reinforcing is equal. To the naked eye, two pieces of steel may look identical, but there could be considerable differences – each will have their own unique characteristics including differing grades and differing densities.”
Deviating from the production specification supplied by your systems house means that all testing undertaken becomes invalidated, deeming it necessary to re-assess and re-test in order to comply with relevant standards, including the UKCA Marking. This process could cost tens of thousands of pounds per system – so is not cost effective or productive. The same also applies to U-Values where using a different steel could be the difference between meeting this calculation or not.
Paul continued, “Even if it appears alike geometrically, it is not guaranteed to perform the same; while even the slightest deviations in size, shape, or gauge can have a major effect on functionality. Coatings also need to be considered, BS7412 states that reinforcements should be galvanised to Z275. I would advise that your stock control ensures that incoming steel meets this guidance, meters can be bought to measure this.”
VEKA urges any fabricator that is considering using a non-approved third-party supplier for reinforcements, to carefully consider their options. When a VEKA product uses steel from another supplier it is no longer a VEKA product. All testing accreditations or warranties become invalid, and you will need to conduct additional testing to ensure you are supplying products that comply with regulations.
To find out more about reinforcements including VEKA’s testing procedures, contact your BDM or speak directly to their technical team.
