January 2020
Mapei completes FRP structural strengthening at London office space Mapei products have been used as part of internal renovation works at the Local Government Association’s Layden House office situated in Farringdon, London. The 1970’s building underwent significant work, whereby Specialist Contractor Gunite (Eastern) Ltd requested a feasible solution using Mapei’s composite materials for structural strengthening work.
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The project required new openings to be created through the reinforced concrete slab to provide space for services and a new lift. Before cutting the openings, the slabs needed to be strengthened to redistribute the loads around the hole which meant designing for increased flexural loads and, where the holes were close to columns, also designing for punching shear. A feasible solution was proposed by Mapei, which included the use of Mapewrap C Fiocco carbon fibre cord and Carboplate, a pultruded carbon fibre plate pre-impregnated with epoxy-based resin.
The proposed design was accepted by the client as a cost-effective solution. The solution was approved and adopted by the engineers, and it was implemented by Gunite (Eastern) Ltd after they were instructed to undertake the work by the Main Contractor GilbertAsh. The design, where the service holes were cut near to columns, involved bonding Mapei Carboplate E170 plates to the top of the slab, with the plates on top of the slab connected into the column with the Mapewrap