Metal floor decking also known as decking floor or composite floor is a type of floor system formed by the combination of concrete, steel mesh, and profiled steel sheets with embossed patterns. These sheets are roll-formed with a wave height ranging from 50-75 mm, commonly have a thickness between 0.75-1.5mm, and are galvanized on both sides to prevent rust.
In the realm of construction, the steel decking serves as a temporary formwork, supporting fresh concrete, rebar, and construction workers, to mention a few. The deck sheets are directly installed on the steel beam system using specialized shear studs.
Having said that, below are some of the key benefits of metal floor decking you should know about before deciding on anything.
Less Weight
You’d be surprised to learn that slabs made with metal floor decking have high structural compared to traditional concrete slabs. Well, this creates a high strength-to-weight ratio which allows for a massive weight reduction.
This comes in handy for multistoried buildings since it brings down the entire weight of the construction immensely which can allow for lower foundation sizes. Metal floor decking makes the slabs lightweight and reduces the amount of work or support props needed for slab casting.
Cost Saving
Going with the reinforcement and strength offered by metal floor decking, in case of composite slabs, the amount of concrete used in the slabs can be reduced by a large amount while maintaining the same strength. Not to mention, the reinforcing steel can be reduced by 25% as the deck profile itself contributes largely to the tensile reinforcing property and therefore saves time and material needed. This leads to lower costs.
High Strength
Composite slabs made using concrete reinforced with metal floor decking can offer immense strength to the structure. The strength of the concrete combined with flexible reinforcement of the metal floor decking serves to offer an all-round stronger slab with the potential to withstand a great amount of load over a prolonged period of time.
No major reinforcement is needed unless the design parameters demand. The slab thickness can be reduced which allows for lighter slabs while maintaining the same strength. This paves way for reduced foundation loads leading to lesser material consumption and thus lowering the cost.
There you have it, some of the most notable accompanying the use of metal floor decking in Singapore.
