Plastic replacing mesh in concrete

[Yorkshire lad]

We are looking at concreting our yard and were thinking of 210 mm of concrete with some steel mesh in it.
Talking to a local readymix plant operator he says they now include plastic strands into floor or yard mixes as a replacement for steel.
One large warehouse floor and yard was specified plastic strand and no steel by the architect
He says these strands are like plastic match sticks and not like the old horsehair fibers that we have had in the past
Has anyone used them and are they a replacement for steel they do cost about £20 cube

 

[Sunny Suffolk]

Morning from Suffolk!

Yes so the old 'fibres' we expect to turn up when we ask for an RC45 with Fibres are micro fibres or monofilament fibres. Like you say they look like hair. They are to reduce shrinkage and cracking and aren't a replacement for steel (even though lots of people think it is). The fibres that are a (near) replacement for steel are MACRO fibres.

Again, like you say they are more expensive too. Where the micro fibres cost about an extra fiver per cube of concrete these macro fibres can get pretty pricey.

Guess it depends on how much reinforcing mesh costs where you are and how much time you want to save.

 

[Forever Fendt]

We are looking at concreting our yard and were thinking of 210 mm of concrete with some steel mesh in it.
Talking to a local readymix plant operator he says they now include plastic strands into floor or yard mixes as a replacement for steel.
One large warehouse floor and yard was specified plastic strand and no steel by the architect
He says these strands are like plastic match sticks and not like the old horsehair fibers that we have had in the past
Has anyone used them and are they a replacement for steel they do cost about £20 cube

We have done work in a large warehouse that involved cutting pockets in the floor with these in,looks very good no cracks in the slab and look to be evenly distributed through the thickness of the slab ,better than using mesh and having it tramped on the bottom by men or machine

 

[milkloss]

I'm no concreter but if a cube does 6 and two thirds of a square meter cover at 150mm and it's twenty quid extra. How much money, time and hassle would you put to using rio?

 

[Pluto Matt]

We built an equine block recently, and used these fibres to strengthen the concrete blocks - 12 months on and no problems so far. Was easier than using steels as it was pre-mixed in with the agricultural concrete, so we didn't have to worry so much about funny shapes. Mind you, we used a plastic formwork system that stays in the concrete - useful for us because it enabled us to have mini drainage channels in-built.

Depending on what you are using the yard for, it might be worth going for agricultural concrete mix (slightly more expensive) as normal concrete gets attacked by cattle/horse urine. Also it's definitely worth shopping around - we got a discount of £5 per metre by doing so - it all adds up!

 

[RWG Contracts]

I'm no concreter but if a cube does 6 and two thirds of a square meter cover at 150mm and it's twenty quid extra. How much money, time and hassle would you put to using rio?

Depends what sort of mesh you use, A193 is about £24 a sheet and covers 10m2

 

[milkloss]

Depends what sort of mesh you use, A193 is about £24 a sheet and covers 10m2

Not much in it then if these plastic strands work like suggested?

 

[RWG Contracts]

Not much in it then if these plastic strands work like suggested?

Hmm, I'm not convinced by fibres, I don't see how they can be as strong as mesh, and they're a pain if you're power floating

 

[Yorkshire lad]

Local ready mix guys says that they are structurally stronger as they mixed in throughout the whole slab ,
He says steel is great if it's layed properly but it's often falls off its supports and is trodden to the bottom of the slab.
I can see why contractors like them as its faster than having to lay mesh down ,but he says they are often specked by the architect and they are slightly more expensive than steel, but he is selling them
It's a good point you make though about power floating will they be visible an the surface

 

[vantage]

Local ready mix guys says that they are structurally stronger as they mixed in throughout the whole slab ,
He says steel is great if it's layed properly but it's often falls off its supports and is trodden to the bottom of the slab.
I can see why contractors like them as its faster than having to lay mesh down ,but he says they are often specked by the architect and they are slightly more expensive than steel, but he is selling them
It's a good point you make though about power floating will they be visible an the surface

There is quite a lot of info on the Hanson site regarding different fibre types,in our case plastic macro would be ideal for our farm access road.

 

[designanddetail]

We predominantly do industrial units and have yet to come across any that have used fibre in place of mesh, so I can only take from that, that mesh is cheaper.

 

[Lincsman]

If wire mesh actually does crack, (due to poor base) it will hold the slab together, all the rest are actually seperated, but are OK for putting through the crusher at a later date

 

[Doing it for the kids]

This is when architects can be a pain setting new fashions.

I'm not convinced on plastic, I'm no expert but I'm old school. Metal and concrete just sounds better than plastic and concrete too...

I am sure in time plastic will take over!