Opportunities and limitations of construction products

Concrete slabs: ceramic slabs – unlimited serviceability regardless of the installation situation?

Pavements in outdoor installations are subject to requirements that follow from the specific characteristics of each installation location and from the actual foreseeable loading both during construction and during the subsequent period of ordinary use of the structure.

Goal-driven decisions for a feasible construction method combined with a truth-to-materials choice of construction products require a clear-cut definition of the performance goal taking serviceability into account. In this regard, the information provided by manufacturers offers a qualified basis for assessing the achievability of the agreed properties of a pavement. The objective knowledge of and experience gained in building practice with beneficial product properties in different construction and usage situations play a decisive part in the choice of a pavement product. The process calls for not only technical but also design requirements to be taken into account.

The range of construction products suitable for use in pavements is constantly developing so that the weighting of market shares is also constantly changing. However, the beneficial properties specific to different construction products do not ensure serviceability and therefore a successful work result in all installation situations. It is undisputed that each construction product has characteristic product benefits, but it also has material-specific performance limits.

Developments are in motion on the market for concrete and natural stone products as well as for ceramic tiles and slabs. Substituting pavement products has limitations but also offers opportunities. Notwithstanding the visual and design benefits of the construction products, the technical performance vis-à-vis the requirements of the specific construction situation must be guaranteed in the interests of the work result.

The lecture presents an objective view of the current status, defining application possibilities from the viewpoint of building practice.

x

Related articles:

Issue 04/2018 EINSTEIN FUGENTECHNIK

Drainage-joint block pavement for parking facility at Messe Stuttgart

Messe Stuttgart, the exhibition and trade fair center of the capital of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, extends over an area of 105,200 m2 and is thus the tenth largest German exhibition...

more
Issue 09/2018 SLG

Symposium on “Concrete Block Pavement”

There is hardly any other construction material which plays such a prominent role in area surfacing and design as concrete block pavement. The proper design and execution of concrete block surfaces...

more
Issue 04/2023

Evaluation of blowholes in the surface of concrete slabs or paving stones

1 Initial question 1.1 Issue case 1 (concrete slabs) The plaintiff had ordered approx. 133 m2 of concrete slabs at a net price of 20.50 euros via the construction trade. Shortly after the concrete...

more
Issue 10/2020 ELBE DECKEN

Serialized construction with prestressed floor slabs

In school construction, where the focus is on functionality, precast prestressed floor slabs are increasingly used. The aim is to ensure high delivery reliability, cost savings and the possibility of...

more
Issue 02/2020 New SLG Code of Practice

Stairs and steps made of concrete components for outdoor applications

The construction methods of staircases for outdoor applications fundamentally differ from those for indoor applications. In contrast to stairs in buildings which have to be designed and dimensioned in...

more