Truedek's Long Span Capacity Avoids Damage

Truedek® has recently been used as the steel decking system for a large residential project by Sydney building company BFS Constructions, who were contracted to undertake major alterations on a Double Bay property.

Built in the 1930’s and located four storeys up at the end of a long driveway, the grand old family home needed a complete makeover and additional accommodation for extended family. The brief included some internal reconfiguration of existing walls and the addition of external concrete balconies with lift access and had to be built to maintain and match the original charm and fittings from the old home. The new design included a concrete slab across the entire top floor for a rooftop apartment, paved terrace and garden areas.

The existing design called for conventional formwork to the roof top slab, requiring support from the lower ground level through each of the three levels above, which would have caused major damage to the timber floors and ornate ceilings, resulting in an extensive and expensive restoration job upon completion.

An internet search by BFS Director, Tallal Mostafa for a longer span steel decking product found Truedek® and it proved perfect for the job, as the TD90mm panels could easily span the required areas without any requirement to prop underneath, leaving the timber floors and ceilings below in original condition.

“The system and outcome were ideal for this project as it saved time in construction and stripping traditional formwork and restoration expenses. It was the first time our Site Manager, Mohammed Khan had used Truedek® and after a 15 minute training session, it was surprising how easy it was to install”.

“We wish to thank the team at Truedek® for assisting us during the design and installation process and we highly recommend this system as an alternative to traditional formwork,”

The Truedek® panel is a remarkably strong product, made up of 4 different rollformed sections which are brought together and joined with the state-of-the-art German Tox clinching system to form a trapezoid shape. Each panel consists of a top and bottom chord, both manufactured with longitudinal ribs to maximise the strength and 2 side ‘web’ panels rolled with vertical ribs that also enhance the strength and all four profiles can be made in various metal thicknesses to suit the requirements of the slab.

The panels are custom made and designed with a pre-camber, engineered to suit the concrete load and ensuring a flat soffit. Depending on the slab requirements, some panels can also be voided, saving concrete costs and as they are manufactured to a plan, there is no onsite cutting or scrap to clean up.

The stronger, lighter Truedek Decking system was the result of the collaboration of the Engineers at OneSteel Reinforcing and the University of Western Sydney and has been successfully used in thousands of construction projects. The product is now owned by Premier Steel Technologies at Wetherill Park in Sydney and has since been renamed Truedek.

For more information on the Truedek Steel Decking system, visit: www.truedek.com.au or call (02) 9756 0602 or by email: enquiry@truedek.com.au