The following guidance has been developed by J&P together with channel supplier Jordahl®, and is based on extensive experience and testing on their own channel systems. Whilst the general principles are applicable to channel from other suppliers, the specific supplier should always be consulted for their own recommendations in the event of remedial work being required.

References to ‘the Contractor’ refer to the party responsible for creating/installing the connection on site.

Case 1

Description:

Channels that have been installed and are raised from the surface of the concrete will have an unsupported section of the channel side walls. This will allow a possible increase of deflection at the channel lip when under load.

Acceptable Limits

Provided that the projection is no more than 5mm then the channel will still be able to take the full channel load without any requirement for remedial work. However it will be necessary to check that the fixing bracket still has the required bearing area and that any shims required are installed in an acceptable method

Beyond Limits

If the channel is projecting more than 5mm but no more than 2/3 the overall depth of the channel then the following remedial work must be undertaken:

High strength, non shrink grout must be applied to and built up around the channel from the front edge of the slab deck extending back to a distance of 100mm minimum beyond the bracket to the rear of the channel and a minimum of 50mm beyond the ends of the channel, up to the depth required to fully embed the channel. This new grout surface will need to be flat and level to allow the bracket to have full bearing to the underside of the bracket.