High steel-plate-concrete floor upgraded

Bastion South is an iconic office complex in Den Bosch and is currently undergoing a complete transformation. The large-scale renovation, new construction and preservation of this complex began in June 2023. "Here are the very first ComFlor 210+ steel slabs," says Henk Prins, director at Dutch Engineering, which supplies seven ComFlor steel slab-concrete floors and ASB beams. "We put the ComFlor 210 floor plate into production ourselves in the late 1980s, intended for large spans up to nine meters. The floor slab has always done its job well, but after forty years it was time for a bit of innovation. The ComFlor 210+ has some aesthetic as well as technical improvements."

"As of the fourth quarter 2023, the new ComFlor 210+ is available and since then about ten jobs have already been done with it. For experienced people, installing the old ComFlor 210 was no problem at all, but it was one of the more difficult boards to process. I hear from customers that the new board works very well. Because of the option of coating the underside, it is extremely suitable for the construction of parking garages, but certainly also for renovations, industrial projects, office and apartment buildings."

Aesthetics

"With the ComFlor 210+, the fasteners of the side covers are integrated into the concrete cross section. As a result, the underside of the slab is nice and flat, eliminating drilling points that protrude. This can be interesting for projects where aesthetics play an important role. In addition, the ComFlor 210 was only available in galvanized steel, while the new variant can also be supplied with a coating on the underside."

Constructive improvement

Because with the ComFlor 210+, the screws are all co-cast into the concrete, they also contribute to the anchoring of the slabs in the concrete. "After all, the whole concept of the steel plate-concrete floor is that those steel plates function as under-reinforcement and thus also play a constructive role in the design of a building," he said. Another technical improvement is the solid vertical anchoring of the slab in the composite cross-section." Research by TU Delft indicates that the ComFlor 210+ is about 30 percent stronger than its predecessor.

Well liked

JG Staalplaat betonvloeren BV is specialized in steel plate concrete floors and regularly engages Dutch Engineering for the calculation and delivery of steel plate concrete floors. For the project Bastion Zuid they chose the new ComFlor 210+ slabs. Director Wim Snelders: "This project was a collaboration with steel construction specialist Dijkstaal from Maassluis and Koninklijke Woudenberg. We liked the updated variant very much and will always choose it in the future when the structural engineer recommends the ComFlor 210. After all, in addition to the advantages mentioned, you also achieve some time savings because you no longer have to apply closing clips."

Large product range

"The nice thing about Dutch Engineering is that I can buy different types of plates and floor thicknesses here. Moreover, because last year production was largely moved from Britain to the Netherlands, the delivery speed has been increased."