Steel plate and dowels to take any tie forces - plugged for fire protection
Timber structures Engineered timber
Resin anchors into RC slab - glulam notched around steel plate
Office refurbishments
Kelly Harrison discusses how engineered timber offers solutions to the challenges of adapting existing buildings, and highlights lessons learned. Glulam column baseplate on RC slab
W
ith climate targets and deadlines closing in, adapting and retrofitting buildings is a brilliant way of achieving low-impact developments. But how can this be achieved if the existing building does not have the required layout, enough net floor area or is generally an unknown?
The fact is, existing buildings often have built-in excess capacity. With thorough research to find the original drawings and investigations to expose and test structure on site, it is possible to adapt and extend to suit a new market, rather than demolish and start again.
CLT wall on load-bearing mason
Tolerance and chamfers around fin plate considered in design! Rivets to be surveyed!
Holes cut in plate, and flood welded
Refurbishment brings challenges: • Strengthening existing foundations is difficult and costly. • Existing superstructure may not be laid out in an optimum arrangement. • The buildability in and around an existing building and site, especially when some areas are occupied, can create logistical and viability issues.
Raise your Glulam 150mm if on a slab on ground! Steel plate and dowels to take any tie forces - plugged for fire protection
Glulam column baseplate on steel beam. Drawing: Kelly Harrison
Glulam column baseplate on steel beam
Engineered timber has solutions to many of these issues. Its high strength-to-weight ratio means that it has the capacity to support the required loads while adding much less weight to the existing structure and its foundations than other materials. Strengthening and work in the ground are therefore significantly reduced. Its off-site factory production, and minimal weight, are also ideal if you need the surrounding existing building to remain in use duringCLT construction, or if bolted steel there is any below-ground infrastructurethrough such as rail tunnels shoe plate, or services – the use of engineered timber can help reduce anchored to the programme time and minimise risk and disruption. concrete
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padstone
Resin anchors into RC slab - glulam notched around steel plate
Glulam column Glulam column baseplate on reinforced concrete slab. Drawing: Kelly Harrison baseplate on RC slab
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Older buildings usually have a smaller grid than new-build offices and these grids are often ideal for timber. CrossThink about laminated timber (CLT) floors require a certain thickness for access with this fire and acoustic reasons, so why not make that thickness connection! Can bothrather sides be work at capacity, not wasting any material, than reached safely? adding thick acoustic build-ups and other heavy materials to achieve this afterwards? CLT can often span further than standard office secondary grids, which in turn reduces the Glulam bea CLTamount wall onof beams in the soffit and often then tying in well with to side of R an existing masonry 4.5m or 7.5m column grid. >> load-bearing Timber 2021 Industry Yearbook
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