Industrial buildings

The concrete sector o ers alternatives to the ubiquitous steel shed that o er exibility, fast
construction and durability against damage. Concrete also provides a wide range of bene ts
which are built-in and have no additional cost.

Concrete bene ts

As well as providing the structural frame, concrete can be used to improve the overall
performance of the building. The following give an indication of the many bene ts of using
concrete for an industrial building.

Fire resistance

Concrete can o er up to four hours re resistance, well beyond the 30 minutes stipulated by
the Building Regulations. This level of resistance is welcomed by re ghters who often have to
leave industrial buildings to burn as it is unsafe to enter. It is also welcomed by the building
occupier who will want to repair the damage and return to business-as-usual as quickly as
possible after a re rather than have the premises closed, then demolished and rebuilt. Read
more on re safety.

Airtightness

Concrete structures provide an airtight building with minimum air leakage from interface and
joint detailing. A high rate of air leakage can account for up to 20 to 50 per cent of heat loss
from a building, reducing air leakage will reduce the ongoing operational costs of heating and
cooling.

Speed of erection

Concrete sheds do not rely on new products or processes, so both materials and labour are
available within short lead-in times. Concrete walls are used for the vertical structure, which can
be manufactured to include the cladding and then the roof is placed. In just a few days fully
completely panels can be erected to form the complete shed wall. Therefore, the use of
concrete walls can reduce the overall timescale of the entire project and also has the exibility
to accommodate design changes later in the process.

Sustainability

Concrete is a ‘local’ option and all the raw materials for reinforced concrete are sourced in the
UK, reducing the transport costs – both nancially and environmentally. In addition, the use of
concrete sheds can help to reduce the environmental footprint of the structure. The high
thermal mass of concrete provides improved environmental control as it reduces the
temperature swings between day and night and so saves energy cooling or heating the building.

Built-in security

Security is a major consideration for industrial buildings. Concrete walls o er greater resistance
to unlawful entry such as ram-raiding and prevent the opportunity for thieves to cut through
lightweight steel warehouse walls. In addition, robust concrete walls o er greater resistance to
the impact damage that is often caused by fork-lift trucks.

Concrete solutions

The UK concrete sector o ers a number of e cient and cost-e ective construction solutions for
industrial buildings. The walls can be propped or cantilevered and can be precast or cast in-situ.

Depending on your speci c requirements for construction speed, site constraints and
performance the walls can be formed using:

In-situ concrete using formwork solutions.

Hybrid construction, including twinwall with precast outer skins and an internal core of in-
situ concrete.
Tilt-up panels, cast horizontally on-site then tilted into position. The external cladding can
be cast in the same process for maximum e ciency.
Precast panels, which can be made as sandwich panels incorporating external cladding
with the main load-bearing wall.