But selecting the right Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GRC) manufacturer in UAE is essential to ensure that you get the best quality product.
The role of a GRC façade panel is simple: stay beautiful on the surface of a building for many years without cracking, fading or falling out. This is no easy task and relies heavily on the manufacturer. This guide explains exactly how to select the right GRC manufacturer in UAE so that you don’t end up with a facade that is a maintenance nightmare.
The Design Brief Is Only the First Step of Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
GRC is a favored material of architects for a reason. It conforms to virtually any shape, arch, dome or complex pattern and is lighter than conventional precast concrete. However, manufacturer skill is an important factor because of the material’s flexibility. GRC is a mixture of cement, fine aggregate, water, chemical admixtures, and alkali-resistant glass fibers – and the errors in this mixture won’t become apparent instantly. The same thing appears years later as cracking, discoloration, or fiber degradation on a building that no one wants to scaffold twice.
Before You Place an Order, Be Sure to Grasp What You Are Actually Ordering
It will be useful to have an idea of what makes GRC different from ordinary reinforced concrete before comparing suppliers. GRC does not use steel bars for tensile strength as regular concrete does, but instead, incorporates high-strength, alkali-resistant glass fiber directly into the concrete and ceramic matrix. The lightweight and mouldable panels are made possible by this replacement.
This composition also eliminates a problem which steel-reinforced concrete is unable to overcome – corrosion. GRC is not affected or broken by rusting and expansion of steel which happens in exposed façades in humid coastal climate such as UAE due to the absence of metal rusting and expansion within the panel.
What Application Are You Really in Need Of?
GRC isn’t one single product. The manufacturers will usually have a few different key applications, and if you know which one your project requires you will immediately whittle down your supplier list.
Typically, GRC appears as exterior building façade panels and precast architectural cladding, where it is highly appreciated for its capacity to simulate detailed shapes, textures, and finishes that would be significantly more expensive and heavy if made from solid concrete. It is also employed for decorative details, columns, domes, arches and patterned screens, which are appropriate for hot and dry climates and can be modified for modern and traditional Islamic design motifs throughout the Middle East. Some manufacturers also make sandwich panels with an insulating core, for example a polystyrene/rockwool insert, which are paired with the decorative shell of the façade providing thermal insulation.
Inquire directly from your manufacturer in which of these categories they specialize. Mastering flat cladding panels does not guarantee a supplier to be able to create a complicated domed screen, and neither does the ability to do so guarantee a master of the flat cladding panels.
Ensure Their Adherence to International Standards Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
Compliance isn’t optional when it comes to GRC, since it is usually a part of the building’s exterior that we can see. Genuine GRC manufacturers in UAE produce their GRC products as per pre-defined global standards and some even specify that their panels comply with global standards for GRC. Others view this on a regional level and create products that meet internationally accepted standards, allowing clients peace of mind in future performance.
If they’re not making the product in compliance with certain standards, find out what they are and request test documentation, rather than a statement on their website. A manufacturer that specifies its standards exactly is talking your talk. If someone responds with “we meet all standards”, it is fair to ask for further details to find out if they actually do.
Consider Fire Resistance and Weather Performance Data
GRC’s fire resistance and weather resistance is no gimmick. The fact that it is composed of mineral components makes it non-combustible, a very significant factor on high-rise façades where fire-rated cladding is not something you can take lightly, but is a requirement for safety. Additionally, panels are designed to resist harsh weather conditions, which is crucial in a region that experiences high humidity and extreme temperatures.
Request a fire rating and weather performance test report from your manufacturer for the individual mix designed, instead of relying on a general statement about the category of the mix.
Review Their Design and Engineering Support Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
A serious GRC manufacturer is more than just a pourer. Leading suppliers of the UAE are involved with architects, owners and contractors in working out the most economical solution without compromising on the design intent, providing full consultancy, design, installation and commissioning expertise as well as manufacturing.
Such support is crucial for anything but flat, predictable panels. Manufacturers that make decorative or shop-drawing supported elements usually include detailed instructions on how the element should be installed, how the substrate must be prepared and how the element should be fixed – avoiding the risk of a mismatch between design intent and what gets installed on site.
When considering anything that is architecturally significant, inquire specifically if the manufacturer’s staff has in-house design and engineering support, or if you will have to hire that service separately.
Check Out Their Experience on Similar Projects Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
With a good portfolio photo, GRC will look great. The more one can pick out buildings that are really there, and have been occupied, the better it looks. The UAE’s most iconic structures have been built with the help of proven GRC manufacturers, such as Dubai Mall and Palazzo Versace; one of the UAE’s oldest precast and GRC suppliers states that these projects are examples of how it has successfully merged structural properties with architectural design intent.
Scale matters too. The number of projects completed by some regional GRC and GRG manufacturers is over 400 in the GCC region, with hundreds of skilled and engineering personnel working on each project. The amount of volume usually corresponds to the manufacturer who has already ironed out the kinks a smaller, newer supplier is still working out.
Know the Red Flags Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
There are only a few warning signs that are often raised by weaker GRC suppliers. Look for general responses to the question of what are the international standards to which they adhere, no hint of providing fire or weather test documentation, no support from in-house designers or shop-drawers for anything other than flat panels, and no track record on projects of a scale similar to yours.
These are not enough to automatically knock out a manufacturer. However, if two or three appear at the same time, don’t rush into a contract and conduct more research before agreeing to something that will be on the outside of your building for years.
Connecting the Dots Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete
When selecting a GRC manufacturer in the UAE, there are a number of simple checks that can be made:
- Confirm the type of GRC application this fits into.
- Check that it complies with international standards by checking real documentation.
- Verify fire and weather performance data relating to their mix.
- Review project history that is similar and has been proven.
Do without these checks and you’re relying on your building’s appearance from a supplier that hasn’t tested their process in the real world. Do it right, and your GRC facade does what the material claims – it’s lightweight, detailed and weather-tight, stands tall after the scaffolding is removed, and performs as intended for years after installation.
