*cover photo image “Designed by Freepik“
Introduction – What are pedestrian grilles / pedimats?
In commercial buildings and architectural buildings concrete contractors find themselves putting depressions into slabs to allow for installations of embedded pedestrian grille products. These products are the entrance mat grilles that allow people to wipe their feet/boots, and serve as an entry into the building. They are also known as pedimat or recessed grille products. They are typically aluminium.
Pedestrian entrance grille products come in various different sizes and styles. For correct installation, as a commercial/architectural contractor, designer, or property manager, typically these products need to be flush with the floor surface. What we can do, as a concrete contractor, is put a slab depression in to facilitate your installation of the pedestrian entrance grille.
In some cases drainage can even be added by your plumber.
Why opt for pedestrian grille products?
These products offer the following benefits and are frequently installed in various commercial & architectural buildings:
- Trap snow and ice during winter seasons. Provides place for people to wipe off boots.
- Allow for water drainage if plumbed with floor drain.
- Give shique appearance to otherwise boring building entrance.
- Allow more durable replacement of entrance mat.
- Overall premium feel for commercial or larger residential builds.
- Can be coordinated with concrete slab construction for a permanent solution.
Coordinate with your Concrete Contractor
Pedestrian entrance grilles need to be placed exactly where you want them. This means, the slab depression also needs to match precisely where you want to locate your pedestrian entrance grille. Concrete is not easy to repair or make adjustments to, so getting the placement of the grille/mat//product the first time is super important! The slab depression is also called a buck-out in some respects. Small details like this often get overlooked so make sure you note to your concrete contractor you have a product like an entrance grille that you want installed.
Importance of Shop Drawings from Manufacturer
With that, also make sure to provide your concrete contractor an overview with dimensions of the precise location based off of project grid-lines or adjoining/surrounding materials. Also, if you know the type of pedestrian entrance grille product you want to use for your project, make sure to give your concrete contractor the shop drawings too. Depending on the design of the pedestrian grille, you may need a slight lip/niche in the depression to ensure the grille is seated properly. Shop drawings and installation instructions from the manufacturer will generally provide this information.
The general depth of a pedestrian entrance grille could vary depending on the product and manufacturer, so it really is important to ensure the depth is met pretty much on the dot to ensure flush installation… or extra depth for accumulation of snow/ice/water etc.
Some products might not need concrete depression, or if flooring/design builds up around the grille, this can also be a solution.
It is up to the designer and the owner.
Timing Install
Without the information, and as schedules progress quickly, this little item can get overlooked. Just because there may only be one or two in the building, and can be ordered at late stage, still, some consideration can be made if necessary with concrete slab buildings.
The buck-out is a plywood or wood structure in concrete placed/created prior to the pour of concrete.
The information about the pedestrian grille is needed pre-pour of the concrete slab surrounding the pedestrian grille, and should be tracked down in advance.
Photo Above: Products like steel grate while similar to pedestrian grille serve a more porous purpose. Still, the principle of providing the product a lip for which to sit on may be required. *Image Attribution Designed by Freepik“
If you miss the buck-out pre-pour of the concrete you may be stuck with costly concrete cutting/grinding and work to properly seat the entrance pedi-mat. Post-pour concrete work is labor intensive, including concrete removal and grinding and more. Making sure the product is seated level and flush, with no movement is key too, as well as providing means of removal.
Conclusion
If you are counting on the depth to be right with a concrete depression consider flooring to grille tolerances are minimal to avoid tripping hazards and comply with code requirements. Getting it right the first time is best.
Concrete entrance pedi-mat products are critical for some architectural and commercial building designs. On the whole, proper utilization of these products requires some coordination with your concrete contractor.
Get as much information about the product you are buying and provide that to the concrete contractor to ensure the installation goes smoothly, and there are no hold ups to your concrete slab pour/placement. Architectural specialty products such as entrance mats and pedestrian grilles are just some of the fantastic offerings a full-service architectural/structural/landscape concrete contractor can bring to the table. Picking the right concrete contractor on your next job means the little details like this do not get missed.
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