The primary function of Block & Beam is to support flooring. The familiar ‘T-shape’ design has been used for many years, and the materials used include traditional concrete, or even polystyrene blocks which are used to increase the insulation value. Essentially, the Block & Beam technique keeps the floor off the ground, and the suspended nature of the design aids the moisture resistancy.

In most house builds, Block and Beam would typically be used under the ground floor, but they are also commonly used in blocks of flats, apartment complexes and commercial buildings. These tend to use ‘Hollowcore Concrete’ slabs for the flooring, which have holes running throughout to aid strength and to reduce the overall weight. A key benefit of Hollowcore flooring, is the ability to attach Munsen Rings and clips to hold pipes, electric cables, water pipes and gas central heating. Other benefits of Hollowcore are that it’s more industrial in strength, and is better for insulation and acoustics.

The size of the building itself will determine what size blocks you will need for your structure. As with most materials, the longer they are, the more susceptible to breakage they are likely to be. So naturally, there are different sizes of beams. If your structure requires longer beams, then they are usually thicker to withstand any bending or breakage.

Whilst there are ‘standard sizes’ available, as we do for Trusses, Block & Beam floors are typically procured to defined specification and made to order. This is always the most cost-effective solution (as opposed to cutting them down to size on-site). For any given project, all we need are the drawings of your development, and then we’re able to come back to you with the drawings of the precast concrete Block & Beam solutions, which are then ‘signed-off’ by you before we make to order, this is the great benefit of their ‘off-site’ manufacture, keeping your build project economical.