Information about gratings and gratings manufacturers including: Architectural Grates, Aluminum Grating, Bar Grating, Drain Grates, Fiberglass Grating, Floor Gratings, Galvanized Grating, Metal Grates, Plastic Grating, Stainless Steel Grates, Stair Treads & Steel Grates.
Gratings are a type of covering that features a textured surface created by holes, a texture, or grid pattern. They are used in general buildings, production plants and sidewalks when perforated flooring is needed so that liquids and debris do not collect on the flooring, when solid flooring installation is difficult, and when increased traction and tread are needed for workplace safety. The percent of open area is important in allowing the required amount of light, water, air and sound to pass through the grating. Aside from walkways, they are used for a number of barriers and building construction materials. Floor gratings are mainly made out of metal, fiberglass and plastic. Metal grates are used for filtration, support or non slip. They are often galvanized gratings, which are coated for protection. Aluminum grating and stainless steel grating are often used to manufacture metal grates. Plastic grating is often used as an alternative to metal grating because it is lighter, easy to install, slip-free and doesn't rust, but still remains fire retardant. Fiberglass grating is the most common form of plastic grating because it offers higher strength. There are many different types of floor gratings, all of which serve different applications. Bar grating is the strongest type of floor grating, often used as the support flooring itself. Bars of metal or fiberglass are welded together in a rectangular configuration. Steel grates use bars, often in a grid pattern. Stair treads are stairs and ladders whose steps are made with serrated teeth, a grid pattern or textured surface for safety purposes. Architectural grates are used for many other things besides flooring in building construction, including louvers, decorative and ornamental screens, fencing, hand rails and walkways and are mostly used for sunshade and separations that still have air flow. Trench grates are used in pedestrian walkways to cover narrow sewers and drains so they may be easily walked over. Like architectural grates, trench grates are often decorative as well as functional.
Manufacturers produce gratings of various materials, thicknesses and patterns. Most gratings are made of metals or fiberglass reinforced plastic. Metal grates are the most common, and are usually made with stainless steel or iron and sometimes aluminum, for lighter traffic and load situations. Metal grates are either expanded metal, which are sheets of metal that have been slit and expanded and generate no waste, or perforated metal, which contain hole patterns created by punching presses. Both types result in a sheet of metal with cut-out formations. Galvanized gratings are hot-dipped in a layer of zinc oxide, which protects the metal from elements that lead to corrosion, oxidation, weakening and an overall shorter life span. Plastic grating is always made with fiberglass for greater temperature resistance and strength. The plastic resin provides high corrosion resistance, and is used to produce floors, stairs and enclosures. Depending on the corrosive nature of the building's environment and needed load strength, floor gratings are manufactured in various thicknesses and grip patterns. Both perforated and expanded metal fabrication techniques are used to create the majority of floor gratings. The available patterns of floor gratings vary from diamond shape to oval, and each pattern has different inherent strength properties. The choice of pattern of floor gratings is both practical and aesthetic. The most heavy duty floor gratings are made out of welded or pressure-locked interlocking bars. These fiberglass or metal bars provide a stable floor situation that is less likely to bend or warp with extended use.
There are many different types of floor gratings to choose from. Known for its strength, bar gratings are mostly made of metal. A series of parallel and perpendicular bars are welded, swaged or riveted together. Each bearing bar is welded with each cross bar so they fuse and form a permanent joint. This ensures a high degree of rigidity for the production of walkways, platforms, safety barriers and trench grates. Stair treads are usually metal that has been perforated or expanded. The cut-out holes deter slipping and buildup or water, mud or other materials. They may be the stairs themselves, ladders or covers for a flight of stairs. Finally, trench grates, which are long and narrow bar grating drain covers that allow pedestrians to walk over them, are popular grating products found all over on city streets and sidewalks. They accommodate drainage, deter buildup of water, come in many styles and designs, and may merely sit on top of the drain or be bolted down.
Floor grating manufacturers fabricate products that are most often used for the implementation of increased traction and tread for workplace safety. Often, floor gratings are required by regulation standards in certain areas of a factory or warehouse, including areas near potential fluid or lubrication leaks or as part of stairs and high walkways. These floor gratings provide slip resistant areas and extra grip for vehicles such as forklifts. Another common use for floor gratings is to cover an area which needs adequate drainage of fluids as in the case of an industrial-sized refrigerator or freezer. Sometimes the floor gratings are used as part of a buildings ventilation system, providing free travel of air to areas, rather than strict foot grip safety.
Grating Types
- has excellent corrosion resistance
under a variety of service conditions, light mass and high strength-to-weight
ratio.
- are floor gratings that are made with thicker metal
or fiberglass bars, which are either welded, pressure locked or riveted
together. They are used for stronger support purposes, such as stair
treads.
- is a durable, molded fiberglass floor product combining
slip resistant floor plates and molded grating.
- is lightweight, durable
and inexpensive, provides some traction and does not need special
equipment to be installed.
The openings range from 3/16" to 2".
- have lightweight durability and an anti-corrosive
nature. Pultruded fiberglass has a higher load capacity than standard
molded fiberglass ( http://www.fiberglassfabricators.com ).
- are the norm in the floor grating world. The metals
used most often are stainless steel and iron, but aluminum is sometimes
used in lighter traffic and load situations.
- (http://www.perforated-metals.com ) is a type of
metal fabrication technique which punches holes of various sizes
and patterns
via a punching press. This type of metal is often used along
with expanded metal to create floor gratings.
- is never 100% plastic but is often reinforced with
fiberglass.
- offers the widest variety of load bearing
bar spacing and can be manufactured efficiently in small
quantities. Pressure
locked grating is one of the most versatile types of grating.
- have perforations and textured surfaces to prevent slipping and related accidents.
- consist of many parallel and perpendicular steel bars that can bear weight, but still allow air to pass.
- is formed by electrically fusing cross bars to steel
load bearing bars.
Grating Terms
- The device by which grating is attached
to its supports.
- Load-carrying bars made from steel strip or slit
sheets or from rolled or extruded aluminum and extending in the direction
of the grating span.
-The intersection of two strands in a grating pattern.
- Flats or angles which are welded to the grating panel
and nosing of a stair tread.
- The connecting bars that
extend perpendicularly across the bearing bars. Where cross bars intersect
the bearing bars, they are
welded, forged or mechanically locked to the bearing bars.
- A
section of grating that has been removed to allow pipes, ducts, columns,
etc. to pass through the grating.
- An open grid assembly
of metal bars, in which the bearing bars running in one direction are
spaced by rigid attachment to cross
bars running perpendicular to them or by bent connecting bars extending
between them.
- A metal frame that contains floor
grating and provides a means to anchor floor construction.
- The
surface of a step constructed of a type of grating.
- Grating
panels which are hinged to their supports or to other grating parts.
- A flat bar attached flat against the outer edge of
a grating and projecting above the top surface of the grating to form
a lip or curb.
- A special L-section member serving as
the front or leading edge of a stair tread or of grating at the end of
a
stair.
- A sinuously bent connecting
bar extending between two adjacent bearing bars, alternately contacting
and being riveted
to
each.
- The distance center to center
of rivets along one bearing bars.
- Grating so
constructed that it may be installed either side up.
- The
distance between two points of grating support.
- That
portion of the cut edge or cutout of a grating which follows a straight
line.
- A band that is not load-carrying
but primarily used for aesthetic purposes.
- The overall dimension
of a grating panel, measured perpendicular to the bearing bars.