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News Archives - February 2009, Invincible eNews Edition.
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| Related Topics: - What's new? - BRANZ appraisal for Fibermesh and Novomesh - a NZ first - Alfresco Pools make a splash with Novomesh 950 |
As part of our commitment to developing and
manufacturing more environmentally friendly
products, we have introduced green and white drums
(pictured) for all of our "bio" products to help you
identify them more easily.
The drums contain bio release agents, water-based
release agents and water-based surface products.
We're sure you'll agree that having a different coloured drum for these products
will help eliminate site confusion and the (costly) potential of using the wrong
product in the wrong place.
In conjunction with new green and white drums, we are pleased to announce
the release of our latest concrete release agent, BIO-FINISH.
BIO-FINISH is a white, chemically active water miscible emulsion form release
agent based on food grade oils, containing a surface-consolidating agent. It's
free from petroleum distillates, is non-toxic and safe for skin contact.
BIO-FINISH is designed for use where high quality finishes are required on
impervious moulds such as steel, plastic, fibreglass and rubber. Due to its
surface consolidating effect, BIO-FINISH produces a clean, white release with
minimal bug holes and as it's a concentrated product it's very economical too –
"a little goes a long way".
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BRANZ appraisal for Fibermesh and Novomesh - a NZ first
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We're pleased to advise that our complete
range of Fibermesh fibres for concrete
reinforcement have been appraised by
BRANZ. In fact, they are the only concrete
fibre reinforcement products in New
Zealand to carry a BRANZ appraisal.
The appraisals cover both Fibermesh
polypropylene micro fibres, used in all
types of concrete work, and the new
Novomesh macro fibre range, ideal for highperformance
and more demanding jobs.
There are many benefits in having a BRANZ
appraisal:
- It adds further recognition to these
fibres including their British Board of
Agreement (BBA) Certificate and most
recently, compliance to European
Standard 14889 – Fibres for Concrete
including CE marking (this is a
mandatory requirement to meet the
European Standard).
- These systems meet all New Zealand
building standard requirements for fibre
reinforcement of concrete.
- It effectively provides an approval
for use of the fibres in concrete as
an alternative system to wire mesh
reinforcement, which provides building
certifiers and councils with the approval
required to sign off plans and projects
using these fibres.
Propex is the world's leading manufacturer
and supplier of secondary fibre
reinforcement for concrete. Their brand
name, Fibermesh, is synonymous with
quality and performance, with well over two
billion square metres of concrete reinforced
with Fibermesh worldwide.
In fact, if we converted all Fibermesh fibres
sold by FBS across New Zealand, based on
a 100mm thick slab, it would cover over
5,000,000m2, that's 100 times the size of
the Westpac Stadium in Wellington!
Propex is the only fibre manufacturer to
produce micro fibres that include different
lengths, thicknesses and mix ratios in one
bag, allowing better distribution and a high
reduction in plastic
shrinkage cracking.
Fibermesh micro fibres
can be used as a costeffective
alternative
to wire mesh for slab
on grade with four
metre joint spacing, as well as many other
applications.
The recently launched Novomesh 950
macro fibre blend includes a combination
of deformed polyethylene macro fibres
with Fibermesh micro fibres in one bag
and has a much higher post crack residual
strength than synthetic micro fibres only. So
much so, that it can be used for structural
purposes in specifically engineered designs
and provides increased joint spacing, load
carrying capacity and impact resistance.
Novomesh 950 is particularly suited
to external, coastal and aggressive
environments as a replacement system for
wire mesh. Being synthetic and therefore
free of steel, it won't rust or corrode.
If you'd like a copy of the appraisals,
download them from the BRANZ website
www.branz.co.nz or drop us an email and
we'll send you a copy. Or, if you would like
a presentation on the Fibermesh products
give us a call on 0800 835 699.
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Alfresco Pools make a splash with Novomesh 950
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Tim Hall and Matt Mowbray, Directors of Alfresco Pools based in
Auckland, know a lot about swimming pools. Between them they've
been building pools for 17 years, learning their trade from one of
the top pool builders in the country.
"Matt and I started working together about six years ago and soon
realised we worked really well together and were pretty good at
what we do," says Tim. "So, eighteen months ago we decided to
start up our own business."
A hands-on approach and top quality are what sets Alfresco Pools
apart from their competitors. "Our clients find it comforting to know
that even though we own the business, we are on-site getting our
hands dirty building the pools," says Tim.
Recently, a sprayed concrete job in Takapuna was causing
problems for Tim so he made contact with Denis Marra, Product
Manager, Reinforcing Systems here at FBS, who told him about
Novomesh 950.
"The pool was designed with a 1200mm minimum above ground
wall to act as a fence and the engineers required steel mesh for
the exterior walls to avoid shrinkage and weather damage," says
Tim. "This was going to add a lot more time and cost to the job and
we wanted to keep that to a minimum for the client."
Other risks with spraying concrete directly around wire mesh are
voids where it leaves air pockets and doesn't provide solid support
or a water-tight structure. Denis recommended Novomesh 950
as the perfect product for this type of job; he'd used it in similar
structures and was confident
it would work. It's designed
to spread evenly through
concrete to eliminate voids,
also assisting in stopping
the concrete from slumping,
which is very important when
concreting pools. It's also
less labour intensive, reduces
rebound and wastage.
"Using Novomesh 950 saved
us at least two days work,
mainly around labouring hours, and we didn't even have to go and
get it," says Tim. "Denis worked out how much we'd need, arranged
for it to be mixed into the concrete at the plant and delivered direct
to us on-site in a truck."
"It hasn't been tested that extensively on pools, so we'll have to
wait and see how it stands up to water, but I'm pretty confident,"
says Tim. "As a back-up we've lined the pool with FBS Krystol T1
and there's been no shrinkage or cracks on the outside so far."
"Denis has been a great help, he even comes out and visits us at
the site which is quite rare for sales reps," says Tim. "We're stoked
that we were put in touch with him, it's opened up a whole new
world in how we build our pools now. In fact, we're already planning
on using it on a pool in Waiheke."
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