WHAT IS GRC?
WHAT IS GFRC?
AND WHY ARE THERE TWO ACRONYMS?
GRC is an acronym for Glass Reinforced Concrete.! GFRC is what it is called in America. Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete!?? . It was the British who developed ARG and coined the term GRC and this new composite industry, coming from this half of the globe, I have always referred it as GRC. . Decorative GRC is actually an Engineered Cement Composite and not at all a concrete, so all in all the names are confusing and very hard to narrow down in a search engine. Fibre reinforced cement composites today have evolved into Engineered Cement composites and no longer simply use Glass fibre but combinations of several primary and secondary reinforcement fibres. They all play a role in giving cement properties closer to that of ductile materials.
Not All GFRC's are the same
The Technology we developed is not quite the same as the GRC or GFRC that is talked about in the decorative concrete industry today! Let me explain.
40 years ago when Alkaline resistant glass fibres where developed, Structural Engineers seeing the obvious advantages of GRC in Architectural construction where the first people to develop GRC composite materials and they developed an industry to comply to their requirements.
What we did was redefine and re-engineering what had been developed into an industrial process into a refined studio based process geared to producing smaller delicate decorative artifacts and moving away from Building specifications and thinking into ART. As an artificer involved in the arts, The first task I had in 1995 when I moved from casting Bronze sculpture to casting GRC décor was to re-engineer Industrial GRC materials and processing to the smaller scale detailed level that was needed for an ART reproduction industry, as well as processing equipment, we also had developed new finishes that would take the perception away from being just cement artifacts! DECORATIVE GRC is 15 years of development in Decorative manufacturer. To get to this point, I have had to develop and refine new processing equipment, the chemical finishes, the design specifics, the procedures, the products and the markets!, As selling into a Garden décor retail industry who where use to pre-cast concrete, and lower end cheaper product has been a challenge to educate, the public have been easier to educate, they have been quick to recognize and absorb Decorative GRC into their homes, offices and gardens.....
WEIGHT and STRENGTH
Spray up Decorative GRC is thin section and so it is LIGHT WEIGHT... Typical wall thickness is between 4 and 8 mm around 1/4 inches. Table composites are Dual fibre composites so they are not as ridged as glass fibre only composites.
There is GRC and there is GRC.
Anyone who would add Glass fibre Reinforcement to any Cement composite can call it "GRC".
"Hand layup" is often referred to as “Pre-mix GRC, is a completely different process and a completely different composite material to “Spray up” GRC. Though hand layup is more common as it does not require specialized equipment to process, basically a sand and cement slurry is prepared into which pre-chopped AR glass fibre is added in additions between 2 and 3 %
Industrial GFRC versus Decorative GRC
What is the difference between decorative GRC and industrial GRC? Apart from the Decorative GRC Mix design where Dual fibres and selected engineered aggregate are used provide lower permeability, hard ,food stable surfaces , industrial GRC manufacturers typically make large panels and products for the Building and architectural industries, where they have to follow building codes often spraying more than 15 mm thickness. Decorative GRC the equipment is smaller and more flexible as is the mix design! And the composites are laid down with fibre contents higher than industrial spray up!
I am often asked “what is this product made from? And I answer “this is GRC? Where inevitably there is a retort "this is nothing like the GRC I have seen before "
Get all this right and the product is Lighter, stronger, more flexible, frost resistant, more chip resistant. Of course these important technical advantages are only part of it! The tops have to be hard and resistant to staining as any appropriate food surface. And advancing cement technologies along with advancing Silane siloxane allow us to do just this!
DESIGN
Design specifics! Independent to any specific design there is a need to understand how design fits the Technology and manufacturing. I have almost 20 years’ experience not only in manufacturing Decorative GRC but in Design and Design specifics, seen in the Link above www. Decorativegrc .com
MOULDS AND PATTERNS
MANUFACTUREING TECHNOLOGIES
Without exception almost all spray up GRC guns and spray machines on the market come from the commercial construction GFRC industry and are simply not appropriate for Decorative GRC. I have almost 20 years’ experience in design and fabrication of specialized specific equipment for this special Light weight High strength Decorative GRC
I Have produced all my own designs, patterns, moulds and maintain a design studio and mould making facility in the Philippines! so one of the most expensive components is often the tooling! which can be managed in the Manufacturing country or contracted out to Asia .