Everards Brewery, Leicester, UK

Project Overview

This GRP mezzanine flooring project required all products used to achieve the 60 minute fire-rating burn time specified by the client 170-year old Everards Brewery Ltd, who embarked on an ambitious relocation strategy to create a viable and vibrant destination known as Everards Meadow. Led by Kier, the project included constructing 862 m² of new office accommodation, 1454 m² of brewery floor area and 1,054 m² of retail, food and drink space.

A mezzanine floor that’s safer and cheaper than steel.

Everards new home, at Everards Meadows, near Enderby, has the capacity to produce more than 4.3 million pints of beer every year.

Achieving a fire-rated mezzanine with GRP.

Phase 1B of this ambitious project led by Kier included the construction of a new state-of-the-art brewery and flexible space which plays host to tasting sessions, brewery tours and other events. Experienced structural steelwork specialists Traditional Structures Ltd worked with Dura Composites to deploy a fire-rated heavy duty Glass Reinforced Polymer flooring and stair tread solution which achieved major cost savings versus the previously specified traditional heavy diamond pattern open mesh steel flooring with solid durbar top-plate.

Easier and more cost effective than chequerplate.

Using a combination of structural steelwork and lightweight GRP Dura Slab products, resulted in the delivery of a mezzanine floor which was easier to handle and work with on site and provided a more cost-effective solution to traditional steel flooring designs.

In this scenario, Traditional Structures created safe plant access and viewing platforms which met the end client’s fire resistance requirements and from which it is possible for members of the public to also watch beer production.

This project was a strong collaboration between Traditional Structures Ltd and Dura Composites and is a great example of how GRP composite materials can be used with structural steelwork to provide a cost-effective alternative to the more conventional heavy and cumbersome steel flooring selected by many design teams. On this project the Dura Slab was lighter to handle and therefore less labour intensive to work with and fit than steel – and yet still achieved all of the end client’s requirements in terms of fire safety, anti-slip and longevity.

Lawrence Stainsby

Managing Director of Traditional Structures Ltd

Our Specialists

Our innovative recyclable products can help accelerate the construction of critical infrastructure. Talk to our experienced team about how you can tap into our specialist knowledge and engineering capability for your project.