New Concrete Specs from December 1st 2003

BS 5328, the long-established 'bible' for concrete specification will be withdrawn on December 1st 2003 to be replaced by the new "Euro Standard, BS-EN206-1 "Concrete: Specifications, performance, production and conformity" .

However, (and what else can we expect from desk-pilots), the EN standard doesn't cover all the types of conditions we experience in Britain and Ireland, and so we have BS8500 parts 1 and 2, which contain all the meaty stuff from BS EN 206-1, with added fillers.

So, from the beginning of December, we have...

  • BS 8500-1: Methods of specifying and guidance for the specifier
  • BS 8500-2: Specification for constituent materials and concrete
...but even that would be far too logical, so, just to bump up the earnings from superfluous publications, we also have a so-called "Derived Document" which delights in the soubriquet of " Standards for Fresh Concrete " and is claimed to be a compilation of BS EN 206-1 and both parts of BS 8500, along with what is hopefully entitled "an explanatory commentary". Oh goody!

What does all this mean for the lads on site? Well, to be honest, not a lot. It's more to do with the way different mixes and concretes are named, so that even more information is conveyed. F'rinstance, when it comes to the strength class of a concrete, what was a C20, will now be a C20/25 to reflect the different testing procedure used in continental Europe. There are also new classes to describe slump, flow, exposure resistance, density, etc. However, the ever popular Standard, Prescribed and Designated Concretes, such as ST1, ST2, PAV1, PAV2 and all the other usual suspects will continue to be understood by your local batch plant manager.

Of course, the real key question is whether all this extra paperwork will put up the price of the concrete - well, what do you think??? wink

Lots more info can be had from...

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