Steel Wind Posts
WIND POSTS
Windposts span vertically between the floors of a building to provide additional lateral support and structural integrity. Larger wind posts will carry a structural loading whereas smaller versions are often used to support brickwork, acting as a cavity wall tie.
A windpost, as the name suggests, will provide stability against horizontal forces imposed by wind pressure but also provides protection from other imposed loads on handrails and balustrades from crowd forces.
In most cases, windposts are constructed from mild steel channels or box sections which are supported at the head and foot with base plates bolted into position between floor slabs or structural ring beams. The sizing of the steel section will be determined by a structural engineer and the windposts are then usually spaced at regular intervals. The base of the windpost is usually a fixed, welded construction whereas the top is often made to be adjustable with a slotted insert to provide installation tolerance.
Structural steel windposts are often extremely heavy, large, awkward chunks of metal that require specialist fabrication, delivery and installation. The height and weight will make a windpost difficult to manoeuvre and poses numerous health and safety issues – it is therefore always best left to the professionals.
For us here at DioMet, windposts are a bread and butter type job and over the years we have supplied and installed thousands to major construction sites across the whole of the UK. For more information, or for a windpost quotation, please get in contact to see how we can help.
0114 243 9009 or email sales@diometonline.co.uk
