Multi Storey Car Parks

REIDsteel Design Car Park Layout A number of different car park layout options are available which feature efficient use of space and allow pre-fabricated structural steel fabrication, for ease of construction. As a specialist UK steel construction company we are able to offer expert advice to optimize multi storey car parking layout and design to precisely meet your requirements. We operate worldwide, including offering parking lot design for the US market. Our space saving parking solutions include innovative car park layouts which can be custom designed to offer the maximum number of parking bays per square metre as well as featuring clever entrance and exit designs to minimize congestion. Recommended types of car parking layouts are shown below, with a description of their benefits: Spiral Car Park This is probably the most efficient car park layout. The spiral car park (parking lot) needs to be about 16m wide and needs to be a minimum of 57m long to work well. Users spiral up and down on the same ramps. Split Level Car Park The split level car park (parking lot) is a highly efficient shape, especially suited to a site with a slope of 1.5m over the 32m width. The longer the better for efficiency, it will normally be 32m wide. Wide Split Level Car Park The bigger and wider a car park, the more efficient in terms of car parking bays per square metre. In this case further decks of 16m 72m have been added to a split level car park system. Split Level Car Park with Quick Return Ramp In this variant of the split level car park there is another ramp added at the exit end to speed up exit. Drivers enter and go up by the long way, but go out the short way. On very large car parks (parking lots) more ramps can be added. External Ramp External ramps can spiral round at one or both ends; or along one side or both sides; or can wrap around 2 or more sides. External ramps can provide the easiest access and exit solutions, but are not the most efficient in cost per car or car per square metre.

Car Parking Bays Car Park Bay sizes depend on the country where the car park or parking lot is intended, the size of land available, the vehicle turnover and the proposed use of the car park.

Worldwide parking standards exist which specify recommended parking space sizes and bay dimensions. Country - North American cars are slightly bigger and so require larger parking bays, larger roadways and wider parking space sizes. Size of Land - A smaller area of land may demand smaller car parking bays for efficiency Turnover - If the car park is short stay (4 hours or less) then larger bay sizes are easier to park in and allow faster parking Use - A storage car park requires very little space per bay.

Parking bay sizes - Worldwide Standards For a two way traffic flow we recommend car parking bay sizes of: Standard Bays - Normal to long term use Large Bays - For very high turnover car parks e.g. superstores For high turnover applications the parking space size and car park bay is made wider to help facilitate faster parking. North America Small Parking Lot Bay Dimensions - For medium to long term parking Large Parking Lot Bay Dimensions - For high frequency use e.g. supermarkets Small US parking lots with lower traffic levels allow parking space dimensions and bays to be size reduced.

Car Park Decking REIDsteel can offer three types of Car Park Decking / Flooring: Pre-Cast Concrete Decking Steel Decking Composite Style Decking

Pre-Cast Concrete Decking A Precast concrete deck is made of precast hollow-core concrete slabs that are supported by steel beams. The disadvantage is the depth of the resulting car park flooring, because the concrete slabs are quite thick and they sit on top of fairly large steel beams. The floor ends up deep, a distinct disadvantage on multi-storey car parks where ramps are needed. Also because of the differences in expansion between concrete and steel waterproofing and screeding often ends up with cracks. Construction depth can be saved using shelf angles but these are costly and time consuming.

There is a small saving of steel because no joists are needed, but of course the planks need to be purchased. The planks are placed on the car park decks by REIDsteel during the erection. Normally they are placed on top of the main beams, which makes construction depth bigger than other car park decking methods. Also, the planks themselves are thicker than the insitu deck, and may mean having more closely spaced main beams. It is possible to reduce the depth of the car park construction by placing the planks onto ledge angles within the main beams but this is expensive and time consuming. Precast planks can be placed over the whole car park deck and ramps. After placing the precast planks the surface is screeded to provide a suitable car park flooring surface, and to smooth transitions, and provide skid resistance. The screed will be 50mm deep, but costs about the same to place as the 140mm in situ deck (below). Steel Car Park Decking The beauty of steel decking is its modular construction. The steel deck car park is very quick to erect on site, and easily de-mountable if the building is relocated later. The steel deck is sturdy and long lasting. You should always have a roof if you are using steel decking as the steel cannot be waterproofed. All-steel car parks can be completely taken down, relocated and re-used. This construction of all steel multistorey car parks gives lighter foundation loads, and a structure which can tolerate more movement. The steel decks are simply lifted into place. Such car parks are difficult to seal, so need a roof if they are not to leak in the rain. Composite Style Parking Decks Your insitu decking on our lost formwork. This Composite Style Decking provides a very strong, lightweight, long lasting slim floor for your car park. It combines the properties of concrete and steel. It is made by supporting steel trays between steel beams. The trays are then filled with concrete giving a flush concrete surface. The steel trays will support the weight of the wet concrete with no propping and REIDsteel provide the trims around the edges of your car park decks. In multistorey car parks the most usual form of decking is a reinforced concrete slab on lost formwork. The galvanised steel frames span 15.5m across the car park, with galvanised steel joists at fairly close centres between them. Galvanised steel decking is laid across the joists, usually at a level just below the main beams. This decking can be white enamelled or plastisol coated on the underside to make the car park light and bright. This decking does not usually act compositely as multi storey car parks are open to the weather and we do not want corrosion of the decking to limit the life or increase maintenance. A concrete slab, usually about 140mm thick (but the concrete volume equivalent of 110mm of plain slab - 2.64kN/m) is poured onto our decking with no propping or shaping. One rebar is spaced in each trough, anticrack mesh is placed overall, and

some light anticrack rebars placed over the main beam. REIDsteel provide all the edge trims so the concrete is quick and cheap to place, making a light but strong car park deck. REIDsteel always recommend you put a roof over a car park. It produces more valuable parking, and costs less than waterproofing. REIDsteel prefer slight slopes on all decks so they self drain. If you choose not to put a roof over the car park than the top deck must be waterproofed and drained. Waterproofing If a car park is covered there is no need to waterproof the decks. See Roofing Summary Feature Shallow construction Large spans Steel & Precast no yes Steel & Insitu Concrete Lost Formwork yes yes yes no low no yes * yes no med Steel Anti-skid Deck yes yes no yes low

Waterproofabl yes e Demountable / no Re-useable Cost med

* Large spans are possible with concrete, though more expensive. Many concrete car parks have thick internal columns, thickly decorated with car paint.

Car Park Crash Barriers Modern research has shown that car crash barriers in car parks should be centred at 445mm above deck level. The code says 375mm. Most crash barriers in car parks are solid steel and damage is caused both to the car and the car park upon impact. REIDsteel have enhanced the pedestrian safety and performance of our car park barrier systems. Our safety barriers go from 350 to 560m level and have a rubber D-fenders, which deform under load. The bumpers can be fitted in the centre of each car parking bay, where the car bumpers have no light fittings so vehicular damage is less likely. Pedestrian barriers are fitted between these bumpers and are usually in filled with double sided white plastisol coated galvanised steel, which prevents children climbing up the barrier.

Car Park Roofing REIDsteel recommends that all car parks are covered. This avoids the need to waterproof the parking decks. The simplest form of car park roofing is the Single Sheet Steel Roof, where a single skin of sheeted canopy is erected over the top of the car park. Propped at 15.6m by 7.2m centres or to suit the selected bay sizes, the sheeting is carried on galvanised zed purlins on galvanised steel rafters, with regular external gutters and downpipes. Adding steel roofing to a car park effectively eliminates the need for waterproofing of the decking and prevents rainwater accumulation, which might otherwise lead to flooding of the parking spaces and pedestrian walkway areas.

Steel Frame Construction All the structural steelwork should be galvanised to prolong the life of the car park and to lower the maintenance cost. Pre-fabrication of steel parts reduces construction time of the parking structure. The light steel frame should have columns at about 15.6m+ spacing to avoid any columns where the cars turn into car parking bays. 4.8m + 6m + 4.8m = 15.6m. The steel frames are normally at 7.2m centres giving 2.4m wide car parking bays, or at 7.5m giving 3 2.5m bays. With clear span steel framed car parks these standard dimensions work well, but bigger car parking bays are available for US parking lots where automobile sizes are slightly larger.

Car Park Architectural Design The regular REIDsteel car park architecture is unobtrusive and with its vertical barriers and plastisol infill handrails, it is more aesthetic than most concrete car parks. With further cladding panels, visual appearance and architectural design can be altered. The car park must not have too much cladding or it will need fire protection. More elegant, and more expensive, steel framing is possible. Please discuss your architectural requirements with us so that we can build them in at the car park design stage to get your required appearance without too much impact on the function and your budget.

Automatic Car Parking Systems REIDsteel can build the steel frame structure for Automatic Car Parking Systems. We can design slender but stiff steelwork structures that have very small deflections demanded by these automated car park systems.

We have built many High Bay Warehouses that suspend Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems, very similar to Automatic Car Parking Systems.