What are the benefits of ultra high performance concrete? Why is it called CRC i2®? What about fire safety? The questions are many. Therefore, on this page we have tried to answer some of the most common questions about our generation of ultra high performance concrete: CRC i2®.
The price of your balcony project depends on the number of variants, dimensions and complexity.
We offer both bespoke balconies and our new standard solution, concept balconies.
With each variant of balcony, there will be new calculations, new drawings and new castings. All of these factors will have an impact on the overall cost.
As moulds are costly, it is crucial for the price of the balcony that the mould can be used several times - and preferably many times.
Some of these costs can be avoided - by choosing, for example, our concept solution.
We would recommend that you contact us if you have a specific project or a question related to price - and from there we will find a few examples corresponding to your current project.
Since 1997, more than 50,000 balconies have been delivered in addition to other elements such as facade solutions, stairs and more. You can see a large selection of different projects right here
We produce most elements in northern Denmark, where we have our production. In addition, we also have production in the Netherlands.
Ultra High Performance Concrete uses more cement per cubic meter than regular concrete. However, when comparing, for instance, per functional unit - such as per square meter of balcony - we use less material compared to equivalent elements made of regular concrete. A study also indicates that the production of Hi-Con concept balconies emits 22.8% less CO2 than a steel balcony. Read more about the study here. Additionally, ultra-high-performance concrete has a durability of over 100 years.
Read more here: Sustainability in a world of UHPC
We are aware that we operate in an industry that accounts for a large percentage of total CO2 emissions, and strive to optimize on all the processes that can be optimized. For example, we are working on optimizing our concrete so that we can reduce the paste part, and we have just started a project where we with a number of partners will look at the possibilities of making design-for-separation so that the elements can be recycled with so as little modification as possible.
We have many different assembly principles. You can see the different solutions by downloading our brochures right here
Yes - we design according to the general requirements for loads in Denmark and the EU. Our concrete has e.g a higher strength and better durability that we can take into account, and to do so in the safest way, we have developed a special standard for balconies in UHPC (the ETA can be found under "downloads" (material documentation). It is based on a large number of trials and full-scale tests and has been the basis for our certification, so that our balconies can be CE marked.
It is concrete, so the base color is gray - but we have the option to vary from a very dark gray to a light cream colored. If you have a specific project that requires a different color, we also have the option to mix with color.
You can see an example from the Netherlands here: Woontoren de Verkenner
Here, the light CRC i2® has been added yellow pigment, so that the balconies match the expression of the facade. In 2017, the project was nominated for a Concrete Price in the Netherlands.
No special transport is required for our elements, and since they are lighter and slimmer than traditional concrete, we can often - if combined with production and assembly pace - have several elements on one load.
We have a CE mark for our balconies, similar to what can be achieved on elements of ordinary concrete, but in our case the CE mark is issued by Dancert on the basis of our ETA. Our ETA is a special "standard" that we have developed specifically for balconies in ultra high performance concrete.
You can read much more about our certifications and the process of developing these right here
We have a very high durability of our balconies that have lifetimes of over 100 years, and that also means that there is minimal maintenance of our ultra high performance concrete. However, they need to be cleaned of ordinary dirt just like any other type of outdoor setup.
Ultra high-performance concrete weighs around 2700 kg/m3, which is a little more than conventional concrete. However, due to their slenderness, the weight /m2 of UHPC balconies is usually less than half the weight of balconies cast with conventional concrete.
Yes - our elements are typically produced for BS60, but we can also design for BS120 if necessary. We have carried out a number of full-scale fire tests in both Finland and Denmark.
See more about our experiments with fire here
Yes.
In fact, traditional fiber concrete is only reinforced with fibers, while we use fibers as "secondary" reinforcement. The fibers ensure crack control and they are important for controlling our deflections, while we use traditional reinforcement to ensure the load-bearing capacity of the structures.
Yes, our UHPC is completely waterproof and is also very tight against gases due to the fine pore structure. UHPC constructions do not require coatings or membranes to keep the water out.
Yes, we have conducted a series of experiments with temperatures down to -50 degrees fahrenheit. During these experiments the concrete did not receive any type of damages.
We have several projects in e.g., Finland, a country with large temperature fluctuations.
You can read more about the project here: Postipuisto
No, Hi-Con primarily sells UHPC products to other businesses or organisations, and therefore does not sell to private customers.
UHPC elements has a great durability especially our balconies, which has a life expectancy of over a 100 years. This means of course that there is minimal maintenance required for our ultra high performance concrete.
However, uhpc elements does need general dirt cleaning from time to time, like all other elements of that type.