Floor grating types and what they’re used for

Floor grating is often seen as a superior alternative to flat surfaces for flooring, walkways, raised platforms and various other industrial applications.

Grating is lightweight, affordable and low maintenance. It is aesthetically appealing, offering good ventilation and slip resistance. It can be stored and installed relatively easily. And often the material can be reused or recycled, which makes grating more environmentally friendly.

In addition to walkways and raised platforms, floor grating is used on bridges; commercial-grade catwalks; drain and gully covers; jetties; steps, stair treads and ramps; track crossings; and wash bays.

But there are a number of different options when it comes to choosing your industrial floor grating. In this article we'll take a look at three popular choices: steel floor grating, aluminium floor grating and fibreglass reinforced plastic (FRP) floor grating.

In each case we've highlighted the main characteristics and benefits of each material and provided links to further information, technical specs and downloads.

Steel Floor Grating

Steel is the most popular material for floor grating. It is manufactured using a combination of vertical load bars and horizontal cross rods.

Steel as a material offers excellent durability and resistance to corrosion. It also has great yield and tensile strength.

Webforge offers five steel grating patterns. The most popular two feature a 30mm load bar pitch with either a 100mm or 50mm cross rod pitch.

Common uses of these two patterns include:

• Power stations
• Refineries
• Sewerage treatment plants
• Grain silos
• Chemical plants
• Trafficable drain grates
• Stair treads

Webforge offers the option of a serrated steel grating finish, which enhances the non-slip characteristics of all of our steel grating products.

If you want more information about these products, including load bearing tables and downloadable content, please visit our steel grating product page.

In situations where corrosion and rust are of particular concern, stainless steel floor grating products can sometimes be the best option.

The chromium content of stainless steel means it combines the strength of steel with the corrosion resistance of chromium. As the name suggests it is also resistant to staining, making it particularly low maintenance.

It can easily worked and welded despite its strength. And a lot of people like the aesthetics and the durability of stainless steel and stainless steel products.

More information about stainless steel floor grating is available here.

Aluminium Floor Grating

Aluminium floor grating is often chosen as a lightweight option. As a material, aluminium is not as strong as steel but it is lighter.

As a result, aluminium floor grating is popular in industrial environments where weight is a primary consideration.

Aluminium is also sometimes regarded as having greater aesthetic appeal than other materials. It is one of the reasons Steve Jobs chose it to make all those iPhones and why it has so many architectural applications.

Similar to our steel floor grating products, Webforge offers a number of load bar and cross rod combinations in aluminium, as well as a serrated finish for superior slip resistance.

You can find more information about aluminium floor grating here.

FRP Floor Grating

Fibreglass reinforced plastic or FRP floor grating is replacing traditional floor grating materials in a number of different industrial applications.

As the name suggests it is not made from metal. Instead FRP grating is manufactured using either a mould or a method called pultrusion.

Moulded FRP is a mesh of vertical and horizontal layers of fibre rovings and liquid resin combined in a mould. Pultruded FRP takes resin and glass fibre strands and pulls them through a series of steps to create a new composite material

Both methods for manufacturing FRP grating rely on the combined characteristics of glass fibres and polymer resin. The glass fibres provide the final product with its strength and durability, while the polymer resins are resistant to corrosive substances.

What makes FRP particularly appealing in certain situations are its unique properties. Here are some examples:

• FRP floor grating won't spark if metal objects are accidentally dropped on it. This is an important consideration when working around highly flammable liquids and gases.
• Because it is made from reinforced plastic rather than metal it doesn't conduct electricity, making it a safer option for electrically-hazardous installations.
• It is easier to cut than metal grating. This makes FRP grating more flexible, allowing for cut-outs for pipework or reshaping for new or complex floor layouts.
• Finally, FRP floor grating is non-magnetic, which makes it safer in situations that are sensitive to magnetic fields.

Webforge manufactures moulded fibreglass grating in both standard and custom sizes.

Our moulded grating has a high resin-to-glass ratio giving it a particularly strong resistance to corrosion. This makes it a popular choice for environments with a lot of hazardous chemicals and a high risk for leaks and spills.

To aid low maintenance, 70 per cent of the surface area is open and the vertical surfaces are resin-rich, allowing debris to fall through.

If you'd like to know more about Webforge's FRP floor grating products, please visit our FRP grating page, which includes various downloads, load bearing tables and technical specifications.