Lightweight, durable and increasingly popular across a range of infrastructure projects, Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) is changing the way crews approach construction, but like any material, success comes down to using it the right way.
Understanding FRP’s unique properties and tooling requirements is the key to achieving a clean, efficient and professional installation.
That’s according to FRP experts Ted Fechner, Wagners Composite Fibre Technologies (CFT) Custom Build Shed Supervisor and Guy Hargreaves, Wagners CFT Custom Build Team Leader and Carpenter.
“One of the biggest advantages with FRP is its weight or lack of it,” Guy Hargreaves said.
“Our most common profile we use being the 125×125 is just a touch over six kilos per metre. If you were to imagine a steel beam of that same size, there is a huge difference in weight,” Mr Hargreaves said.
“Most members can be lifted and positioned by hand, reducing labour and machinery needs and those nasty costs that come along with them,” he said.
“That doesn’t mean you should treat it casually. If you want a clean and professional installation by the end of the job, avoid dragging, dropping and sliding members on the ground or any other surface.”
“Our paint is durable, but it will mark and scuff if handled roughly. If moving whole packs or just a few sticks from a wrap pack, be sure to use the cardboard supplied under every pack we send, if using a forklift for example, to protect the sticks during movement on site.”
“And if being lifted by a jib attachment, make sure to use soft slings over everything else.”
Pictured – FRP materials wrapped and ready for delivery to site.
For those new to working with FRP, Wagners CFT’s in-house construction team can provide onsite guidance, helping crews master the fundamentals and set their projects up for success.
“Members of our in-house construction team regularly attend project sites, particularly when contractors are using FRP for the first time, to guide crews through the correct installation processes,” Ted Fechner said.
“Even if it’s only for a couple of days, we can help kick things off by covering the fundamentals, from selecting the right cutting discs and drill bits to using pop rivet tools and other essential equipment,” Mr Fechner said.
“Where required, we’ll remain on site for a week or even two at the start of a project to ensure the entire team is confident and working efficiently,” he said.
“We can also assist with interpreting the design documentation, planning the layout and sequencing the installation, identifying what needs to be completed first and what can follow, to help set the project up for success.”
Pictured – Custom Build Team Leader and Carpenter, Guy Hargreaves finishing a preassembled FRP bridge at the Wagners CFT manufacturing facility in Wellcamp, Queensland.
Thorough stock checks and organised storage of materials and hardware set the stage for a smooth and efficient construction process.
“When materials arrive, the first step is a stock check. Know exactly what you’re expecting and what’s critical for early construction,” Guy Hargreaves said.
“A loadout schedule will be provided to you via the truck driver upon arrival, so you will know exactly what is on the truck,” Mr Hargreaves said.
“The itemised packs we send are designed to save you hunting around and furthermore, every member is labelled in the end of every stick,” he said.
“We prioritise preparing members such as piles, bearers, and joists, along with all required hardware first. This helps reduce on-site storage and congestion in laydown areas and supports a smoother overall workflow.”
“In saying that, separate priority items from your non-priority ones. It does save confusion later and it stops teams digging through stacks, possibly mixing up members, selecting the incorrect member for a stage of a boardwalk for example.”
“You should also create a secure hardware storage zone. Missing bolts or hardware causes more site delays than any FRP ever will.”
“Hardware we send which includes but not limited to your bolts, nuts, washers, rivets just to name a few, all come in cardboard boxes.”
“Having them under cover and locked safely in site containers is a must as being left outside for a couple of nights collecting the dew or just a passing shower makes the boxes fall to bits and there is nothing worse than having to carry around a soggy box of bolts.”
Pictured – Each FRP member is labelled in the end of the profile.
While most FRP tools are off-the-shelf, some are customised for FRP work.
“One of the best parts about FRP is that most of the tooling is standard, off-the-shelf gear you can get anywhere at any hardware store,” Guy Hargreaves said.
“Honestly, Bunnings does have it all, but there are a few custom pieces we do supply which includes the drill jig and the end cap grooving tool,” Mr Hargreaves said.
“The drill jig will be your best friend. It keeps the drill centred on square hollow section (SHS) and rectangular hollow section (RHS) members so you don’t overlay holes or end up off centre, especially when drilling through multiple walls of FRP, which is a real time saver,” he said.
“All you have to do is clamp the jig securely and let it do the alignment work. It will keep your holes straight and your finishes clean and just a reminder to always use your PPE such as your gloves and glasses.”
“The end cap groover is a simple yet effective way of notching the ends of members so that our plastic end caps stay in place.”
“The correct equipment is important, I can’t stress that enough.”
Pictured – An end cap groover (left) and drill jig (right).
“Our grinding blades along with our demo blades are all diamond coated to ensure a clean and precise cut every time. Our jigsaw and reciprocating blades are also diamond coated along with all of our hole saws,” Guy Hargreaves said.
“Your standard timber or steel cutting equipment will wear out fast so if you want clean cuts and gear that will last and not burn the FRP, diamond coated gear is the answer,” Mr Hargreaves said.
“When drilling into our round sections, we use an arbor with a pilot drill to centre our holes and we drill through one wall at a time,” he said.
“Wherever possible, use a wet cut or a vacuum adaptable tool. I highly recommend using a wet cut as it suppresses the dust better than anything else.”
“When drilling for your rivets, use a glass and tile bit. They are incredibly durable and accurate. More recently, we have started using a masonry drill bit with a sharpened carbide tip, which again, both of these can be purchased off the shelf at Bunnings.”
“For our stainless steel rails, we use a carbide tip drill bit on a slow speed with steady pressure and some cutting fluid.”
Pictured – Demolition saws with diamond coated blades.
The right tools and techniques can save effort and prevent damage when installing inserts.
“When installing inserts on site, a lot of contractors use timber off cuts or anything they have lying around the site. It always seems to be a bit of an afterthought,” Ted Fechner said.
“But what we use in the shed and when we go to site are steel pusher bars that we’ve made ourselves with broad heads on them,” Mr Fechner said.
“This minimises the risk of damaging the insert and creates a good amount of moving force from the weight that the steel possesses rather than a piece of timber or plastic,” he said.
“When you start pushing inserts in, you need to make sure you’ve got the right tools. You shouldn’t use a steel hammer or a rubber mallet, you use a nylon hammer all the time.”
“A steel hammer will destroy the insert or crack it and deform it. A rubber mallet would work, but it’ll bounce around a lot and be a lot more effort so a nylon hammer is the way to go.”
Pictured – Steel pusher bars used to install inserts.
Using a solid backstop and careful planning makes inserting members easier and prevents mistakes during assembly.
“When inserting loose members, so ones that haven’t been installed on a structure yet, you need a solid back stop. It does take a bit of force to push these inserts in,” Ted Fechner said.
“When we’re doing it here, we will use a concrete block or on site, you might use your site container just as a stop so you get the maximum amount of force when you’re pushing your inserts in. It avoids them sliding and bouncing around or falling off trestles,” Mr Fechner said.
“So that is important and like I said, most of the time that is sort of an afterthought,” he said.
“When inserting members that are already part of a structure, plan ahead and complete all inserts before popping off your riveted brackets.”
“Once you’ve drilled a hole and put a rivet through it, it’s going to stop the insert getting past that location.”
“It just takes a bit more forethought and planning when you are assembling these things in place.”
Pictured – Anti-crush inserts.
Proper tools and protective gear are essential when installing inserts to stay safe and avoid injury.
“Once you’ve pushed your insert into roughly the right spot to line up with your drilled hole, it’s really important that we don’t stick our fingers in the holes, so we use a pin checker or a screwdriver,” Ted Fechner said.
“When installing multiple inserts in the same member, the air pressure can build up,” Mr Fechner said.
“So it’s a good idea to put a screwdriver or a pin or something in there so if that insert does move, you can lever it back into the desired position,” he said.
“Avoid looking closely and directly over the hole when someone else is pushing an insert because the air pressure from the insert will cause dust to push out that hole and you don’t want to have your eye over it when that happens.”
“Gloves are mandatory when you’re doing this. The edge of the composite and the drilled holes can be a little bit sharp and can give you splitters.”
“When you’re hammering inserts all day, you’re going to get blisters so you have got to have gloves on when you’re doing any of this stuff.”
Pictured – Nylon hammer used to install inserts.
Using custom jigs can speed up drilling, improve accuracy and protect your materials from damage.
“We often create custom jigs on site and in the shed. It’s used for drilling your bearer to joist connections so you can go through and drill all your holes in your bearers before you lay your joist out,” Ted Fechner said.
“This speeds things up, improves consistency, reduces the amount of times you have to measure and protects the brackets from damage because every time you use a bracket that’s actually going to be installed as a template, you risk scratching it,” Mr Fechner said.
“Either the chuck of the drill spinning can grind the other wall of the bracket or when you punch through the hole, the jaws on the drill can also dent and scratch the bracket and that’ll cause rusting if it’s not cleaned up properly,” he said.
“If you have these sacrificial brackets, you go along, do all your pre-drilling and come back through, and all you have to do is pop rivets, it helps a lot.”
Pictured – A makeshift jig used to drill rivet holes on bearers before installing joists.
Sealing drilled holes or cut edges is imperative when working with FRP.
“All drilled holes and cut edges must be properly sealed to prevent water ingress, which can lead to long-term damage,” Ted Fechner said.
“We always supply touch-up paint with our jobs, including brush-on touch-up paint as standard. The majority of colours will have a two pack aerosol spray can for your touch-up,” Mr Fechner said.
“Any drilled holes should be sealed immediately, and when decking or other composite products are cut, we recommend sealing those edges as well. We can supply a Hi-build Enduro Sealer for this purpose, which is also available from Bunnings,” he said.
“In areas with high chloride levels or other corrosive conditions, it’s also important to use a steel seal like Lanotec or choose suitable corrosion-resistant fixings to help prevent rust and extend the life of the installation.”
“Sealing all cut edges of the composite material is essential to protect against moisture ingress over time and to maintain the integrity and lifespan of the product.”
Pictured – Masks should always be worn when cutting FRP profiles.
Properly preparing stainless steel threads with anti-seize is essential to prevent damage and ensure a smooth assembly.
“The majority of what we supply and what we design is stainless steel, so any bolt or threaded rod that you’re putting a nut on has to be anti-seized,” Ted Fechner said.
“It’s a fairly common, fairly readily available material. If you can’t get it from your local tooling shop, you’ll be able to get it from a welding supply shop,” Mr Fechner said.
“It comes in a little tube and the lead has a brush connected to it. It’s a grey oily paste and you just brush it on the end of your threads all the way around. A little bit goes a long way so be mindful of that,” he said.
“You have to put anti-seize on those threads before you start putting those nuts on as well as inspecting your threads for burrs, dust, grime or sand, as all that stuff will help the stainless seize and you’ll know once you’ve seized.”
“Once you’ve seized, there’s not much you can do about it. You’re going to have to cut it off and replace it because you don’t really get a second chance.”
Pictured – Protective eyewear and gloves worn whilst working with FRP.
Choosing the right insert or tube and drilling the correct hole size is key to a strong, safe installation.
“All our inserts are standard size inserts. 14 millimetre, 18 millimetre, 22 millimetre, and 26 millimetre is the hole in the insert and that’s the hole that you’ll drill in your member,” Ted Fechner said.
“Depending on the installation methodology and the load requirements, we are also starting to use stainless steel crush tubes instead of the plastic inserts but they require a larger hole,” Mr Fechner said.
“The design of the structure will dictate if plastic inserts or stainless tubes are going to be used,” he said.
“You’ll need to know what’s going to be used because you have to remember to drill the hole for each one of those options.”
“Remembering that every hollow section that you drill is going to have something in it. It’s always going to have an insert or a crush tube for that reason as anti-crush support.”
“For an M16 bolt, you drill an 18 millimetre hole and have an 18 millimetre insert but if you’re using a crush tube, you drill a 22 millimetre hole and the crush tube is 21.7 millimetre OD.”
“You’ve just got to know the size of the tube you’re using and drill your hole accordingly. If you’re new to it, don’t just go off the rod size that’s going to be going through the hole.”
Pictured – Stainless steel tube compared to a 20 millimetre and 16 millimetre rod.
Using the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential.
“The touch-up paint we provide is a two pack paint. All the safety requirements are on the side of the can, but you do need a respirator and you must use it in a ventilated area,” Ted Fechner said.
“Cutting and drilling creates dust so you always want to wear glasses and gloves. If you can’t do any dust suppression, you should be wearing a P2 mask to avoid breathing in that dust,” Mr Fechner said.
“There’s a lot of tools you can buy off the shelf. You can get wet cut circular saws and then there’s heaps of attachments you can get for drills and grinders,” he said.
“You can attach them to a vacuum and try to mitigate that amount of dust that you’re creating.”
“And mainly when you’re cutting using a grinder or a saw, it’s going to be loud so you do need hearing protection.”
“So using the right PPE such as respirators, gloves, eye and ear protection is essential whenever you are handling tools, paint, or dust to keep yourself safe on the job.”
Watch the full webinar ‘Tricks of the FRP Trade’ featuring Wagners CFT Custom Build Shed Supervisor Ted Fechner and Custom Build Team Leader and Carpenter, Guy Hargreaves here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HkHI3OpCzQ&t=1648s
Read or download our Installation Guide here – https://www.wagnerscft.com.au/app/uploads/2024/05/cft_aus-installation-guide_2023.pdf
Watch ‘How to drill Wagners CFT Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) profiles using a jig’ here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PjMEGKfXlI
