Exadeck fire rated porcelain decking system

Decking Pedestals

Brompton Road, Knightsbridge: May 2023

About the project:
A penthouse terrace which required a Class A fire rated decking system.

An existing timber deck mounted onto timber bearers had been stripped….

…..out to reveal an unusual roof deck which had multiple levels and series of upstands which appeared to be column supports from the structural walls beneath.

A secure substructure frame had to be constructed using Wallbarn MetalPad D adjustable height pedestals fitted to a selection of Wallbarn aluminium rails/joists. Both the Box Rails and the I-Plus beams were used due to the many varied height thresholds across the area.

At points the height thresholds were very tight, so the lowest height pedestals were fitted to 20mm Box Rails whilst in other areas, the 100mm high I-Plus Beam was double up and fitted to itself. These were then mounted onto much larger MetalPad D pedestals in order to create a consistent level to fit the deckboards.

The laying pattern of the Exadeck porcelain deckboards was to be on a diagonal plane to the building so the top layer of aluminium rails needed to be fixed on this angle to allow the decking fixing clips to be mounted at right angles to the rails.

Connector brackets were used where rails met each other for structural strength and stability to the substructure.

The Exadeck porcelain decking board is manufactured with a side milling profile. Hidden wing clips are fitted into the side profiles to securely hold the boards in place and provide a consistent gap between the boards for drainage.

This gives a tidy and consistent gap between boards. It is important to remember that Exadeck porcelain boards are rectified as part of the manufacturing process. This means dead straight lines are assured across the area and there is no risk that the boards themselves curl or alter in thickness or width.