Steelwork for a dental practice aquarium on Prince of Wales Road, Norwich
Prince of Wales Road, Norwich. A dental practice. And a new aquarium going in.
This was one of the more unusual jobs to come through our Rackheath workshop this year. The client needed a new aquarium to sit inside a dental practice. The building is around 300 years old, so the steel had to carry a unique load without spoiling the character of the property.
A heavy section for a heavy job
The job started with a proper monster of a stock length arriving at the workshop: a 203 × 203 × 86 Universal Column (UC). For anyone who doesn't live in steel every day, a UC of this size weighs 86 kg per metre. At 11.5 m long, that's nearly a tonne in a single piece. It's not the kind of section you just pick up and throw on the saw.
Careful detailing for a historic building
You can't just drop modern steel into a 300-year-old structure and hope it works. The extra load has to be carried without touching the character of the building. We designed and installed the steel using 203 × 203 × 86 UC beams with spliced plate connections made from 20 mm plates. That took careful detailing, accurate fabrication in our workshop and a clean installation on site.
The result:
- Steel in.
- Brickwork respected.
- Job done properly.
Working with local builders
A massive thanks to Tooth and Nail Construction. They're a brilliant company with even better people, and it was a pleasure from start to finish. Thanks too to our own team, from fabrication through to installation.
Built properly or not at all
Every structural job we take on is fabricated in our Rackheath workshop to BS EN 1090 EXC2 and UKCA marked, with quality overseen by our in-house Responsible Welding Coordinator. Whether it's a historic building in the city centre or a new extension in the suburbs, the approach is the same: plan it properly, fabricate it accurately and install it cleanly.
If you're planning work in Norwich or elsewhere in Norfolk that needs steel beams in Norwich designed, supplied and installed, we'd be glad to help. Call us on 01603 560808, WhatsApp 07824 656634, or use the Request a Quote form on our contact page.