Product Information

JORDAHL® Channel Tolerances

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Contents

Case 1 ............................................................................................. 3
1.1 Description.....................................................................................................3
1.2 Acceptable Limits ...........................................................................................3
1.3 Out of Tolerance ............................................................................................ 4

Case 2 ............................................................................................ 5
2.1 Description.....................................................................................................5
2.2 Acceptable Limits ...........................................................................................5
2.3 Out of Tolerance ............................................................................................ 6

Case 3 ............................................................................................ 7
3.1 Description.....................................................................................................7
3.2 Acceptable Limits ...........................................................................................7

Case 4 ............................................................................................ 8
4.1 Description.................................................................................................... 8
4.2 Acceptable Limits .......................................................................................... 8
4.3 Out of Tolerance ............................................................................................ 8

Case 5............................................................................................. 9
5.1 Description.................................................................................................... 9
5.2 Acceptable Limits .......................................................................................... 9
5.3 Out of Tolerance ............................................................................................ 9

Case 6 .......................................................................................... 10
6.1 Description................................................................................................... 10
6.2 Acceptable Limits ......................................................................................... 10
6.3 Out of Tolerance ........................................................................................... 11
6.4 Proposed Solution Methods .......................................................................... 11

Case 7........................................................................................... 12
7.1 Description................................................................................................... 12
7.2 Acceptable Limits ......................................................................................... 12

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Case 1

1.1 Description
Channels that have been installed and are exposed from the surface of the concrete will
be subject to an unsupported section of the channel side walls; this will allow a possible
increase of deflection at the channel lip when under load.

SECTION

1.2 Acceptable Limits

Providing no more than 3mm of the channel is exposed then the channel will remain able
to accommodate the full channel capacity without any requirement for remedial work.
However the customer will need to ensure that the fixing bracket achieves the required
bearing and any required shims are correctly installed.

SECTION

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1.3 Out of Tolerance
1.3.1. Standard Method of Remedial Work
If the channel is exposed more than 3mm but no more than 2/3 the overall depth of the
channel then the following remedial work must be undertaken:
High strength non shrink grout must be applied to and built up around the channel from
the front edge of the slab deck extending back to a distance of 100mm minimum beyond
bracket to the rear of the channel and a minimum of 50mm beyond the ends of the
channel, up to the depth required to fully embed the channel.

This new grout surface will need to be flat and level to accommodate the customer
bracket configuration to provide full bearing to the underside of the bracket.
JORDAHL® suggest the use of Pagel EH2 or Hilti CM 510-1 epoxy- mortar, however it may
be possible to use a different manufacturer and type of grout but the customer should
satisfy themselves that the grout to be used meets the same specification as the
suggested type.

Grout to be applied to an area to provide

SECTION suitable support and bearing capacity for
bracket

1.3.2. Further Consultation Required

If the channel is exposed more than that described in Section 1.3.1 or there are visible
voids below or around the channel then is will be necessary to contact JORDAHL® for
further assistance on a location specific basis.
Depending on the condition and load requirement JORDAHL® will confirm the suitability
or otherwise of the channel and make commensurate recommendations.

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Case 2

2.1 Description
Channels that have been installed and are sunken below the surface of the concrete will
not suffer any direct performance penalties, however as there is an area of unsupported
bolt shank it will introduce bending into the bolt which may not have been allowed for
within the initial design.
JORDAHL® Tee Bolts are able to accommodate a degree of bending moment and this
information is available in the JORDAHL® catalogue.

SECTION

2.2 Acceptable Limits

Providing the gap between the top of channel lips and the underside of the bracket is no
more than 3mm, the channel will remain able to accommodate the full load capacity
without any requirement for remedial work.

SECTION

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2.3 Out of Tolerance

2.3.1. Standard Method of Remedial Work

If the channel is more than 3mm below the concrete surface then the following remedial
work must be under taken:
Rectangular plate washers must be placed of over the bolts to fill the gap between the
surface of the channel lips and the underside of the bracket. This is to provide support to
the bolt shank to prevent bending. Before washers are introduced the channel lips must
be fully exposed in the area of the bolt locations to ensure that the washers sit directly
on the channel lips.

JORDAHL® recommends that only one washer is used or a maximum of 3 numbers welded
together to a maximum recess dimension of 15mm. It has to be ensured that the washers
are held securely in position between the side faces of the recess to prevent any
transverse movement.

There is no upper limit for the distance the channel can be sunken into the concrete,
however if an excessive distance of say twice the channel depth is required to be made
up then an further measures must be taken.
This will consist of the incorporation of a free flowing pourable high strength non shrink
grout backfill around the channel and bolts once the brackets are in their final position
as confirmed by the customer site operatives. When complete the grout must fill the
entire void up to the top surface of the concrete slab.
Some minor modification may be required to the brackets, such as grouting holes, to
ensure full penetration of the grout below the bracket and into the channel void.

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Case 3

3.1 Description
Channels installed out of alignment to the intended position in the horizontal plane,
therefore the centre line of the curtain walling mullion no longer sits centrally about the
channel. When the bracket is installed one or in extreme circumstances both bolts miss
the channel.

Slab Edge

PLAN
C/L of Mullion

3.2 Acceptable Limits

This tolerance issue does not directly affect the performance of the JORDAHL® Channels
unless one or more of the other described cases is also present. It is therefore the
decision of the customer how to approach and resolve this situation. However JORDAHL®
would suggest that if additional bolts are required then it is considered to drill through
the slab and plate from the underside; this will negate the effect of additional forces due
to post drilled expansion / resin fix bolts disrupting the cast in channel.
In the eventuality of both bolts falling outside the cast in channel then JORDAHL® also
recommend that the drill and fix bolt manufacture is aware of the channel location as
this may affect the performance of any specified bolts.

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Case 4

4.1 Description
Channels installed too close to slab edge, reducing the design edge dimension below
the minimum dimension.
Channels that are cast too close to the slab edge will be subject to a reduction of load
capacity.

Slab Edge

PLAN

Actual location

Designed location

4.2 Acceptable Limits

The reduced edge dimension may still be acceptable relative to the designed loads,
providing the individual application load still falls within the reduced edge distance
concrete capacity. JORDAHL® can provide the substantiating information in these
individual situations.

4.3 Out of Tolerance

By checking of the design parameters from the customer JORDAHL® show the edge
dimension is below the minimum required dimension to achieve the required load
capacity; then other remedial post drilled measures will be necessary.

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Case 5

5.1 Description
Channels installed too far back from the slab edge will not have a direct impact on the
channel performance as the minimum edge distance will be maintained.

Slab Edge

PLAN

Designed location

Actual location

5.2 Acceptable Limits

This tolerance issue does not directly affect the performance of the JORDAHL® Channels
unless one or more of the other describes cases are also present. It is therefore the
decision of the customer how to approach and resolve this situation. The bracket has a
nominal tolerance built in by virtue of the slots in the bracket, the amount of tolerance is
known by the customer.

5.3 Out of Tolerance

The tolerance within the bracket arrangement will have a limited capacity once this has
been exceeded then it may be considered similar to Case 3 and therefore the
recommendations made within Section 3.2 above should be followed.

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Case 6

6.1 Description
Channels installed out of vertical alignment with the surface of the concrete.
There are two possible directions where this can happen;
a) If the anchor channel is sunken into the concrete on one side only, shims can be
used in accordance with case 2.
b) The channel is rotated about the longitudinal (x) axis.

a)
SECTION

b)

SECTION

6.2 Acceptable Limits

In the cross direction (condition b) the maximum limit the channels can be out of
alignment is 3mm from highest to lowest points on the channel. In the long direction
(condition a) the maximum limit the channels can be out of alignment is 3mm from
highest to lowest points on the channel.

It should be pointed out that there is also consideration to be made based on the
possibility of both conditions described in Case 1 and Case 2 being present.

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6.3 Out of Tolerance
If the channel installation falls outside the acceptable limits, measures will be necessary
to maintain full engagement of the bolt with the channel lips.

The bolt installation will need to be perpendicular to the channel while being tightened
against the level bracket surface. As in this situation the nut and plate washers will not
sit correctly on the bracket it will be necessary to introduce a form of wedged component
or alternatively an adjustable ball joint washer to accommodate the required angle of the
bolt. Both examples are shown in the sketch below.

SECTION SECTION

6.4 Proposed Solution Methods

The left hand sketch shows the use of a spherical washer (DIN 6319) which would be
acceptable for small angular requirements (3 degrees). The right hand sketch shows the
alternative solution using a special adjustable ball joint washer providing for any degree
of bolt angulations.

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Case 7

7.1 Description
Channels installed out of parallel alignment with the slab edge.

Slab Edge

PLAN

7.2 Acceptable Limits

Providing the closest edge of the channel does not fall below that described in Case 4
then this tolerance issue does not directly affect the performance of the JORDAHL®
Channels unless one or more of the other describes cases is also present. It is therefore
the decision of the customer how to approach and resolve this situation.

The distance between the slots on the bracket and length of slot will accommodate a
maximum angle the channel can be out of alignment.

PLAN

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