Guardrail Post Pocket

[Busman]

Does anyone have any resources or recommendations for material to use in guardrail post pockets? We are working on concrete balcony repairs. The aluminum rail posts were originally embedded. I am considering blocking out pockets at the rail bases in the repair areas and filling the pockets after the concrete repair material has set. My question is what is the best material to fill those pockets.

 

[dcStrucEng]

You may want to look into a product like Rockite or Kwixset,

http://www.wagnercompanies.com/rockite.aspx

Good luck.

 

[PMR06]

Make sure you have a weep hole in the post right at the concrete surface and use some kind of epoxy based grout. We investigated a railing system where water collected inside the posts, froze and burst the posts. Water also soaked into the porous grout, froze and heaved the posts up.

 

[ajk1]

Be very very careful about this. Aluminum will react with concrete with bad results (CSA A23.1 for example does not allwo aluminum conduitin concrete) unless it is a special alloy of aluminum and all the surfaces of the aluminum are coated with a di-electric material (some alumnum drains made of this alloy and coated with a thick coating of epoxy on the surfaces embedded in concrete have performed adeqautely).

Also be careful of galvanic corrosion cell between the aluminum and steel, such as any steel bolts holding the aluminum in place. I am aware of a situation where the steel bolts formed a corrosion coating around their diameter which casued expansion forces sufficinet tio crack the surrounding aluminum in two at the bolt hole.

Personally I would not embed aluminum rail posts into concrete. I think it is asking for trouble.

 

[Ron]

I would use an epoxy grout for aluminum embedment.

 

[SkiisAndBikes]

I have completed a number of balcony railing replacement projects for multistorey residential apartment building. A typical project would involve the removal of deteriorated steel railings, concrete repairs and new aluminum railings.

I agree with the comments above, aluminum and concrete are not compatible. For an alternate idea to embedded posts, the railing manufacturer's in our area would typically install the railings on the top of the repaired surface with aluminum baseplates and 4 anchors per baseplate. We specified an inert material between the aluminum baseplate and the concrete.