Dry foundations: the sustainable answer for contemporary construction

In a society increasingly sensitive and attentive to the recycling of materials, the use of sustainable products and linked to thecircular economy, dry foundations Ledrosteel Foundation fit perfectly into the international construction market. This construction product, with a structural purpose, was made with a electrowelded mesh gabion filled with stone material and suitably adapted to perform its foundation function.

The Ledrosteel Foundation dry foundation arrives on site ready to be installed and replaces classic slab or inverted beam systems that involve formwork, reinforcement and casting. It can be laid above or below ground and should be used for wood, thatch, steel truss, container or similar structures, avoiding traditional construction because it would lead to handling excessive loads.

Certification and compliance: the path to CE Marking

Ledrosteel Dry Foundation has been CE marked following studies, evaluations and test fields carried out with the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering of Trento, with the Department of Industrial Engineering of Trento, with CNR-IBE of S.Michele all'Adige and with TAB ETA Danmark A/S. This phase was long and articulated, lasted about 4 years and led us to learn about the behavior of the device under ultimate failure conditions and under cyclic snow, wind and seismic operating conditions. It also allowed us to publish ETA 22/0093 and EAD 200171-00-0103, documents these required for use in the structural field in Italy, as per ch. 11 of DM 17/01/2018, and for free commercialization in Europe.

From Norwegian Stavkirke to modern foundations: tradition and innovation

The idea of the dry-stone Ledrosteel Foundation stems from a fascinating building system developed in Northern Europe by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the Stavkirke. These are churches made entirely of wood and removed from the ground and moisture by a dry-stone wall laid at the base of the structure.

We prefabricated the drywall with welded mesh gabions filled with stone material and defined their characteristics and performance in such a way that they could be included in a calculation model.

The advantages of Ledro Steel Dry Foundations

The advantages found in using the dry Ledrosteel Foundation are:

the speed of laying;
The accuracy in laying the sleeper on which to install the wooden structure;
the phenomenon of capillarity with rising water prevented;
The use in emergency conditions with deteriorated roadway;
It fulfills the principle of circular economy;
Use in archaeological settings to avoid castings;
The use for the construction of "mobile homes."
The use for the construction of service rooms in large construction sites by avoiding the construction of slab.

From Norwegian tradition to contemporary technology

Metallurgica Ledrense has engineered the construction system of the 12th-century Norwegian Stavkirke, prefabricating with welded mesh gabions what was once a dry-stone wall. Four years of research defined the performance characteristics necessary for CE marking, making a historic concept usable in contemporary structural construction.

Eng. Simone Graffer

Structural designer and safety expert, Eng. Simone Graffer is a technical consultant for CE certification of construction products and PPE. He has gained solid experience in European Technical Assessment (ETA) of innovative building systems. He has provided training for professional bodies throughout Italy and collaborates with entities such as the University of Trento and CNR. His experience ranges from design to quality control to construction management.