TEK1’s Steel Detailing for Sydney Metro – Resolving Design Challenges – 5

We hope you found our previous blogs on the Sydney Metro project insightful. If you missed them, check them out.

In this blog, I’d like to share an important lesson about concrete encasement for conduits that every steel detailer should keep in mind.Normally, conduit encasement falls under electrical scope, so detailers don’t focus much on it. However, the encasement’s location and size can directly affect the steel layout — as we discovered in one of our projects.

We detailed the steel as per design drawings, but on-site, the encasement dimensions varied. Some conduits were larger, others smaller, which caused clashes between the steel and the encasement, and in some areas, created unwanted gaps. This required on-site modifications to our steel.

When detailing steel near conduit encasements, always verify the actual encasement size and location before releasing fabrication drawings. Small checks early in the process can prevent major issues and rework on-site.