Inverted Beam Fills
In some cases, due to technical or architectural reasons, drop beams are not the best choice for ceilings. Instead, beams are placed on the upper slab as 'inverted beams.' To use this type of slab or flooring (as in car parks, for example), it is necessary to lightly fill the space between the beams and cover the area with concrete. ABS Void Formworks provide the lightest fill solution with the highest load-bearing capacity for this application.
The most practical and economical way to construct any reinforced concrete slab for any load is by utilizing drop beams. However, drop beams can create an architectural hindrance, as they reduce the usable volume of the enclosed space below—especially if a suspended ceiling must be installed underneath. Additionally, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) installations often have to be mounted directly below the beams, further reducing the valuable usable space.
To address this issue, architects and civil engineers sometimes choose to invert the beams to create a flat ceiling. However, this solution introduces a new challenge: the space between the inverted beams must be filled with lightweight material to ensure that the upper floor surface can be incorporated into the usable area of the structure.
Inverted beam fill comparison; one of our customers first started to fill with raw soil then switched to void formworks.
