Permeable concrete comes to Firth

Trends towards urbanisation in the developed world have led to a rapid growth in impermeable pavements, forcing Councils and planners to look for ways to deal with heavy rainfall events which lead to overloaded storm-water systems. Increasing the percentage of permeable pavements in urban design is an effective means of managing storm-water runoff … and, because permeable pavements are not counted as ‘hard surface area’, their use often allows for a higher housing density.

“We are excited to join forces with the PCNZ team to exclusively manufacture for them,” says Angela Nicholas, Sales Representative for Firth. “At this stage we have produced over 500m³ of permeable concrete in Auckland with intentions to work with PCNZ to expand nationally over the next three years. We have already started fielding enquiries in Northland, Waikato and Taupo.”

“We have been working with PCNZ to provide a world leading continuous pour permeable pavement,” says Stuart Girvan, Technical & Specification Advisor (Masonry) for Firth. “The Permcon concrete system is another option which enables people to include a permeable system in their projects.”

The term ‘pervious or permeable concrete’ typically describes a near-zero-slump, open graded material consisting of cement, coarse aggregate, little or no fine aggregate, admixtures and water. The combination of these ingredients produce a hardened material with inter-connected pores ranging from 2 to 8 mm that allow water to pass through easily.

“We are excited to combine our knowledge and system design for Permcon permeable concrete with that of Firth, a nationwide concrete manufacturer with an excellent reputation,” says Peter Lucas, General Manager Technical Australasia for Permcon.

Peter explains that being a continuous pour, Permcon can be installed quickly. Along with this important benefit, recent improvements mean it no longer requires the use of plastic sheet filming, eliminating plastic going to landfill.

“Another advantage in choosing Firth as our partner is that Permcon can be coloured to any colour on the Dricon colour palette giving customers a huge range of options for their projects,” says Peter.

Benefits of choosing Permcon:

• Reduces run-off from paved areas by approximately 20-25%.
• Filters rain and stormwater reducing the need for separate retention pits and rain gardens.
• Filters stormwater reducing pollutants from entering rivers, streams and ponds.
• Efficiency of installation.
• Colour - any Dricon colour can be used.
• No requirements for plastic sheet filming - eliminating landfill waste. 
• Doesn’t count for hard surface area - allowing for a larger footprint for buildings.
• Adds a design difference  - whilst achieving the same outcome.