The draft European Standard  prEN 10348-2 “Steel for the reinforcement of concrete – Galvanised reinforcing steel – Part 2: Galvanised reinforcing steel products has passed its formal vote stage, and is due to be published as a European Standard in December 2018. When published in the UK, it will be as BS EN 10348-2.This part of EN 10348 covers hot dip galvanised products such as cut and bent bars, links, welded structures etc.

This is the first European Standard on reinforcing steels to be published since 2005, and like many of the European reinforcing steel standards, EN 10348 has not had a straightforward development. Part 1 was originally envisaged to cover galvanised bars and coils, but there is apparently no market for these products, since most galvanizing is conducted on fabricated (cut, bent, welded) shapes. The development of Part 1 was also complicated because it was originally covered by the EU Mandate M/115, which covers materials for certification under the Construction Products Regulations (CPR). Zinc coated reinforcing steels have now been removed from the mandate ( they will not have to be CE marked), and it is probable that Part 1 may never see the light of day, and that at some point in the future Part 2 will be renamed as EN 10348. Such are the joys of European standardisation!

In prEN10348-2, the zinc coating itself is referred to back to other galvanizing standards, EN ISO 1461:2009, “Hot dip galvanised coatings on fabricated iron and steel articles – Specifications and test methods” and EN ISO 14713-2, “Zinc coatings – Guidelines and recommendations for the protection against corrosion of iron and steel in structures – Part 2: Hot dip galvanizing”.

In the standard, durability of the coating is expressed in terms of zinc weight (g/m2) or coating thickness (um).

In the UK, we have not had a product standard specifically for galvanised reinforcing steel products, so this new standard does mark a step forward for the supply of galvanised rebar in the UK market.