PFC Suppliers in Essex
Parallel flange channels, cut to length and delivered across Essex. A PFC is a beam with one side taken off, and that flat back is the whole point of it.
Get a price for your Essex project
Send us your drawings or a cutting list and we will come back with quantities and a price, delivered to site anywhere in Essex.
What we supply
| Section | Range | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
| PFC / parallel flange channel | 150 x 75 x 18 to 430 x 100 x 64 | 14 |
Also sold as U channel, C section or mild steel channel – the same product under older or trade names. We cut to your lengths, so nothing arrives as a standard mill length to be trimmed on site. Full dimensions and weights are on the PFC page.
What it is used for
The commonest use across Essex housing stock is a pair of channels bolted back to back either side of an existing timber, which is how a great many floor openings and stair trimmers get formed in the county’s Victorian terraces without rebuilding around them. Singly, a channel supports a floor edge flush where a slab or timber deck needs carrying. Industrial work around Grays and Basildon uses the larger sizes as cladding support and for framing plant openings in existing walls.
The thing worth getting right
Loaded on its own, a channel is not symmetrical about the vertical axis. Push a load through the web and it wants to twist as well as bend, because the point it turns about is not where you would expect it to be, sitting outside the section entirely on the open side. Paired channels cancel most of that out. A single one does not, and it is the section most often specified without anybody checking whether the restraint assumed in the calculations is actually going to be built.
Delivery across Essex
We deliver direct to site across Essex, including Colchester, Chelmsford, Basildon, Harlow, Brentwood, Braintree, Southend-on-Sea, Rayleigh, Grays and Clacton. A lot of what goes into Essex is estuary and industrial work around the Thames corridor, alongside steady residential development inland.
Essex splits into two very different delivery problems. The A12 and A13 corridors and the estuary industrial areas around Grays and Basildon are straightforward for a full-length load. The older parts of Colchester, the coastal roads out to Clacton, and a good deal of Chelmsford are not, and a 7.6 metre length is a genuine question there and not a formality.
HIAB lorry crane offload is available on request. If the approach is tight, tell us at quote stage rather than on the day and we will plan the delivery around it.
Also in Essex
- Hollow Sections in Essex
- Plate and Bar in Essex
- Steel beams and columns in Essex
- PFC — full range and specifications
Common questions
What does PFC stand for?
Parallel flange channel. The flanges are parallel instead of tapered, which distinguishes it from the older taper flange channel. You may also see it called U channel, C section or mild steel channel.
What sizes do you supply?
From 150 x 75 x 18 up to 430 x 100 x 64, cut to your lengths in S275 or S355.
Why are channels often used in pairs?
Bolted back to back they form a symmetrical section that does not twist under load, and the pair can be taken into a building and assembled in place where a single deeper beam would not fit through the door.
Can a PFC be used instead of a universal beam?
Sometimes, and the reason is usually position, not capacity – a flat back that sits against a wall or flush with a floor edge. Whether it carries your load is a question for the engineer.
Ready for a price?
Send your drawings or a cutting list and we will come back with quantities and a price. Large and small orders both welcome.
Dimensional data shown is nominal and for guidance. Specifications for your project must come from your structural engineer.
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