The Steel Dog Fiberglass Loop Tie is the only fiberglass form tie designed as a direct substitute for conventional steel loop ties. It installs effortlessly in steel-framed plywood forms with standard wedge bolts and has an ultimate strength of 6,000lbs. Applications for fiberglass ties range from exposed concrete walls, to insulated sandwich style concrete walls, and anywhere corrosion or rust is a concern. Unlike steel ties that are “broken back” into a finished concrete wall, fiberglass ties are ground flush. The epoxy coated glass fiber is tinted to match the color of concrete, resulting in a tie that virtually disappears in the wall.
Fiberglass Loop tie is simple, inexpensive, and reliable. It connects to forms the same way steel loop ties do and boasts the same heavy duty load rating despite weighing half as much.
The benefits of fiberglass ties outweigh steel in almost every respect. They never rust, don’t require patching, are non-conductive, and prevent thermal bridging. These attributes are perhaps best realized in exposed concrete walls where the surface needs to look sharp and remain durable for decades to come. Steel ties raise several concerns for both the short and long term aesthetics of exposed concrete. The holes left by steel ties often require some form of patching with a grout or caulk to hide the hole and deter staining from the tie. Blending these patches to match the texture and color of a poured concrete wall is extremely difficult and time consuming. Beyond that, even a successful patch does not guarantee rust from the tie will not find its way to the surface over time. Using fiberglass eliminates the need to patch altogether and removes any concern of staining from rust. Instead of a breakback, the end of a fiberglass tie is ground flush with the concrete surface leaving no hole to patch. The tinted grey fibers blend in with the concrete making it almost invisible. In addition to light grey, Fiberglass Loop Ties are produced in dark grey, black, red, and brown, as well as custom colors that can be specified to match a particular concrete tint.
Other applications for fiberglass include insulated concrete walls where foam insulation is cast in the center of the wall. Fiberglass ties bolster the R-Value of the wall, whereas steel ties lower it by allowing thermal bridging through the insulated core. They are also spec’d into water treatment tanks and structures such as MRI rooms where steel cannot be used.
