Steel reinforcement requirements necessary for counter-levered stone bench-tops
- Generally a 300mm overhang is not necessary for any steel reinforcement, provided it has sufficient substrate.
Any overhang greater than 300 will require reinforcement up to 600mm overhang the general rule is to have a ratio of 50 - 50 with 50% of the steel embedded into the substrate while the other 50% is supporting the counter-levered stone. If the counter-lever is to be greater than 600mm then a 1/3 - 2/3 ratio is required with the 2/3'rds embedded into the substrate.
A 6mm plate works well and allows a nice thin material thickness and bench edge detail. Although for some overhangs it is necessary to be using some RHS (rolled hollow section) to support the stone. The critical factor here is to never allow the stone to have direct contact with the steel as this will cause the stone to crack.
