"Choosing carbon fiber for the reinforcement of old buildings is like giving the elderly non-invasive treatment - it can replenish vitality without hurting their bones!"

For those decades or even hundreds of years old houses, the wall skin is brittle and the beams are bent. The most feared thing when reinforcing them is "major surgery". However, carbon fiber can "quietly become stronger", which is why it has become a "life-saving straw" for old buildings.

1. As light as "gauze", it won't crush old bones

The foundations and walls of old buildings have long been "unable to do what they want", and the most feared thing during reinforcement is to increase the weight - just like an old man can't stand the extra weight, the "lightness" of carbon fiber cloth just hits the pain point.

Carbon fiber cloth weighs only 200-600 grams per square meter (equivalent to half a bottle of mineral water), and it hardly increases the dead weight when pasted on beams, columns and floor slabs. In contrast, the steel plates used for traditional reinforcement will add a "burden" to the old building after pasting one layer.

After a Qing Dynasty ancestral hall was reinforced with steel plates, new cracks appeared in the wall. The steel plates were removed and replaced with carbon fiber cloth to stabilize it - this is not reinforcement, it is "adding insult to injury" to the old building!

When reinforcing an old villa in the Republic of China, it was originally intended to use glued steel (10 kilograms per square meter). After calculation, it was found that it would overload the foundation. After replacing it with carbon fiber, the weight was reduced by 97%, and the foundation was free of pressure.

2. Strong like "rebar", quietly replenishing vitality

What old buildings lack is "muscle strength" - the bearing capacity of the beams is insufficient and the walls are cracked. Although carbon fiber looks thin, it is actually "invisible steel bars" with a strength 7 times higher than ordinary steel, which can "secretly replenish strength" for old buildings.

Carbon fiber cloth has a tensile strength of 3400MPa (meaning that one square centimeter can withstand 3.4 tons of force). In a staff building built in the 1950s, the deflection of the beam exceeded the standard (bent downward). After two layers of carbon fiber cloth were applied, the deflection was reduced by 40%, and it has not deformed since then. The master said: "This cloth looks soft, but it is as hard as a steel plate when subjected to force, but it is more docile than a steel plate!"

More importantly, it can "exert force along the strength of the old building". When the old beams are unevenly stressed, the carbon fiber cloth can disperse the force like a "bandage" to avoid excessive local force and cause breakage. The columns of an old factory were reinforced by wrapping them with carbon fiber cloth. The compressive strength was increased by 30%, and no new cracks appeared on the columns anymore - this is what it means to “repair smartly, not too aggressively”!

3. Construction is like "sticking a plaster" and does not disturb old houses

The most feared thing about the reinforcement of old buildings is "large-scale demolition and renovation" - the wall skin will fall off when touched, and the wooden components will fall apart when dismantled, while the construction of carbon fiber cloth can be called "non-invasive surgery", which is very suitable for old buildings.

No large equipment is needed: after the carbon fiber cloth is cut, it can be glued and pasted manually, without electric drills and cutting machines. During the reinforcement of a Qing Dynasty temple, the monks were most afraid that the construction team would disturb the Buddha statues. With carbon fiber cloth, the workers slowly pasted it with a small scraper, which was as quiet as embroidery. It was completed in 3 days without disturbing a ritual.

Short construction period and small impact: It takes 1 month to reinforce an old building with ordinary steel bonding, but it can be done in 2 weeks with carbon fiber cloth. When reinforcing an old shopping mall, carbon fiber cloth was selected. Construction was carried out during the day and business was open as usual at night. The boss smiled from ear to ear: "It didn't delay a day of business, and it saved half the construction period compared to steel bonding!"

4. Thin as "skin", does not destroy the old appearance

The appearance of the old building is "living history". If it becomes ugly after reinforcement, it is better not to reinforce it. The "thinness" of carbon fiber cloth can just preserve the "appearance" of the old building.

It is only 0.111-0.333 mm thick. It can be covered by a layer of putty on the wall and beam, and there is almost no trace of reinforcement. In a mansion in the Republic of China, the pillars were originally plain brick walls (not plastered). After being reinforced with carbon fiber cloth and painted with the same color, experts could not see where they were moved - this is too important for historical buildings!

And the steel reinforcement will make the components "fatter". An old church used steel plates to reinforce the beams. The originally slender wooden beams were wrapped into "steel columns". The Cultural Relics Bureau directly required rework. In contrast, carbon fiber cloth is like an "invisible cloak", making the old building "quietly stronger and unchanged in appearance".

5. Withstands "old environment" and causes less trouble to future generations

What's more worry-free is that it does not need to be regularly painted and maintained like steel plates, and it can be safely used for decades. After an old school was reinforced, the principal said: "This cloth is much easier than the previous steel components. You don't have to worry about rust prevention every year. It saves money and peace of mind!"

The difficulty in reinforcing old buildings lies in “both strengthening and not damaging the vitality”. The lightness, strength, cleverness, beauty and durability of carbon fiber cloth just match the “temperament” of old buildings: it does not increase the burden, quietly improves the strength, does not cause trouble during construction, does not destroy the original appearance, and does not need to be repaired for a long time.