Canadian Customer Case | FRP Profiles for Building Walkway and Guardrail Renovation

Canadian Customer Case | FRP Profiles for Building Walkway and Guardrail Renovation

Project Overview:

  • Project Location: Canada
  • Application Scenarios: Outdoor walkways, accessibility ramps, outdoor guardrails, and supporting structural components for public buildings
  • Selected Products: Pultruded FRP profiles, FRP round and square tubes, and FRP structural profiles (FRP angle profiles, channel profiles, I-beam profiles, etc.)

This project involved the renovation and upgrade of outdoor facilities at a local public building. Canada’s long, harsh winters expose outdoor structures to significant temperature fluctuations, repeated freeze-thaw cycles, and erosion caused by rain and snow. Heavy use of road de-icing salts during winter also accelerates the corrosion of metal components due to chloride exposure. The project purchaser required an outdoor structural solution that could ensure structural integrity and safety, accommodate on-site installation constraints, and reduce long-term maintenance costs.
Although conventional steel profiles are well established in fabrication, their protective coatings can crack and peel under these conditions, while pitting corrosion and rust have already developed around welds and fasteners. Once in service, these structures require annual maintenance, including rust removal and repainting, resulting in ongoing labor and material costs. As this was also a renovation project, limited installation space made the lifting and handling of heavy steel components more challenging. In addition, guardrail handrails, posts, and frame members each required different profile cross-sections and stiffness characteristics, making it difficult for a single standard tube size to meet the design requirements of the entire system.
Rather than focusing solely on the initial purchase price, the project team prioritized life-cycle costs, weather resistance and corrosion resistance, lightweight installation, and the ability to customize multiple profile sizes. TOLIKE pultruded FRP composites were ultimately selected as an alternative material for the guardrails and walkway support components.

steel profiles

Key Project Challenges

Metal component profiles

1. Harsh Outdoor Corrosive Environment and High Maintenance Requirements:

Chloride exposure from de-icing salts, freeze-thaw cycles, and prolonged UV exposure can cause conventional steel to corrode, requiring frequent inspections and maintenance and resulting in high long-term operating costs.

2. Restricted Installation Conditions for Renovation Projects

The existing building structure was already in place, leaving limited space for on-site work. The high self-weight of metal components required heavy equipment for lifting, handling, and assembly, increasing project duration and installation costs.
Restricted Installation Conditions for Renovation Projects
Restricted Installation Conditions for Renovation Projects

2. Restricted Installation Conditions for Renovation Projects

The existing building structure was already in place, leaving limited space for on-site work. The high self-weight of metal components required heavy equipment for lifting, handling, and assembly, increasing project duration and installation costs.
Diverse Component Specifications

3. Diverse Component Specifications and Complex Drawing Requirements

The complete guardrail system included handrails, posts, support frames, and reinforcing members. Different sections required specific cross-sectional dimensions, wall thicknesses, flexural performance, and connection details. Multiple profile cross-sections were therefore needed to meet the design requirements and minimize on-site cutting and modification.

TOLIKE Solution

Taking into account local climate conditions in Canada and the technical requirements specified in the project drawings, we provided a complete pultruded FRP profile solution combining FRP tubes with structural profiles of multiple cross-sections. All technical parameters were confirmed in advance to ensure compliance with the design drawings.
FRP round

1. Corrosion-Resistant Pultruded FRP profiles to Reduce Outdoor Corrosion-Related Maintenance

FRP composites do not rust like carbon steel. To address outdoor conditions involving de-icing salts and intense UV exposure in Canada, the resin system was optimized and additional UV-resistant surface protection was applied. The durability of connection hardware was also evaluated to improve suitability for high-salt and freeze-thaw environments, reducing the need for rust removal and repainting.

Note: FRP components still require regular inspections, with particular attention to surface damage, UV degradation, and the condition of connection hardware.

2. FRP Round and Square Tubes for Guardrail Handrails and Posts

FRP tubes were selected for guardrail handrails and posts. The material is lightweight, high-strength, and electrically insulating. The wall thicknesses, spans, and connection details of all tubes were structurally verified in accordance with applicable local building safety codes to meet guardrail load requirements.

3. Custom FRP Structural Profiles for Walkway Frame Supports

Custom Pultruded FRP profiles, channel profiles, and I-beams were designed for walkway frames and auxiliary support components. Profile specifications were determined based on the actual project spans, loads, and support spacing to meet the flexural stiffness requirements of different structural sections.

4. Comprehensive Technical Verification Before Production to Minimize On-Site Modifications

All technical parameters were confirmed before production, including profile cross-sections, dimensions, wall thicknesses, cut lengths, and cutting tolerances; resin systems and weather-resistant colors; secondary machining such as drilling and cutting; connection hardware and fastening methods; and mechanical performance acceptance criteria. Factory prefabrication reduced the need for on-site modifications and improved installation efficiency.

Project Value and Benefits

FRP structural profiles

Reduced Long-Term Maintenance Costs

In environments exposed to de-icing salts, FRP helps avoid rust removal, repainting, and component replacement associated with steel corrosion. When evaluated over the entire service life, FRP offers significant cost advantages over conventional steel.

Lightweight Design for Renovation Projects

FRP has a much lower density than steel, resulting in lighter components that are easier to handle and position in confined work areas. This can reduce the need for heavy lifting equipment and shorten installation time.

Custom Profiles to Match Engineering Drawings

With in-house pultrusion die development capabilities, TOLIKE can supply a variety of cross-sections, including round tubes, square tubes, angle profiles, and channel profiles, to meet the requirements of handrails, posts, and frames while minimizing secondary machining on-site.

Controlled Structural Safety

The complete solution is designed in accordance with applicable local building codes, with structural verification covering profile selection, cross-sectional design, and connection details to help ensure the safe use of the walkway and guardrail system.

Conclusion

In harsh outdoor environments such as Canada, where significant temperature fluctuations, frequent freeze-thaw cycles, and corrosion from de-icing salts are common, pultruded FRP profiles are an effective alternative to conventional metal components. TOLIKE provides FRP tubes and a wide range of custom pultruded FRP profiles for overseas infrastructure and public building projects, offering product selection, technical coordination, and integrated supply services.

Customer Feedback

“The main concern with this public walkway and guardrail renovation project was corrosion caused by winter de-icing salts and freeze-thaw cycles. Traditional steel requires significant annual investment in rust removal and repainting. TOLIKE’s pultruded FRP profile solution effectively addressed these challenges. The lightweight profiles significantly improved installation efficiency in the space-constrained renovation site. The availability of custom round tubes, square tubes, angle profiles, and channel profiles ensured a close match with our engineering drawings, while factory prefabrication greatly reduced on-site cutting and modification.
The technical team worked closely with us throughout the project to verify load requirements and compliance with applicable codes. They also demonstrated a clear understanding of local requirements for outdoor weather resistance and UV resistance. Based on the delivery and trial installation results to date, this solution is expected to significantly reduce maintenance costs over the coming years. For future projects involving similar outdoor corrosive conditions, we will prioritize FRP composite solutions and look forward to continuing our cooperation with TOLIKE.”
Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson, Project Manager

Local Engineering Services Provider, British Columbia, Canada

Pultruded FRP profiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Check our FAQs for instant solutions. If you cannot find what you need, feel free to contact our team for further support.

We are a direct FRP pultrusion manufacturer, not a trading company. We operate our own manufacturing bases, precision machining facilities, and production lines for FRP profiles, pultrusion tooling, and pultrusion equipment.

Yes. We welcome customers to visit our manufacturing facilities. We can also provide factory videos, production photos, and virtual factory tours for overseas customers.

Yes. We have supplied FRP products and pultrusion equipment to customers worldwide for large-scale projects and large-volume production orders. We provide customized FRP solutions for power, chemical, infrastructure, renewable energy, and industrial applications.

We have obtained ISO quality management system certification and CE certification. We implement strict quality control throughout the production process, from incoming materials to finished products.

Our FRP products feature high strength, lightweight design, corrosion resistance, UV resistance, excellent electrical insulation, and flame retardancy. Different resin systems, including polyester, epoxy, and polyurethane, can be customized according to application requirements.

Under normal operating conditions, FRP profiles provide a service life of 20+ years with low maintenance requirements.

Yes. We provide custom FRP solutions based on customer drawings, samples, dimensions, and application requirements, including custom pultruded profiles, pultrusion molds, and complete pultrusion equipment.