Do you want to know the concrete regulations in Spain over the years?

We want to start this article by highlighting that since the first concrete instruction in 1968, things have evolved a lot over the years at the manufacturing level, but also at the legislative level. Currently, we have the following concrete regulations in Spain: The Structural Code, a regulation that replaces the EHE-08 from the beginning of this year 2022.

As we read in the BOE:

The new Structural Code that is approved is of an eminently technical nature and adopts a performance approach, in line with that used in other instructions and codes, such as the Technical Building Code, approved by Royal Decree 314/2006, of March 17, or the EHE-08 and EAE Instructions that are repealed by the approval of this royal decree, which allows the range of possible solutions not to be limited and encourages the use of new products and innovative techniques.

Now, before starting, we want to make a brief introduction in which we remind you that concrete is a material used in construction and that it is made up of four basic ingredients: cement or binder, aggregates, water and additives, as well as other optional ones.

Evolution of concrete regulations in Spain

Let us now briefly talk about the regulations that have been appearing over the years:

H.-39

As we read in the Concreto Online article: "It is considered that the first Instruction for Projects and Concrete Works was approved by the order of February 3 of the Ministry of Public Works, being mandatory in all public works defined in the Law General of Public Works of April 13, 1877, three months after its publication.

H.-44

On March 20, 1944, this new regulation appeared to modify the first Instruction of Projects and Concrete Works h.-39, "giving a period of three months for its entry into force.

H.A.-61

Almost two decades later, in 1961, ”the Eduardo Torroja Construction and Cement Institute published the special Instruction h.61 for reinforced concrete structures, one more of its Standards and Manuals, which despite not being a text with official legal rank, had a great acceptance among the professionals of the sector.”

EH-68

Decree 2987/1968, of September 20, "approves the Instruction for the project and execution of mass or reinforced concrete works." Its scope of application extends to all works and projects carried out in Spain. This regulation presented a ”transitory term until its mandatory nature of 2 years, with the repeal of h.-44. It also created the Permanent Concrete Commission, which since then has been in charge of revising this legal text.”

EHPRE-72

Only a few years later, the order of May 5, 1972 appears, which approved the "Instruction for the manufacture and supply of prepared concrete," and the scope of application was extended "to all works that use this concrete in the national territory. , becoming mandatory within a period of 1 year from its publication. This document was not repealed until 1988.”

 

EH-73

A new Decree 3082/1973, of October 19, would replace the EH-68. This ”includes transitory provisions for projects already approved by the Administration. or endorsed by professional associations or in the execution phase” (we read in the Concrete Online article).

We will continue talking about the evolution of concrete regulations in Spain in another article on our Blocks Poyatos blog.