FRP RESOURCES

Information to help you select the best grating for your dock project.

Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) grating is one of the most durable, low-maintenance decking options for marine environments. It won’t rot, rust, or splinter—and it performs exceptionally well in wet, corrosive conditions. These resources will help you narrow down your grating options.

We are happy to answer any questions you have or review your dock project and provide some advice.

Send us an email to [email protected] or complete submit your request using the online-form.

Topics:

  • Molded Vs Pultruded Grating

  • Grating Selection Chart

  • Determining Span

  • Panel Sizes

  • Load Tables

MOLDED VERSUS PULTRUDED GRATING

Molded FRP Grating has a square mesh pattern made from 1/4" wide bearing bars. The mesh pattern is either 1.5" wide on center or 3/4" on center for mini-mesh. The grating is equally strong in both directions. This can be a great advantage for irregular shapes and corners.

Pultruded FRP Grating is made from a series of parallel bearing bars. The bearing bars may be have an I-profile such as I-4000, or I-6000 or a T-profile such as T-1800 or T-5000. It is extremely important to know which way the bearing bars run, as the grating panels only provide strength in one direction.

Molded Grating is Bi-directional. Pultuded Grating is Uni-directional.

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GRATING SELECTION CHART

DETERMINE YOR SPAN

A crucial step is determining how strong your grating needs to be is knowing how far the grating will need to span. This will be determined by the distance bbetween the underlying supports.

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For docks with supports that are 2 feet apart or less, 1 inch deep grating will be sufficient. All of our grating options are suitable for spans less than 2 feet apart. This is based on a 1/4" deflection for a 250 pound concentrated load. The closer your supports are to each other, the less deflction you will have. We do not recomend more than 1/4" deflection.

If the supports are 3 feet apart, you will need 1.5" deep molded grating, either mini-mesh or 1.5" x 1.5" square mesh.

You could also use T-1800 pultruded grating for spans up to 3 feet. We recommend T-1800 1.5" Deep for 3 or 4 foot spans.

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View our FRP Load Tables for detailed span information

PANEL SIZES

Selecting the best panels size(s) when designing a decking platform will provide you with the best yield, with the least waste. You want the maximum yield, with the least amount of cutting.

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If the dock has more than one leg or section, multiple panel sizes may be the best option.

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Select from the following stocked panel sizes for the best yield depending on the width of your dock:

  • 3 Feet by 10 Feet

  • 4 Feet by 8 Feet

  • 4 Feet by 12 Feet

  • 5 Feet by 10 Feet

We can either provide the grating in full-size panels or cut the grating to size prior to shipping. Let us know the optimal panel size and will be provide you with a price option for the panels cut to size.

Author: Richard Neuman. Last update June 7, 2026