Cramps have been used throughout the history in masonry constructions. With technological development, the materials and methods have been different in time. This report is an attempt in a structural way; to describe how the use of cramps has been historically and how it can be made today. A comparison is presented with the common most used materials, focusing on durability and environmental sustainability. Among the materials both older, well-tried, and materials that is relatively new on the market is presented. This report has been made in cooperation with Bylero AB, due to their restoration project of Norrsunda church in Märsta. The report is aiming on finding a replacement for lead that historically has been used in conjunction with the cramps. Cramps that before was made by forged steel, are today being replaced with stainless steel. The recommendation is also to replace lead with chemical anchors when cramps are being attached. If possible, remove the cramps and replace it with a construction entirely made of stones.

I rapporten har vi skrivit om naturstenens roll och förutsättningar som fasadmaterial inom byggproduktion. Målet med undersökningen var att belysa nya tekniker som finns på marknaden. Metoder som har använts för att undersöka infästningstekniker är genom intervjuer och studiebesök.   Den stora frågan var att ta reda på hur dem nya teknikerna kan påverka vår arbetsmiljö, miljö samt estetik. En annan fråga var hur den nya tekniken kan uppfylla de nya kraven?   Natursten är ett naturligt material som är inhomogen och därför förekommer det färgskiftningar och variationer i stenskivorna. En beställare ska därför vara väldigt specifik när stenen utses.   Det finns en stor risk med att förankra stenskivor utan mekanisk förankring. Utan förankringen kan stenen lossna från fasaden. Idag bygger vi vanligen med tekniken ventilerad luftspalt, mellanrum mellan stenskivor och stomme. På det sättet kan alla stenskivor röra sig utan spänningar samtidigt som luftspalten ventilerar och dränerar ut fukten bakom stenskivorna. Genom att välja lämpliga stendimensioner och ankare i standardutförande kan kostnaderna minskas. Denna rapport tar upp ny teknik. FZP, Fischer Zykon Panel, är ett undercut ankare. Detta är en valmöjlighet om en beställare vill erhålla skivor som är 20 mm i tjocklek.   Björn Shouenborg har designat ett program som gör det möjligt att dimensionera sten på fasader. Programmmet visar om dimensioneringen är ok med hänsyn till säkerhetskraven.   Med tanke på de stora miljökraven som ställs är det både lönande att undersöka möjligheter och ny teknik. Stommen byggs med mer isolering vilket kräver en längre expanderbult eller ankare mellan stenen och stommen.   I denna rapport framkommer det att en arkitekt och stenentreprenör är positiva till ACT-systemet.  Den här rapporten har belyst att den nya tekniken har en positiv påverkan på arbetsmiljön, miljön, estetik och tid. / The report talks about the capacity and conditions as a façade material within building construction. The goal with the research was to shed light on the new technique available today.  The methods used to examine the mechanical anchoring techniques were through interview and fieldstudies. The main question was to find out how those new technologies can affect our health and safety, environment and aesthetics. Another question is how the new technology can meet the new requirements?   Natural stone is a natural material that is inhomogeneous and therefore there are color variations and variations in stone tiles. A client should therefore be very specific when the stone is appointed. There is a great risk to anchor stone tiles without mechanical anchoring, without it the stone can detach from the façade. The technology most commonly used in anchoring stone is using a ventilated air gap, a space between the stone tiles and facade. In this way, all stone tiles move without tension and furthermore the air gap ventilates and drains the moisture behind the stone tiles. It is possible to cut costs by choosing the appropriate stone dimensions and tiles in the standard execution. New technology opens up new possibilities. An alternative is FZP, Fischer Zykon Panel which is an undercut anchor. This could be used as an option if a client wishes to have 20 mm thick tiles. Bjorn Shouenborg, researcher, has designed a program that makes it possible to dimension stone facades.The software that shows if the design is ok with regard to safety requirements.   Given the large environmental requirements imposed today, it is conceivable both be worthwhile to explore the possibilities and new technologies. The façade is built with more insulation which requires a longer expansion of anchors.   In this report, it appears that an architect and stone contractor is positive for the ACT system. This report has highlighted that the new technology has a positive impact on the work environment, the environment, aesthetics and time.

The author has applied an abductive research design and performed a case study which includes a survey and e-mail interviews of workers within the construction industry. The purpose of the survey and the interviews is to investigate what factors may be the most influential for individuals in establishing their apprehension of natural stones. The research has been made on commission of the case firm which is a natural stones importer located in Sweden and the survey is based on the 17-point CETSCALE originally created by Shimp and Sharma in 1987. The survey was sent to workers with different occupations (architects, contractors and purchasers) within the construction industry who encounter natural stones in their work. Therefore, the theoretical purpose of this study is to contribute to increase the knowledge of country-of-origin effects of imported low-involvement products. The research gap this study aims to fill is to outline what factors are influencing consumers' purchasing behavior on purchasing low-involvement products. The practical purpose of this study is to provide the case firm with more knowledge of the phenomenon of negative COO-effects. Theories on ethnocentrism have been included since ethnocentric tendencies among customers have been considered by previous researchers as one of the contributing factors of fostering negative country-of-origin perceptions. The case firm can implement this knowledge in creating a more effective marketing strategy and thereby develop their operation domestically as they wish to do. Empirical findings of this study demonstrate that cognitive influence is the factor with the largest influence on country-of-origin effects while factors such as familiarity and environmental concerns are less influencing. The author recommends future researchers to further investigate this phenomenon, especially to investigate its connection to cognitive- and other psychosocial factors in order to gain a more solid understanding for why problems related to this phenomenon arise and how they may be encountered. Since Corporate Social Responsibility was demonstrated to be the most influencing factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions of this study, it is suggested to future researchers to investigate the phenomenon of country-of-origin in relation to ethical- and moral standards of individuals.