Manhole cover and frame (EN 124 load classes)

01

Choose the EN 124 load class for the location

Langmatz explains that EN 124-1:2015 divides manhole covers and gully tops into load classes A15 to F900 and defines where each may be used. On its summary, A15 (15 kN test load, group 1) is for areas used only by pedestrians and cyclists, such as green spaces; B125 (125 kN, group 2) for pavements, pedestrian areas, car parks and parking decks; C250 (250 kN, group 3) for parking spaces, shoulders and gutter areas extending at most 0.5 m into the road and 0.2 m into the footway; and D400 (400 kN, group 4) for road carriageways, including pedestrian streets, and similar permanent traffic surfaces. [1]

Langmatz states that D400 covers must always be screwed down, locked or secured by their surface-related mass in accordance with EN 124, and that its own polymer chambers were tested as a complete system of body, frame and cover, including resistance to horizontal braking forces. [1]

Editorial calculation: a 400 kN test load is about 400 / 9.81 ≈ 40.8 tonnes-force applied to the cover, and A15's 15 kN is about 1.5 tonnes-force; a cover placed in a heavier-trafficked location than its class allows is outside its tested load, so the class must follow the worst traffic that can reach the cover. [1]

Give the supplier the location of each cover (footway, verge, kerb zone, carriageway, yard, airfield), the load class and the standard it must be certified to, clear opening, frame depth limits, chamber type, material, securing and locking needs, sealing or odour requirements, markings, and the quantity and delivery programme.

02

Fix frame depth, clear opening and material

Nottinghamshire County Council's highway construction detail SD/5/17 lists the frames and covers it permits for manholes and catchpits. For carriageways on motorways, trunk, other classified roads and industrial estate roads it requires D400 covers with a minimum 150 mm frame depth, 400 × 600 mm or 600 mm diameter clear opening, double triangular, with a ductile iron cover and ductile or grey iron frame. [2]

The same table allows D400 with a 100 mm frame and 600 × 600 mm or 600 mm diameter opening on verges, cycleways and footways of those roads and in unclassified road carriageways, including housing estate roads, with ductile or grey iron covers, and B125 with a 75 mm frame on verges, cycleways and footways of unclassified roads. Shallow manholes use 900 × 600 mm openings with D400 frames of 150 mm or 100 mm and B125 frames of 100 mm. [2]

EN 124-1:2015 applies to manhole tops and gully tops with a clear opening up to and including 1,000 mm, covering gullies, manholes and inspection chambers in pedestrian and vehicular areas. Part 1 sets definitions, classification, design principles, performance requirements and test methods, and is only applicable together with the material part that matches the product: EN 124-2 cast iron, EN 124-3 steel or aluminium alloy, EN 124-4 steel reinforced concrete, EN 124-5 composite materials, and EN 124-6 polypropylene, polyethylene or PVC-U. It excludes gratings and covers of prefabricated drainage channels (EN 1433), floor and roof gullies in buildings (EN 1253-1) and surface boxes. The Estonian adoption lists EN 124-1:2015 as following EN 124:1999. [3]

Editorial note: highway authorities and network owners publish their own permitted lists; obtain the one that applies to the site before ordering, and check that the cover type (single, double triangular or twin-double) and material match it. When comparing offers, check that each certificate names EN 124-1 together with the material part (for example EN 124-2 for ductile iron, EN 124-5 for composite). [3]

03

Plan for cover weight and lifting at the access point

A cover's mass decides how it will be lifted for every inspection, not only how it sits in the road. A 2025 field study by the University of Alberta with the Edmonton utility EPCOR states that cast iron manhole covers can weigh up to 115 kg, and that covers dragged with a Jake tool (a sledgehammer combined with a pick bar) weigh over 54.4 kg (120 lb). [4]

In the trials, twenty utility workers moved an 18.1 kg (40 lb) cover by hand and a 56.7 kg (125 lb) cover with either the Jake tool or an in-house Lever tool built from a metal bar, a pedal and an adjustable chain with a hook. Posture was scored with the Rapid Entire Body Assessment (REBA), where a higher score means higher ergonomic risk. The Lever tool gave the lowest muscle activity and REBA scores, and a passive back exoskeleton lowered the scores in every method. [4]

Editorial calculation: the heavier test cover (56.7 kg) is about 3.1 times the light one (18.1 kg), and the Jake-tool REBA score without an exoskeleton (8.9) is about twice the Lever-tool score (4.5). These figures come from one utility's covers and tools; they are not EN 124 requirements. [4]

Langmatz notes that a D400 cover may rely on its surface-related mass for security instead of bolts or locks, so a heavier cover can be a design choice rather than a defect. Ask each supplier for the cover mass alone, the lifting key or keyhole design, and whether a hinged or lighter composite option meets the same class. [1]

04

Dandong's iron castings beside Bettercover and Tengjun composite and FRP lids

Dandong Foundry lists cast iron covers among its iron castings, Bettercover composite covers and frames, Hebei Tengjun FRP covers, and Handan Shengnada covers with gratings and meter boxes.

For each order ask them for the EN 124 class and certificate, test report, clear opening, frame depth, material grade, securing method and markings.

05

Cover, frame, securing, chamber body, markings and EN 124 material part

The securing row applies to D400 covers and the chamber-body row to polymer systems tested as one unit, as Langmatz describes; the frame row follows Nottinghamshire's permitted list.

06

Opening, load class, material, weight and coating fields for a cover order

Opening, class, material and weight have published figures in these sources; coating, strength, hardness, sealing, skid and corrosion rows need the supplier's own test data.

07

Send the location, class and frame data together

Paste it into your enquiry below or into an email to a maker, then replace every bracket.

Locations: [footway; verge; kerb zone; carriageway; yard]
Class: [EN 124 class per location]
Opening and frame: [clear opening; frame depth]
Type and material: [single or triangular; iron grade or polymer]
Securing: [bolts; locks; hinge]
Owner rules: [highway or network standard]
Documents: [certificates; test reports]

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