|
Precast Concrete, Tilt-up Construction and Tiltwall
|
 |
What is the difference in these terms?
Several terms - tilt-up panel
construction, tiltwall construction, precast concrete
building construction - are used to reference new or
nontraditional cement building processes. Do they all
mean the same thing? If not, what are the differences?
As previously stated in this article,
tilt-up and tiltwall are two terms used to describe
the same process. For a tiltwall concrete building,
the walls are created by assembling forms and pouring
large slabs of concrete called panels directly at the
job site. The panels are then tilted up into position
around the building's slab. Because the concrete tiltwall
forms are assembled and poured directly at the job site,
no transportation of panels is required. One major benefit
of this is that the size of the panels is limited only
by the needs of the building and the strength of the
concrete panels themselves.
Tiltwall panels can sometimes be extremely
wide and/or tall. Tiltwall panels have been measured
at just over 69 feet across and almost 93 feet from
top to bottom. Thus, architects and tiltwall concrete
contractors have a great deal of flexibility in planning
and creating their buildings.
Because concrete tilt walls are poured
outdoors, contractors are at the mercy of climatic conditions.
When temperatures drop below freezing, curing the concrete
panels becomes more difficult and expensive. This is
why tiltwall construction is particularly popular in
southern parts of the United States, where cold weather
occurs less frequently. Certainly, tiltwall concrete
buildings are built in northern areas, but the window
of time for temperate weather is much smaller and less
predictable, which can make construction schedules more
difficult to meet.
The precast concrete building process
is similar to tiltwall construction, but it addresses
the challenges presented by weather. For precast concrete
buildings, work crews do not set up forms at the job
site to create the panels. Instead, workers pre cast
concrete panels at a large manufacturing facility. Because
the precast concrete forms are poured indoors, this
activity can take place regardless the weather conditions.
After curing, the precast concrete panels are trucked
to the job site. From this point, precast concrete buildings
are assembled in much the same manner as tiltwall buildings.
The fact that precast concrete walls
are formed at a manufacturing facility resolves the
weather issue, but presents a different limitation not
found in tiltwall construction. Because the panels must
be transported - sometimes over long distances - places
a substantial limitation on how wide or tall each panel
can be. It would be impossible to load precast panels
that were 60 feet wide or 90 feet long onto trucks and
transport them any distance. For a precast construction
project, the panels must be smaller and more manageable
to allow trucks to haul them over the road to their
final destination. This places greater design restrictions
on architects and limits the applications where precast
construction can be used.
Clearly, tiltwall construction and precast
concrete are similar processes. Because tiltwall affords
more flexibility, it is the method of choice in locations
where the weather allows it. Precast concrete is a suitable
choice in circumstances where environmental factors
and the construction schedule preclude tiltwall as a
viable option.
Return
to articles index
|
