Types of Cast Concrete Building Products
Posted on: 18 June 2017
The construction industry has been using concrete as a building material for around 2,000 years. Large, historic buildings, such as the Colosseum in Rome, are made from multiple concrete sections standing on one another. However, the modern construction sector uses concrete in much more sophisticated ways. As well as poured concrete (which hardens on site inside moulds) there are precast products which are designed to be transported to site fully made. Castings often save lots of time and effort to put together. In addition, cast concrete products can be made in a more controlled way than you would find on many building sites. What do contemporary concrete casting companies make that can be used in today's buildings?
Beams
Both internal and external beams can be constructed from reinforced concrete. These beams are often just as durable as steel I-beams and can fit together like a three-dimensional jigsaw to produce complex structures. Made with a high degree of precision, external concrete beams tend to be used in situations where the floor loading is non-symmetrical.
Precast Floors
Although pouring concrete is a convenient way of making a durable floor on the ground, this method is not so great when the flooring section needs to be raised up, perhaps for the upper levels of a building. On the other hand, cast sections which are pre-manufactured can be made with a hollow cored slab at their centre. Trapping air inside, this core means that much less material is used for the equivalent floor space, thereby reducing the weight that needs to be held in place. Precast floors with hollow cores can often mean greater cost-effectiveness, as well as reducing the amount of carbon that is used in a building's overall construction.
Water Tanks
Concrete water tanks have been used for years where a municipal water supply needs to be stored locally. Concrete is the ideal material for holding a large body of water for later use. As well as water towers, water tanks are now often made from cast concrete sections and installed directly into larger buildings. Even after many years of use, concrete tanks can continue to hold water without the need for very much maintenance at all.
Infill Walls
When there are two framing sections already in place, it is possible to easily drop infill walls into place between them using a crane. Many larger buildings use concrete infill walls to form the central chamber around which the rest of the construction will be built. A typical application for these sorts of castings would be to make a lift shaft or stairwell between storeys.
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