In honor of Valentine’s Day on Sunday, February 14 , here are 14 reasons to fall in love with precast concrete.
DURABILITY AND ADAPTABILITY
Precast concrete panels provide a long service life due to their durable, low-maintenance surfaces. Insulated sandwich panels paired with precast concrete construction also provides the opportunity to move and reuse panels to refurbish the building, rather than tear it down, should its use or function change.THERMAL MASS AND ENERGY PERFORMANCE
The thermal mass of concrete allows shifting of peak heating and cooling loads in a structure to help reduce mechanical-system requirements and energy consumption through the building envelope.FIRE AND NATURAL DISASTER RESISTANCE
Concrete is noncombustible and can contain a fire. As a separation wall, precast concrete helps prevent fire from spreading throughout the building or jumping from building to building. Precast concrete is resistant to wind, hurricanes, and floods.AIR INFILTRATION
Precast concrete panels have negligible air infiltration. Minimizing air infiltration between panels and at floors and ceilings will provide a building with low air infiltration. These effects will lower energy costs and help prevent moisture problems.ABUNDANT, LOCAL MATERIALS
Concrete is used in almost every country of the world as a basic building material. Aggregates, about 86% of concrete content, are generally low-energy, local, naturally occurring sand and stone. Most precast concrete plants are within 200 miles of a building site. Using local materials reduces the transportation required to ship heavy building materials, and the associated energy and emissions.INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Concrete contains low to negligible volatile organic compounds. Polished concrete floors do not require carpeting. Exposed concrete walls do not require finishing materials, eliminating particulates from sanding drywall taping seams.MITIGATING THE URBAN HEAT-ISLAND EFFECT
Precast concrete provides reflective surfaces that minimize the urban heat-island effect.RESISTANCE TO NOISE
Precast concrete walls provide a buffer between outdoor noise and the indoor environment.INEDIBILITY
Vermin and insects cannot destroy concrete because it is inedible.SPEED OF CONSTRUCTION
Pieces are cast off-site in a controlled environment and are delivered to you when you need them. The just-in-time delivery to the job site makes effective use of transportation and site access. A small crew can erect thousands of square feet per day and enclose the structure in days or weeks, whether it is the middle of winter, or the middle of summer.VERSATILITY
With a variety of finishes and applications for you to choose from, your dreams can become a reality.STRENGTH FOR HEAVY LOADS
High strength, prestressed concrete structural pieces deliver exceptional load-carrying capacity, which can result in smaller sections, longer spans, or both when compared to other structural systems.QUALITY ASSURANCE
As a PCI-certified plant, Mid-States Concrete performs a litany of concrete tests dictated by both PCI and ACI standards. Additionally, the Quality Department also performs pre-pour and post-pour checks every day on every piece produced by Mid-States.SAFETY (LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST)
“I have been in the construction safety business for nearly 20 years and have worked throughout the United States and I have to say your crew is among the finest I have seen in regards to safe work practices.” – Mark Stanhope, SafeMark Solutions, LLC