Total Precast Structures

A total precast concrete system has benefits that apply to the entire building team – owner/developer, architect, engineer, and contractor.

What is a total precast structure?  A total precast structure is a structure in which the substantial core and shell of the structure are comprised of precast components.  Integrating precast structural and architectural solutions produces a system, as well as a methodology for producing commercial properties that are better, faster and more economical.  Total precast is suitable for many types of commercial applications and allows for a tailored design as necessary.  The architectural choices are nearly endless.

Benefits:

• Prestressed concrete can achieve long clear spans.

• Prestressing and available element sizes can provide high load capacity.

• Concrete mass provides inherent fire resistance without the need for field applied fire proofing.

• High quality materials provide durability in the most severe environments.

• Precast concrete can provide excellent Sound Transmission Class ratings.

• The thermal storage capacity of concrete will temper the heating and cooling load swings, which ultimately reduce costs for the owner.

• A total precast concrete structure provides single source responsibility from structural design through final detailing.

• Precast concrete structures are erected quickly.

• Precast production and erection continue year-round with little influence from weather.

• Both structurally and architecturally, precast concrete offers a multitude of design options.

One total precast structure Mid-States Concrete has worked on is The Humbucker.  The Humbucker, located in Madison, Wisc., is a 9-story total precast rental apartment building for University of Wisconsin students.  The exterior is comprised of structural precast wall panels with an architectural finish of colored concrete with an acid etched finish.  The project consists of 75 apartments and below grade parking.

As a design build project, the project owner, design team, and precaster were able to partner with each other from the initial design.  By understanding project goals early on, the design team was able to create ideas to achieve them.  The challenge was to quickly create an appealing structure in an efficient and durable manner to meet the demands and rigors of the student rental market.

As a student apartment building, the expectation for wear and tear was high.  Precast concrete construction was the perfect solution based on its aesthetic possibilities, safety, durability and speed of construction.  In addition to exterior precast walls, the project utilized numerous precast concrete products, including columns, beams, hollowcore plank, interior walls, balconies and stair/landing units.

The 98,000 square foot building was erected in 12 weeks in the middle of winter.

Project and Precast Scope:

• 89,500 square feet of Hollowcore Plank

• 33 Beams

• 7 Columns

• 289 Wall Panels

• 52 Balconies

• 36 Stair and Landing Pieces

Precast Foundation Walls

Precast concrete has proved time and time again that it can do just about anything.  Precast is versatile, it is efficient, and it is resilient.

While many are familiar with our beam, column, and hollowcore system for underground parking and building podiums, our use of precast wall panels as foundation walls might be less familiar.  For more than 10 years, Mid-States Concrete has offered Customers the option of precast foundation walls – an enhancement of our total precast system.  Oftentimes, precast foundation walls installed 10- to 12-feet into the ground can replace cast-in-place or block foundation systems.

Why do Customers turn to precast foundation walls?  The two biggest reasons are speed and schedule.  The precast foundation walls are cast in advance at our plant in South Beloit, based on an agreed upon schedule between the Customer and Mid-States Concrete.  Panels are then delivered to the site, at an agreed upon time between the Customer and Mid-States Concrete.  Additionally, precast concrete makes it possible to complete construction projects during even the extreme weather that comes in cold winter months, as we’re able to both manufacture precast concrete components, as well as install them year-round.  Unlike other methods, precast concrete does not need to set up tenting or heating to install.

Many of the projects for which we have provided foundation walls have been assisted living and multi-family buildings with single-story underground parking.  Any project that includes underground parking could be a good fit for foundation walls.  Considerations that need to be examined for the use of foundation walls include soil pressure, as well as the considerations that typically accompany wall panels – installation, trucking, and access.

In our experience, we have found that most contractors are pleasantly surprised by the speed at which we can install foundation walls and how seamlessly they mesh with our beams, columns, and hollowcore as a complete system.  This is also a huge benefit to contractors, as it keeps more of the work within the responsibility of a single sub-contractor.

We also firmly believe that the expertise our design team possesses in building with foundation walls and the attention to detail in both our production and installation processes, our foundation walls offer a better aesthetic quality than other methods.

Interested in learning more about foundation walls?  Contact us at sales@msprecast.com.

A message to our Customers

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know we're thinking about you. Check out this short message from our team to yours. We hope you, your team, and your families are doing well.

It's raining again... now what?

By Brad McCaslin
Project Manager

“If you don’t like the weather wait ten minutes.”

This is a common adage heard around the Midwest.  It seems as if we can hit all four seasons in one day here in southern Wisconsin/northern Illinois and this weather creates unique challenges for our installation crews and projects.  This time of year, it seems as if we are constantly checking the radar and forecast for rain.  This is due to many reasons including shipping, site access, road conditions, and safety.  Safety is always foremost on the minds of project managers and Mid States Concrete Industries.

Project managers are tasked with keeping crews safe, schedules tight, and budgets green.  Keeping these goals in mind factors into our decision to cancel an installation or attempt an installation with rain in the forecast.  These decisions have a real dollar amount attached and can significantly impact not only our bottom line, but the bottom line of the general contractor, developer, owner, etc. of the project.  A gamble to proceed with installation that backfires can cost thousands of dollars in trucking fees with zero return.  As a result of these dynamics, our project management team tends to err on the side of caution.

That’s the monetary side of the equation, but the more significant side is safety.  Our crews work in dangerous situations daily where falls and jobsite hazards are commonplace.  Project managers attempt to minimize our field installation crews’ exposure to increased safety hazards due to rain and weather conditions.

First, it’s important to understand the effects rain can have on our crews and the safety challenges rain poses.  Rain can cause washouts of roadways, crane pads, foundations, and access points.  There is also the increased chance of lightning that adds its own set of dangers.  Rain can significantly reduce visibility between the installation crew and crane operators.  Cold exposure and slippery surfaces are additional factors to keep in mind.  Rain this time of year tends to be cold, which could lead to illness and prolonged absence of crew members.  And, as we all know precast concrete has some smooth surfaces that tend to become slippery when wet.  This increases trip and fall hazards which could also lead to an injured crew member.

While it is understood that working in the rain is something we must do at times, as it’s the nature of the industry and the place we call home, it is incumbent upon all of us to make smart decisions in order to best serve not only our customers, but our installation crews as well. Our entire Mid-States Concrete Industries team strives to create a safe environment for all involved and keep our valued customers and team members safe.

Using Graphic Concrete on your next project

By Colin Jones
Preconstruction

To bring our Customers the latest in precast concrete technology, Mid-States Concrete has been working with a new product called Graphic Concrete®.

In the simplest terms, Graphic Concrete® is thick paper that has a design printed on it using a chemical retarder.  That paper is then placed on the bed, like a form liner, before we pour the concrete on top of it.  After the wall panel is removed from the bed, it is washed with a pressure washer. Wherever the retarder came into contact with the concrete, the aggregate is exposed to reveal the design.

We have spent the past couple of years testing Graphic Concrete® in our plant and are very excited to serve as a partner on the Maine West Fieldhouse addition in Des Plaines, Ill. with Pepper Construction and the Southwestern Shelby Fieldhouse addition in Shelbyville, Ind. with S & B Construction.  Both projects utilize Graphic Concrete® and have some unique aspects.

When Wight and Company first contacted Mid-States about the Maine West Fieldhouse addition, the project was planned as a precast structure with a metal cladding of athletic figures attached to the wall panels.  Representatives of the architectural firm were looking for the ability to add a design directly into the precast using the Graphic Concrete® process.  The designers knew the image had to blend in with the rest of the precast building and the existing structure.  Mid-States created multiple samples using different aggregates and dyes in order to provide the Wight team the options they needed to present to their client.  In addition to utilizing Graphic Concrete®, this project will also utilize form liners, sandblast finishes and Nawkaw stain.  The Maine West project includes a large customer logo stretched across the entire North and South sides of the building using multiple colors.

When Schmidt Associates, the architectural firm working on the Southwestern Shelby Fieldhouse project, contacted Mid-States with a rendering of what they envisioned for a project, we were excited to share our knowledge of Graphic Concrete®.  The architect wanted to use a design featuring the school’s mascot, a Spartan warrior, repeated multiple times around the lower perimeter of the building, surrounded by a ribbed form liner, the top half of which will be sandblasted.  Graphic Concrete® helped the architect achieve the desired aesthetics of the building.

While both projects are gym additions, that’s where the similarities end.  The beauty of Graphic Concrete® is that it offers customization at an even higher level than precast concrete already offers.  With Graphic Concrete® you can reproduce any patterns, textures and photographs with remarkable precision onto any precast surface. People often wonder if it really is concrete.

Mid-States Concrete is truly blessed to be chosen as a partner on such unique and important projects.  For more information about how we can help with your Graphic Concrete® project, contact Colin Jones at c.jones@msprecast.com.