When constructing a building, we aim to achieve the best long-term efficiency. Efficiency refers to the process from the construction of the structures to the life within them.
Meeting all these expectations is the new generation concrete system known as precast. It stands out in every stage of a structure with its materials, production process, design, and assembly. To explore the advantages that precast can provide in interior and exterior cladding applications, you may first want to familiarize yourself with precast cladding features.
What is Precast Cladding?
In architecture, there are dozens of different systems to choose from. You can determine this choice based on your geographical features or take advantage of newly developed systems. We see houses made of wood, adobe, and modern concrete structures.
All of these were driven by available resources and geographical requirements. When we frequently hear about precast, it can be said that it is an important system that combines the efficiency obtained from all of them. What is precast? What advantages can we gain in precast cladding? These questions have extensive answers.
Firstly, if we touch on what precast is, it is a material containing silica sand, white cement, alkali-resistant glass fiber, and water. Chemical concrete additives reinforce them with curing and steel frame systems to make them ready for assembly in buildings. With unlimited design options in cladding, they create very special architectural structures.
Precast Cladding Features
With its materials, precast provides advantages to buildings in external cladding in every aspect. It has a feature that enhances the appearance of the building, insulation, budget savings, and also increases the value of your buildings. Moreover, the processes of the manufacturing company and assembly stages are easier for the teams. The advantages you will gain in your buildings with precast cladding are as follows;
- Sound Insulation: Along with its materials, it also has noise-preventing properties. With a 1 cm precast, it can block sounds of over 30 dB. This feature is utilized in mass housing, apartment buildings, and barriers on roadsides.
- Non-Flammable Feature: With its A1 class non-flammable feature, it is also a preventive building material against fires. It is used both in personal residences and in public and private residences as required.
- Water and Wind Resistant: It shows maximum resistance to situations like pressure and water. With its heat-insulated facade panels feature, it is waterproof and does not let the wind inside.
- Heat Insulation: Thermal conductivity level provides the required heat insulation. There are insulation materials prepared according to TS825 standard. Unlike other systems, it does not add extra weight to the building for heat insulation. With this feature, both the building gets rid of excessive load and saves on heating budget.
- Impact and Earthquake Resistant: The materials that make up precast, along with steel frame and anchoring systems, also show high resistance to earthquakes and impacts. Connection systems are made to distribute the load in the healthiest way in situations like earthquakes.
- Does Not Burden the Structure: It is produced lighter than standard concrete and contains more features and advantages than reinforced concrete structures. With fiberglass reinforcement, concrete becomes lighter but more durable. It also provides an advantage in decorative processes in exterior claddings. While decorative processes add weight to the building in other systems, this is eliminated with precast.
- Unlimited Design Possibility: In the exterior appearance of the buildings, you can choose the desired design both in precast panels and precast cornices.
- Ease of Assembly: In the system that goes through processes such as mold and curing in the factory environment, the assembly of panels is provided to the building with simple processes. Steel frame and anchoring systems are also installed according to panel specifications. Assembly can be completed in a short time with the correct measurements.
- Time Saving: Precast production can be carried out in every season. With its resistance to impacts and heat, its assembly can be done in every season. This saves time for both the manufacturing company and the users.
Precast Facade Advantages
With all these features mentioned, it can be said that precast offers all the desired advantages together. Considering the old concrete systems, if a decorative process was desired, an additional reinforced concrete structure could be installed. Similarly, thermal insulation could also be achieved with an additional burden. Moreover, neither the decorative feature nor the insulation feature could provide the desired efficiency as in precast exterior cladding. With precast exterior cladding, each of these can be achieved with a single process.
