WINTER 2005/2006

Precast concrete
by SPA Chairman John Milner

the backbone of construction

required. The common theme is to adopt modular construction wherever possible, to increase speed and keep down costs. A good example is precast crosswall construction, which offers many benets. By design, the method provides at softs with no intruding downstand beams and also solves the increasingly onerous acoustic requirements of the Building Regulations. As with all precast concrete solutions, elements are produced in a factory-controlled environment and quality is not compromised as a result of fasttrack programme pressures. In addition, wet trades are usually eliminated, permitting early follow-on of other trades such as cladding and M&E t-out. Depending on nish required, paint can often be applied directly to the concrete walls, providing a robust and rst class nish. The careful design and identification of individual precast elements enables accurate planning of the works, while just-in-time deliveries ensure that coordination with other trades on site is precise essential on busy and congested sites. Further value is added by providing typical programme gains over traditional and lightweight methods of between 30% and 50%.

he demand for off-site construction is on the up and momentum is building. Many ascribe this growth to two things the increase in construction in general and the ever-growing shortage of skilled labour on site. But there are three other, and perhaps more valid reasons, namely the faster erection time, the superior quality of the result and the lifetime energy reductions from the thermal mass of the concrete. As a result, techniques such as crosswall construction, modular construction and so-called atpack construction all making use of precast concrete are being adopted for a wide range of projects such as hospital, hotels, residential and high-rise apartments, social housing, high-security accommodation, and student accommodation schemes. At the same time, latest Government statistics show that the average density of new homes has increased from 25 dwellings per hectare in 1997 to 40, an increase of 60%.

This higher density poses challenges such as noise transmission, as a result of which concrete is increasingly becoming the construction material of choice, both for builders and home owners, who appreciate its durability, robustness and energysaving features.
Within the Structural Precast Association, member companies are approaching this market in various ways, each technique suited to the type of structure

Safety by design Buchan Concrete Solutions, for example, have developed over the years a comprehensive
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STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E O N E

Although precast crosswall construction is often seen as being most appropriate and economic in buildings of regular plan, such as hotels and student accommodation, it can very easily accommodate less regular plan details. At Erdington, for example, the building turns through 90, a change of direction easily and aesthetically accommodated.

Experience counts Track records often play a large part in contract awards. Having completed Ibis Hotels at Manchester, Liverpool, Gatwick, Birmingham and Leicester, Bell & Webster Concrete was selected by design-and-build contractor Jarvis Construction to build a 14-storey, 210-bedroom hotel in Wembley using the companys Fast Build Rooms system. The building has been erected above a single-storey in-situ concrete structure, with mezzanine oor. Built on a rst-oor transfer slab, factory-engineered concrete was used for all walls, oors and the inner skin of the external walls, stair and lift areas and with the window openings cast-in. All concrete surfaces within the rooms were ready for direct decoration with minimum preparation. More than 1200 precast concrete components, some weighing up to eight tonnes, were delivered by road and craned directly into the structure; at the same time, fully-nished bathroom pods were craned into place. Because of the design, external cladding was

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range of FASTCAST solutions. This system is especially nding favour on projects over two to three storeys where lightweight systems can suffer movement problems. Robustness is achieved through horizontal and vertical ties. For sound insulation, Buchan provides 180mm-thick separating walls between living areas which satises the requirements of the new Part E. One of the UKs most modern business hotels, the Crowne Plaza in London Docklands, is a recent Buchan project, the company being asked to provide a suitable modular concrete solution for the accommodation oors.The in-house design team devised a method of providing stability by using the diaphragm action of the oors spanning between the wall panels, which in turn act as shear walls. Like all other wall units in the system, the shear walls were structurally connected by in-situ concrete stitched joints that ensure transfer of all forces acting on the structure and thus allow transfer of loads to the rst-oor in-situ slab.

High-rise construction SPA member Bison Concrete Products is another company promoting and beneting from the upsurge in concrete offsite construction. On the site of the former Highcroft Hospital at Erdington, Birmingham, the company is erecting a highquality residential development above an in-situ concrete podium over basement car parking. Bison was awarded the contract by the main contractor George Wimpey West Midlands Ltd to design, manufacture and erect the precast concrete structure. This comprises crosswall panels, 200mm-deep prestressed hollow-core ooring and precast staircases. Manufacture of all the precast components for the project was undertaken at a nearby Bison factory. Altogether, 4500m2 of prestressed hollow-core oors, 850m3 of wall units and precast staircases were produced.
STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E T W O

effectively off the critical path. With the windows installed as the concrete is erected, the structure has inherent weather-tightness and so other trades can begin much earlier than on a traditional build programme.

The modular approach Precast Cellular Structures Ltd (PCSL), a joint venture between Tarmac Ltd and Composite Limited, has been concentrating on modular projects, especially for prisons. Including PFI and contracts for the English and Scottish Prison Services as well as the States of Guernsey, the total exceeds 3670 modular cells. The experience gained has enabled the company to establish precast concrete as the preferred modular solution for the prison houseblock market. The house-blocks come in the form of pre-tted cells, cast at Tarmacs factories. Their modular nature means that they can be erected ve times faster than in-situ construction methods, allowing progression from a greeneld site to a structural prison frame in 11 days. From cutting the rst turf to completion, a 120-cell house block with core area can be completed in 30 weeks. A recent example of PCSLs work is for HMP Wellingborough. Units were manufactured using state-of-the-art steel moulds. Cells are cast as a ve-sided box with four walls and a roof in a monolithic four- or two-cell unit: a standard four-cell block weighs around 39 tonnes. All these projects carried out by SPA member companies demonstrate the signicant benets of precast concrete construction for medium- and high-rise accommodation on inner city and browneld sites.

Insulated panels given Lantac approval

oger Bullivant Concrete Products has secured Lantac approval for its insulated HighWall building panels.

Said Steve Parker, RB Group production director, The certicate which has been awarded by Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council was the result of many months of hard work by the RBCP pre-order team and Dudley MBC. The insulated panel forms the basis of both the RB ProWall system, which is being used throughout the UK on numerous distribution units, and the new HighWall frameless building system, which has been installed on projects in both the public and private sectors. The new panels can either be manufactured in volume from the standard grey product, which RBCP regularly supplies and installs throughout the UK, or have bespoke nishes applied to order. Both our current customer base and new clients can benet from the Lantac approval in the knowledge that the product has been checked and approved by a recognised authority, added Trevor Howells, national sales manager for RBCP. The Lantac approval of the HighWall panels follows the previous certicate gained for the award-winning Quickwall panels now used extensively on new construction developments nationwide.

STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E T H R E E

Moving the industry forward

anson Building Products received an innovation award at the British Precast Best Practice Awards 2005 for the Hanson innovative house. The building was constructed as a demonstration project specically for the BRE Offsite 05 event, but remaining on site for a period of two years, for display, training and developmental purposes.

From left to right Mike Eberlin, sponsor; Lord Hunt OBE; Gerry Feenan commercial director Hanson Floors & Precast; and judges Dr Jacqui Glass and Richard Ogden

The load-bearing elements of the structure were constructed using prefabricated panelised concrete, masonry wall and oor units with the roof formed from prefabricated insulated panels. The overall objective of the construction is to promote Hansons range of building products and services while reinforcing Hansons commitment to product development. Although the house looks and feels both solid and conventional it has been constructed using a mixture of building systems and products that can be assembled more quickly, produce less waste and prove safer than some traditional methods, since the erection process precludes the involvement of untrained personnel. Hanson also received the rst place award for health and safety at the British Precast Awards.

SCC receives top health and safety award

CC Ltds health and safety achievements were acknowledged by the British Safety Council and the Health and Safety Executive during an awards ceremony at Londons Grosvenor House Hotel. Picture shows Sir Frank Davies (right) presenting the International Safety Award to Peter Crofts (left) SCCs design and build manager; centre is John Grimshaw, the companys health and safety manager.
The statistics we had to improve on are the Accident Incident Rates (AIR) published by the HSE said John Grimshaw. We also had to illustrate signicant progress of two initiatives during the qualifying year. Firstly regular meetings with foreman and charge hands that have a no name-no blame culture to enable open and frank discussions on health and safety matters affecting them and the operatives under their control. All information is referred to the directors monthly meetings, which I attend as safety manager. Continued John, The second initiative is the publication of a safety bulletin with contributions from all levels within the company on

how we can improve further on our health and safety record. One topic was the disposal of food and material waste, which led to a marked improvement in tidiness within the workshops and a dramatic reduction in trips and falls. At the request of employees, more bins were situated in relevant locations and tidy up days are a thing of the past. The focus on health and safety has stimulated employer/employee communication across all operational areas, principally because suggestions are acted upon. These advances assist in reducing the mystery surrounding the subject of health and safety.

STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E F O U R

Efcient building
hen Milbank Floors decided to build a new production facility at Brandon, the type of construction was a key element in the economics and efciency of the building. The requirement for an uninterrupted working area and two-tier

crane operation led to long-span lightweight construction with a total building height of 14m.
The new factory is adjacent to an existing Milbank factory able to produce large precast components and this, together with the potential saving in transport costs, suggested the precast concrete columns be produced close to the site. Wall construction was determined by three factors sound insulation, robustness and economics and so precast concrete cladding panels were the obvious choice, again manufactured in the existing factory. As production required a 16-tonne high-level crane, bullet skip distribution system and low-level production cranes, considerable vertical and horizontal loads were induced in the main columns. Therefore, precast concrete columns cantilevered from the foundations were adopted, to restrict sway and cope with the high stresses and wind loading. To minimise crane loading and allow twin-span crane beams to reduce construction time, 12m-long steel crane beams were supported from corbels on the precast concrete columns. The longitudinal stability of the frame is achieved by vertical K- bracing at four points down each side of building, placed to coincide with the construction phasing of the building.

Thorp no stranger to paradise

nown as the Paradise project, Liverpools new multistorey car park and bus layover for client Grosvenor has provided an interesting challenge for Thorp Precast on behalf of main contractor Laing ORourke. The work involved casting 34 brick-faced precast concrete feature walls to screen the bus layover area, delivering to site fully pointed and nished and erecting over ve days. The 6m-tall and 3m-wide units weigh 10 tonnes and are faced with smooth grey 27052mm bricks sourced from Germany.
Brick specials were water-jet cut to achieve a fold in the wall which gives the appearance of depth and LED light bars were cast into each unit to enhance the architectural features by throwing light across the top triangles. An integral monolithic coping eliminated the need for further trades and work at height. The 4.5m-high wall provides both a visual and secure boundary around the new bus layover. Owing to the site restraints imposed by the internal bus turning circles, the wall had to be as narrow as possible while simultaneously giving the impression of mass. In this it provides a modern interpretation of the sturdy Victorian dock walls found all over Liverpool. The fold in the panels allowed the vertical plane to be articulated and broken down along its length but also reveals a depth that is highlighted by the inclusion of linear light ttings. The brick at street level was chosen to allow the wall to relate to the context of the adjoining Victorian buildings. The colour and texture of the brick and simple composition of the panels also allow the wall to sit comfortably at the base of the imposing structure of the over-sailing car park. There were many advantages to using a precast system most notably that the panels came to site pre-nished and were erected
STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E F I V E

incredibly fast in a busy section of the site. The quality was ensured as each brick was cut off-site and carefully cast into a uniform mould. The move from a traditional brick wall and wind-post construction to a precast solution meant that structurally the construction depth was reduced to a minimum and that one subcontractor could take responsibility for the entire job.

First of seven apartment blocks at Dublin development

rent Concrete was awarded the combined structural and architectural precast concrete package for the rst phase in a major new seven-block apartment development on Finglas Road in Dublin.
The contract of approximately 14m Euros covers a 30,000 m2 cross wall frame system covering a total oor area of around 37,000m2, 7300m of external cladding, 2400 linear metres of external party walls and 2700 linear metres of balconies. We had an open mind on the structural solution, and as part of the tender process invited specialist contractors to offer their ideas, explains Chris Timmins, contracts manager at McCabe Builders. Trents solution to precast the entire building was the simplest and offered several major advantages. Firstly it gave us a one-stop shop, and minimised the number of trades and operatives on site. This results in a more controllable situation, as well as a safer site operation. In addition there are big cost savings, as well as safety and operational benets, in being able to dispense with scaffolding. Trent was the only specialist contractor that could offer grey, decorative and structural concrete as one package. The external cladding includes 4000m2 of terracotta-faced panels featuring a blue/black coloured tile and 1000m2 of reconstructed Portland stone units. An additional 2300m2 of HardwallTM insulated sandwich panel cladding is also being used structurally on the gable ends, again featuring a combination of terracottafaced and reconstructed stone external nishes with the inner faces acting in the same way as the crosswall panels. The party walls and balconies are both in a reconstructed Portland stone nish to match the cladding. Trent started on site in September 2004 on a 60-65 week programme. The development will accommodate a total of 540 apartments.

hoppers leaving Doncasters extended Frenchgate Centre with its new integrated transport hub will be able to drive down the elevated external access ramp even in the cold weather.
The specially prepared grooves to the trafc surface needed to be both reinforced and mechanically keyed to accommodate the electric heating elements, an essential de-icing requirement due to the ramps external location. Because of the exposed location and close proximity to the live east coast main line, full involvement by the whole design team was essential which lead to a number of novel features being incorporated into the precast concrete units. In total Ebor Concretes Ltd supplied main contractor, Sir Robert McAlpine via Severeld Reeve Structures with some 180 precast concrete ramp units, weighing 8 tonnes each, 346 precast concrete stairights and landing units to the main re escape cores.

ICE FREE S

MEMBERS
Bell & Webster Concrete Ltd Telephone: 01476 562277 Bison Concrete Products Ltd Telephone: 01283 495000 Buchan Concrete Solutions Telephone: 01606 843500 Roger Bullivant Concrete Products Ltd Telephone: 01283 525045
Telephone:

Ebor Concretes Ltd 01765 604351

Hanson Concrete Products Telephone: 01773 602432

Telephone:

Milbank Floors Ltd 01787 223931 SCC Ltd 0161 432 7700

Telephone:

Tarmac Precast Concrete Ltd Telephone: 01778 381000 Thorp Precast Ltd Telephone: 01782 561155 Trent Concrete Structures Ltd Telephone: 0115 987 9747

Contractor: McCabe Builders (Dublin) Limited Architect: Anthony Reddy Associates Engineer: WYG Precaster : Trent Concrete Ltd

A product association of the British Precast Concrete Federation Limited Website: www.structural-precast-association.org.uk

STRUCTURAL PRECAST ASSOCIATION 60 Charles Street, Leicester LE1 1FB. Tel: 0116 253 6161. Fax: 0116 251 4568 P A G E S I X