Flooring
The use of concrete, reinforced either by bar, mesh or strand is still the most popular method of constructing suspended floors in all states of Australia. With the pressures of rising costs, quicker construction times and restricted sites the process of selecting the correct construction method is important. Precast flooring has continued to gain acceptance by the building industry as an effective building method. The use of a precast flooring solution can save up to 30% on the construction time of a project. This is remarkable as the floor component of a structure is typically around 6 to 8% of the total cost.
Precast flooring has traditionally not been used widely in buildings in this country. The accepted building solution in previous times has been formwork and insitu concrete. Over the last 10 to 15 years this has slowly changed as precast manufacturing operations have been established in all states of Australia. The decisions of each manufacturer to select a particular form of precast flooring and their manufacturing capacity has greatly influenced the acceptance of precast flooring in their region. We are now seeing wide spread acceptance of precast flooring as the first choice in the decision making process.
The systems available, hollowcore floor planks, precast permanent formwork and various beam-and-infill systems, can all be used for most applications in residential, commercial and industrial buildings. Application with clear spans to 12 m or loads to 30 KPa have all used precast flooring. All systems require a crane to erect the precast components and this should always be considered early in the planning process. Early planning is essential and individual suppliers should be contacted to determine the suitability of their systems.
The use of precast flooring is relatively small when the total suspended flooring market is considered. However, a steady growth in the use of precast has been achieved as builders, developers, surveyors and engineers recognise the following advantages:
- speed of construction
- less on-site labour
- earlier access by following trades
- less dependence on weather conditions, and
- less industrial relations issues.
The widely-recognised benefits of constructing floors with reinforced concrete technology is also achieved with precast flooring. Generally the application of precast flooring is very simple with the designer specifying the application and purpose and the manufacturer providing the detailed drawings. The installation is ideally carried out by experienced riggers and there is now a good range of competent installers throughout Australia to carry out this task.
The long-term use of precast flooring is assured as all manufacturers have significant investments in plant and equipment. Several suppliers are also planning increases in their manufacturing capacity.
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