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Say Hello to Attractive Finishes for Site-Cast Tilt-Up Projects
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A variety of colors and architectural elements give Briarcliff Village in Kansas City, Mo. the look of the Tuscany region of Italy. |
 Architectural appeal through the use of decorative enhancements is quickly becoming another advantage of using site-cast Tilt-Up concrete — complementing other Tilt-Up benefits such as upfront economics, security, flexibility and long-term durability.
Just look at what's being done with Tilt-Up buildings today. Architects are adding cornice lines, accent bands and facade enhancements such as thin brick, block and stone as well as a multitude of textured coatings to their repertoire in order to make their buildings aesthetically pleasing and appealing.
Meanwhile, contractors are taking advantage of their architects’ creativeness by employing a wide variety of technologies and processes to make these architectural enhancements a reality.
The following are some of the architectural features and finishes found in site-cast Tilt-Up today — and how they are accomplished.
Thin Brick
Thin brick is an architectural finish that has been popular with Tilt-Up concrete contractors for several years. It incorporates kiln-fired, quarter-inch thick bricks milled to tight tolerances with the exterior surface of the Tilt-Up panel.
Thin brick has no impact on the structural performance of the wall and can be installed in almost any climate or weather condition.
To build the brick wall on the casting bed, the bricks are placed on the floor slab horizontally within the panel forms. A variety of methods can be used to secure the bricks during concrete placement and create a “tooled” mortar joint look once the panel has been lifted into place.
The faces of the brick are coated with a thin wax to prevent discoloration by the cement paste and the coating is power washed after the panels are erected.
Since the mortar joint is composed of the concrete used for the panel, it can be enhanced with color additives. This is a definite advantage when working to match adjacent projects using a combination of the thin brick and color in thin fascia applications of Tilt-Up sandwich panels.
Thin bricks are available in a full spectrum of colors and textures, with additional shapes for corners and returns — allowing for more design flexibility and creativity.
As with standard brick, thin brick systems can be placed in a running or stacked bond configuration with soldier and header courses as well.
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The primary exterior element of the Carson Tahoe Hospital in Carson City, Nev. is a glass curtain wall in a saw tooth pattern. The facade also is accented by painted concrete walls and stone veneer. Photo by Vance Fox. |
Thin Block
Thin block provides the aesthetic versatility and scale some designers find in masonry — while capitalizing on the speed and economy of Tilt-Up construction.
Thin block projects don’t require masons, mortar or a traditional masonry schedule, and minimal handwork is required. Unlike conventional masonry construction, the block units are free of the constraints of gravity since they are embedded in the placed concrete of a Tilt-Up wall panel. This makes unique design patterns possible, including mosaic or tile patterns, without complicating the construction schedule.
Architectural concrete masonry units are placed in the forms horizontally, as they are for thin brick systems.
The key unit of the system is the “facer,” an architectural concrete masonry unit approximately two inches thick that has been specifically engineered for the application.
The “facer” is laid on the forming surface in the desired pattern. Crews clip together adjacent units to stabilize them and seal the joints with sand to inhibit bleed-through of cement paste.
Once this is completed, the Tilt-Up construction process proceeds as usual. As with the thin brick systems, this cast-in product requires minimal cleaning to finish the look.
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The brick exterior of Stevens Farms Square in Charleston, S.C. was given a rough-hewn finish. |
Coatings
The most popular and common method of finishing a Tilt-Up panel is painting, a finishing process that has been used for decades.
New advances in textured coating varieties, however, have increased the variety and flexibility of this finishing method.
Textured coatings give new looks to the traditional painted concrete wall. They can provide finishes of varying grades of surface texture as well as finishes as visually stimulating as simulated stone.
A key difference between paint and coatings is the thickness of the application placed on the wall. Coatings are installed at the 15 to 17 dry millimeters range, while painting is typically one-third to one-sixth of that thickness.
There are several advantages to using thicker textured coatings. Thicker coatings will camouflage the minor cracks and imperfections that are commonly found on the surface of concrete panels. They also can be applied to damp, dry, cured or uncured concrete in temperatures as low as -35 degrees Fahrenheit.
A Bright Future
Technology will continue to bring new finishing ideas to Tilt-Up in the years ahead, adding to its popularity. More simulated, faux or “thin” materials will be introduced. Improvements in coating materials will continue to be made.
As the diversity of finishes expands, Tilt-Up will be used more frequently.
Ed Sauter is the executive director of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association (TCA), which was founded in 1986 to improve the quality and acceptance of site-cast Tilt-Up, a construction method in which concrete wall panels are cast on-site and tilted into place. Tilt-Up construction is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. It combines the advantages of reasonable cost with low maintenance, durability, speed of construction and minimal capital investment.
For more information about the TCA, visit www.tilt-up.org, e-mail Sauter, or call him at 319-895-6911.
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Curved panels were used at University of South Florida Crosley Campus Center in Sarasota, Fla. to create a dramatic rotunda entry. |
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