Pharos University in Alexandria

Tilt Up Structure
System

Building Economics Done By: Menatallah Hassan Ramzy

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CONTENTS

What is Tilt up Construction? ....................................................................................2

Less preferred Alternatives to Tilt Up Construction…………………………………………………..3
Steps to Tilt up Construction…………………………………………………………………………………….4
Two Types of Walls used in Tilt Up Construction……………………………………………………….5
Tilt up Construction Characteristic’s ..........................................................................6
Sustainability of Tilt up Construction………………………………………………………………………7
Benefits of Tilt up Construction…………………………………………………………………………………8
Disadvantages of Tilt up Construction……………………………………………………………………10
References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………12
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Tilt up Construction

The history if Tilt-Up construction is that it first appeared in the early 1900s. The
method became popular in the boom years after World War II, when a labor
shortage placed a premium on economical construction methods. That’s when
the method of Tilt Up construction was embraced and thought of.

Tilt-up construction is a method of building that uses pre-formed walls or other

building components to assemble buildings quickly and efficiently. In a tilt-up
project, a building’s walls are custom formed using concrete and then raised into
position using a crane.

They’re tilted into vertical position and set on foundational footings where they
form the external structure of the building. Each panel is temporarily braced
until the roof ties the structure together. The outward-facing portion of these
panels is a blank slate on which almost any exterior siding, cladding or veneer
can be applied. Same goes for the interior, which can be further insulated or
otherwise coated to meet the specific needs of a facility.
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Less Preferred Alternatives
to Tilt Up Construction

Tilt-Up construction is a viable alternative to:

• Wood-frame construction, which can be labor intensive.

• Steel beam construction, which is quite costly and therefore better suited
to high-rise buildings.
• Prefabricated steel frame construction, which is also an economical
solution but has some design limitations.
• Masonry construction.

That’s due to the fact that in general, Tilt-Up construction becomes more cost-effective
compared to other methods as square footage increases. This is because greater
efficiencies are realized as economies of scale kick in.

Furthermore, erecting Tilt-Up concrete panels can be done quickly, new structures
become enclosed sooner. Once structures are enclosed, workers, their tools and
supplies are out of the elements. A key rule on any job is to “be in the dry” as fast as
you can, and Tilt-Up significantly quickens this process when it comes to the rate of
drying of concrete.

Contractors retain more control over Tilt-Up projects since the panels are quickly
assembled on-site with locally available materials and labor. Other methods calling for
more specialized materials or highly-skilled labor are accompanied by longer lead times
and higher costs. All of this increases the last stage of ‘Housing Process’ which is the
‘Stage of Investigation, Operation and Evaluation’.
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Steps to Tilt Up
Construction

The process of Tilt Up Construction is easily done in only 7 steps which are as follows:

1. The concrete floor slab typically serves as the casting base for the panels, is
placed on the prepared subgrade. At the same time, the foundations on which
the wall panels will be set are constructed.
2. The wall construction process begins by laying out the panels on the floor slab
and constructing the formwork.
3. With forms in place, release agents are then sprayed, chairs and reinforcement
are placed, and embedded items attached for items such as structural supports
and attachments and lifting and bracing hardware.
4. Concrete is then placed in the forms, finished, and cured.
5. Next is a waiting period of a week to 10 days while the concrete attains sufficient
strength for lifting. Ideally, formwork would be removed at this time but
oftentimes formwork is re-used on another portion of the same project.
6. On lifting day, cables are attached to inserts cast into the panels and the crane
lifts each panel in the desired sequence and sets it on the prepared foundation;
before releasing the panels, temporary braces are installed to support the panel
until the roof structure is attached. This process is repeated until all the panels
are set into their desired position.
7. Connections between panels are made, concrete is placed to tie the floor slab to
walls, joints are caulked, patching is performed if necessary to repair blemishes,
and once the roof is permanently connected to the walls, the bracing is
removed.
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Two Types of Walls used in
Tilt Up Construction

There are two types of walls that are pre-made for the Tilt Up walls that are used for
construction and they are:

Thin Shell Panels:

Usually cast in especially fabricated molds, often at a factory, occasionally at the job
site. These panels are economical in materials, relatively light, and easily stored.
However, they require higher strength concrete than flat cast panels and the forms are
often uneconomical to fabricate unless utilized at least 30 to 40 times.

Flat Cast Panels:

The common type in tilt-up construction is Flat Cast Panels, it requires more material,
and is heavier, and involves greater deflection and plastic flow than thin shell. But flat
cast forming costs are small, the job site can be easily used for casting, less quality
control is demanded throughout, and common and unskilled labor can be used to
advantage. Flat cast wall panels prepared on the job may be cast on the earth, on a
bed of sand cove red with a polyethylene sheet, or on a thin concrete skin.
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Tilt Up Construction
Characteristics

Tilt Up Characteristics Vary upon several factors but the ones stated below are the
common characteristics:

• A building’s purpose measures and determines the desirable thickness of the

floor slab. The slab may range from 101mm for office buildings to 203mm for
heavy duty storage buildings.
• Concrete for the slab should have a minimum 28-day strength of 3,000 psi
(pounds per square inch), but for maximum resistance to abrasion during wall e
rection a strength of 3,500 to 3,800 psi is recommended.
• Concrete with a slump of 533mm to 76mm, with aggregate of at least 280mm to
51mm, works well. Ponding or wet curing of the concrete gives best results;
spraying and fogging with water, then covering with waterproof paper the next
best.
• Footings for the wall panels may be prepared as the floor slab undergoes
finishing. A good procedure is to trim the soil along the edges of the slab to as
near the vertical as possible, drill the footings by machine (interior footings, too,
if needed), and immediately line with concrete.
• The openings should be covered with plastic film blankets to keep water out.
Wall panels for tilt-up construction are usually 150 to 203mm thick.
• Aggregate should be at least 280mm and may be as large as 50 to 75mm. The
standard practice is to use 5 sacks of cement per cubic yard to obtain a 28-day
strength of 2,500 psi.
• Lightweight concrete composed of expanded slag or shale aggregate may be
used for wall panels, but it should be noted that lightweight costs more than
conventional concrete.
• Stopping pipes and utilities below the surface and temporarily closing the
openings with a sand filling and a thin coat of mortar are part of the planning for
panel casting when the floor slab is used. In addition, panel form layout should
be planned with an eye to the most economical use of available space.
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Sustainability of Tilt Up
Construction

Tilt Up Construction is Considered a Sustainable Construction method due to it being

classified as an energy sufficient construction method. That’s due to the fact that the
reinforced concrete used in this construction method is an excellent insulator on its
own, and you can enhance thermal properties by creating walls with extra insulating
layers for maximum energy savings. While customizing the concrete’s insulating
properties results in higher costs up front, lifecycle cost analyses will show that Tilt-Up
concrete panels help cut energy costs over time.

But on a more basic level, energy is saved farther upstream when Tilt-Up construction
is chosen. That’s because concrete production is far less energy-intensive than
methods that rely on steel production.
Benefits of Tilt Up 8

Construction

Tilt up Construction has 4 main Benefits that make it a more ‘go to’ construction
method than any other method and those 3 benefits are:

1. Design flexibility and cost savings

Design-Build companies use software to design to your exact specifications and

remove costly unknowns from the construction process.

Leading the way is 5-D Macro BIM, a software that combines computer-aided
modeling and project estimation. As it pertains to Tilt-Up construction, owners
can apply the software’s massive materials database to working designs to find
the right exterior cladding or veneer.

With this software, changes in cost and timeline are reported in real time as
owners select alternatives, empowering them to make the decision reflecting
the best balance of a structure’s function and form.

2. Labor costs and materials

Tilt-Up requires far less skilled labor than other methods. Laborers pour and
finish the concrete walls, and a crane operator lifts the walls into place. It only
takes a handful of workers a matter of days to erect a building’s walls.

In addition to that, when it comes to construction materials, it’s much cheaper

and easier to find ready-mix concrete and rebar from nearby suppliers. You
don’t have to wait months for steel beams or complex components. Plus, some
states offer economic development incentives like cancelling sales taxes on
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materials purchased in-state which can further trim costs. You can find lumber,
rebar and ready-mix almost anywhere.

3. Energy Efficiency
4. No Transportation

Eliminates transport requirements. Since the panels are cast on-site,

there is no need to transport panels from the casting facility to the
worksite. This eliminates size limitations imposed by transport
constraints and can be helpful for worksites where access is
problematic. It also eliminates the considerable cost, time and
logistical complexities associated with transporting precast concrete
panels. As a result, tilt-up construction can be the most cost-effective
casting method when working with concrete.
Disadvantages of Tilt Up 10

Construction

Just like there advantages to this construction method there are disadvantages that
could lead to this process of construction being unlikeable to use such as:

1. space requirements

• You need ample flat floor space on the worksite to pour the concrete
panels. If you’re on a worksite where space is at a premium, then tilt-up
construction may not be a practical option. Additionally, any concrete
floors must be fully cured before they can be used to cast panels. And
then that floor space cannot be used while the panels are being cured.
• This can make large areas of floor space unusable during the curing
process, which can be time consuming and impractical. To cut back on on-
site curing times, stronger mixes are sometimes used, which means a
higher proportion of cement, resulting in a higher embodied energy for
each panel.
• Limits to existing floor space can also mean that you can’t pour the panels
to the correct size. This can mean that additional joints may be required to
properly bring the panels to the correct size. Casting on-site also means
you have less control over the site conditions, which can affect curing time
and the quality of the final pour. This makes quality assurance much more
difficult than pre-casting in a controlled production facility.

2. Significant organization and collaboration on the building site

• The building’s design and construction process must be worked out prior
to the first pour and factored into the design of each panel. Any mistakes
can result in a panel that isn’t usable. While there are some significant
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downsides to the tilt-up construction process, if properly planned it can

save time and money and reduce the logistical complexities associated
with transportation.
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References

• www.thesituation.com.au
• Sustainability of Tilt Up Construction Method, Aigbavboa
• Constructing a Complex Precast Tilt-Up-Panel Structure Utilizing an
Optimization Model, 3D CAD, and Animation, Juan D. Manrique
• www.korteco.com
• www.concreteconstruction.net
• www.maxxbuilders.com
• www.eaglewestcranes.com