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Tilt-up buildings are made of cast-in-situ concrete panels lifted into place by cranes. Site preparation involves casting a slab and installing footings. The panels are attached to each other and the base slab, providing good insulation and fire resistance. Planning for doors and windows is crucial.
A tipper is a building whose envelope is made of cast-in-situ concrete panels; a crane lifts the panels into place. In some buildings, the internal walls are also made with the same poured concrete panels. Low-rise commercial and light commercial spaces are the usual locations for flip-up buildings.
Site preparation begins the process of creating a flip-up building. A slab will be cast and footings for the wall panels will be installed. The slab will be both the foundation for the building and the surface onto which the wall panels will be poured. After the slab has hardened and cleaned, forms for the walls are placed on it and concrete is poured into these forms.
When the concrete panels have set, the forms are removed and large cranes are used to lift the panels into place. The name “tilt-up” comes from the way the panels are lifted and tilted into place. The bracings in the panels are then fixed to the base slab. The wall panels are attached to each other by welding steel plates set into the edges of the panels. Finally, the roof goes on.
Tilting construction is fast and relatively inexpensive. The mass of the walls provides good insulation from external sounds and excellent acoustic separation between spaces when used for internal walls. These walls also provide good thermal insulation; if better thermal insulation is required, the wall panels can be poured in two stages, sandwiching the insulation between two layers of concrete. The panels normally have round bracing, creating a high quality shell with a long expected life and low maintenance requirements.
Concrete walls offer excellent fire resistance, good resistance to high pressure fire hoses, and often don’t need to be rebuilt after a fire. Flip-up wall panels are poured in place, so they are not transported as whole units. Panels often weigh between 75,000 pounds (34,019 kg) and 150,000 pounds (68,038 kg) and are usually at least 25 feet (7.6 meters) tall. Transport on public systems would be cumbersome and expensive, so pouring them on site saves time and money.
Concrete cures best between 50° F (10° C) and 80° F (27° C). Uneven drying during the curing process can crack the boards, so dried concrete is usually moistened to ensure even curing. Large lawn sprinklers can be used both to moisten and to keep the concrete from overheating from the heat of the sun. Warm climates are excellent for sloped construction, allowing for year-round construction.
Flap construction requires all doors and windows to be planned in advance because if they’re not in shape, they can’t be put into the panel later. The acoustic properties of leaning buildings are poor; for better sound quality, carpets, wallpapers and openable acoustic ceilings are often added in offices. This method of building is more difficult in very cold climates, due to a shorter building season and a higher chance of foundation problems.
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