Pci, Pca Profile Precast Housing Advantages

A new video documenting the benefits of precast construction in the residential building market has been released by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete

A new video documenting the benefits of precast construction in the residential building market has been released by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) and the Portland Cement Association (PCA). Titled Precast Housing, the DVD covers multiple advantages of precast construction, including life safety, energy efficiency, sustainable design, speed of construction, quality control, and aesthetics.

The Precast Housing video opens with footage of an air-cannon test (involving lengths of 2 _ 4s fired 100 mph at various wall samples) conducted last year at the site of Illinois’ first Fortified Home. Among the wall samples Û typical brick- and siding-covered, wood-framed walls; a reinforced brick wall; and, a precast wall panel Û all but the precast sustained severe damage.

The Fortified . . . for safer living home program was developed by the Institute for Business & Home Safety, a nonprofit association of insurers and reinsurers, to provide residences resistant to natural disasters. The Aurora, Ill., home featured in the video was constructed with insulated concrete wall panels produced by Naperville, Ill.-based Dukane Precast.

The DVD traces the production and erection of typical precast panels from CAD drawings and concrete placement within the plant to transportation to the jobsite and erection by crane. Offering comments on the DVD supporting the use of precast concrete in single- and multifamily housing are Ramy Said, R4 Development; Jeff Harris, New Vision Development; Chicago’s Ed Smith; Bolingbrook Building Commissioner Dan Buonamici; Degan Hambacher, Architectural and Structural Concrete Consultants; and, PCA’s Donn Thompson. Û PCI, 312/786-0300; www.pci.org