Contsruction Service Modules - Tilt-Up Construction
A Brief History
Descriptions of Tilt-up construction abound throughout history and Tilt-up is said to have originated 2,000 years ago when Roman architects discovered the ease of casting a slab of concrete on the ground and tilting it into position. Architectural surveys mention tilt-up being used from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century. In 1908 tilt-up began to gain substantial popularity as a construction method. It was at this time that jacks and derricks came into play, and as mobility and lifting capacities grew, tilt-up caught on quickly and spread from Southern California to other parts of the United States. The term "Tilt-up" was coined in the late 1940s to describe a building method which involved construction concrete walls rapidly and economically by eliminating the formwork necessary for poured-in-place walls.How It Works
Tilt-up construction is a two-step process. First, slabs of concrete, which will become wall sections, are cast horizontally on the building floor slab or, in some cases, a casting slab. The average width of a Tilt-up wall is around eight inches and these walls often weigh more than 40 tons. Very little formwork, with the exception of perimeter edge forms, is necessary.After the slabs are cured and attain the proper strength (usually ten days or less), they are lifted and "tilted" into place with a crane. The completed slabs are set on properly prepared foundations or grade beams to form exterior bearing walls. Once in place, the panels are temporarily braced, connected together and sealed with caulking. Next, the roof structure is erected and attached to the walls completing the building shell. Construction time for a tilt-up building from the completion of the floor slabs to the completion of the building shell is often less than four weeks.
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