Precast versus Other Materials
Prestressing places engineered stresses in structual units -- stresses which more than offset the stresses that occur when the unit is subjected to loads. We accomplish this by combining two quality materials: high-strength concrete and high-tensil steel.
High-tensil steel strands are stretched between abutments. Concrete is then placed into the forms which encase the strands. As the concrete sets, it bonds to the tensioned steel. When the concrete reaches a specified strength, the tensioned strands are released. This prestresses the concrete, putting it under compression and creating a built-in resistance to loads which produce stress.
Compare Precast to other building products ... you'll discover the IPC Precast Advantage!
"We chose IPC precast over traditional steel because of cost savings, ease of installation, and the safety factor that precast brings to a project. Not only was the entire shell structure completed in precast, but we even used precast stairs and stairwells that IPC constructed for us off site. They were then put in floor-by-floor in the construction process as opposed to the usual, more time-consuming steel pan method of pouring stairs. IPC helped make the construction of Covenant Medical Center, from design drawings right through the erection process, a smooth, one-stop shopping, total turn-key operation for us."
Mark Hasek Senior Vice President
Graham Construction, Des Moines, Iowa,
Contractor for the Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa.
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