Can a three bedroom house be constructed in seven days?
Engineers commissioned to build a house for world record holder marathoner Kelvin Kiptum are working round the clock to beat a 7-day deadline to construct him a house before his burial date set for February 24.
It is the fastest house for fastest man but a challenge that Vastu Construction Company, the contractor for the project says they are taking head on.
They will be relying on the precast technology an alternative to the brick walling system which and does not require as much labour.
All the units used in the construction process, such as slabs, tiles, windows, and doors, are manufactured in precast production plants that want to run on computer-based systems underneath this technology.
These computer systems help reduce material waste and precision while also strengthening the structure as well as lowering the building’s gross cost by almost 15%. It’s also environmentally friendly.
The concrete provides superior fire resistance and sound control for the individual units and reduces fire insurance rates. Precast concrete is also a popular material for constructing office buildings.
The global precast concrete market size was valued at USD 144.6 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 198.9 billion by 2027, growing at 6.6% during the forecast period.
Want to try precast? Here are the challenges associated with the technology:
The transportation, erection and handling require adequate care and provisions for extra stresses.
On-site, the cracks in precast concrete panels usually occur during lifting of panels. In such cases, the cracks occur in precast concrete panels at opening locations or around lifting inserts.
The causes of such cracks due to lifting can include lower concrete strength, improper rigging setup, misallocation of lifting gear in precast concrete panels or poor bond breaker performance used in the factory location.
In general, these cracks can be repaired by the application of pressure injection using structural epoxy.
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