AARoads Forum

Non-Road Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: roadman65 on July 16, 2022, 08:18:22 AM

Title: Prefab Walls
Post by: roadman65 on July 16, 2022, 08:18:22 AM
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52218379825/in/dateposted-public/
What is up with the walls on Office Buildings and Warehouses being already fabricated when brought to a building site?

I noticed these are quite common nowadays.  They bring em out and then brace them (as they need to be held up temporarily until the roof goes up) and then install the ceiling.   Most of all the tenants only use one story even though they are two stories high.  Yes, if its a warehouse, I can see it being that high for obvious reasons, but many are used as offices in which do not need the high ceiling and could use a second floor to perhaps collect more rent.

Is it for convenience?  Being block by block walls take longer, I would assume that, but how do they transport the bulky walls to a site.
Title: Re: Prefab Walls
Post by: Brandon on July 16, 2022, 08:47:19 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on July 16, 2022, 08:18:22 AM
https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52218379825/in/dateposted-public/
What is up with the walls on Office Buildings and Warehouses being already fabricated when brought to a building site?

I noticed these are quite common nowadays.  They bring em out and then brace them (as they need to be held up temporarily until the roof goes up) and then install the ceiling.   Most of all the tenants only use one story even though they are two stories high.  Yes, if its a warehouse, I can see it being that high for obvious reasons, but many are used as offices in which do not need the high ceiling and could use a second floor to perhaps collect more rent.

Is it for convenience?  Being block by block walls take longer, I would assume that, but how do they transport the bulky walls to a site.

They're transported on a flatbed trailer.  Each section is about 8-10 feet wide, just narrow enough to fit within one lane of traffic on a freeway.  The same is done for soundwalls as well.
Title: Re: Prefab Walls
Post by: jeffandnicole on July 16, 2022, 08:48:39 AM
Modified flatbed trucks. The panels are often on slanted brackets, allowing for approximately 10 foot tall walls to be tilted to fit in both regular lanes and under standard bridge height restrictions.
Title: Re: Prefab Walls
Post by: GaryV on July 16, 2022, 09:09:55 AM
Also, as with pre-fab walls and rafters used in housing, they can achieve better quality control.
Title: Re: Prefab Walls
Post by: Scott5114 on July 16, 2022, 05:03:28 PM
This is called tilt-up construction, and it's done because it's cheap and fast. However, the resulting buildings easily fall apart in a tornado or earthquake. A bunch of people died in the Joplin tornado when a tilt-up building got hit and the walls collapsed onto people. The Tilt-Up Concrete Association claims that tilt-up construction had nothing to do with that, of course.