Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying that an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. As you are considering which construction method to use for your project, you might want to reflect on what Benjamin Franklin said and then select tilt-up construction. Tilt-up is a more cost-effective alternative not just at the time of putting up the structure but also throughout its expected service life. Construction experts at Headwaters Construction Inc., a Sacramento construction company, explain that the construction cost of a building accounts for approximately 11 percent of the total cost of owning that building. Therefore, your planning should factor in the long-term costs as you select a building method. Here are some of the ways through which tilt-up delivers cost-effectiveness.
It Collapses Project Timelines
During a time when the cost of major construction materials like steel experience double-digit inflation, it can get very difficult to predict what project expenses will be several months down the road.
This is where tilt construction can help bring some sanity to the construction process. This method collapses the construction timeline and makes it possible for the project to be completed much faster than it would have been possible with the traditional construction methods used.
The California construction company explains that this time collapse is possible because the work of various skilled professionals can be done simultaneously. For example, the plumbing work can be done at the same time as the electrical work since the runs for these different building systems will have been created within the tilt-up walls. Consequently, the project could even be delivered ahead of schedule and this timely completion saves you from price increases that could arise from price fluctuations when a project drags on.
Tilt-Up Delivers Energy Savings
Arizona construction company experts also assert that tilt-up construction delivers energy savings throughout the service life of the building. This is because the concrete panels form a tight building envelop, which prevents the leakage of heat.
How is this tight envelop achieved? With conventional construction services, numerous layers of the exterior structure have to be tied together. These layers include a waterproofing membrane and the exterior cladding.
Tilt-up construction reduces the approximate five layers of exterior skin on your structure to just two (the tilt-up panels and the insulation layer), making it less likely that gaps will appear where these layers of the building’s skin meet. The tighter envelop reduces the energy needed within the building. Headwaters Construction Inc. executives point out that a 55,000 square-foot school built using tilt-up technology used 23 percent less electricity on a daily basis than a 49,000 square-foot school that was built using the traditional building method. Thermal imaging studies also confirmed the better performance of the tilt-up building in comparison to other building methods. Therefore, you can be assured that you will enjoy energy savings over the life of the tilt-up building when compared to a building without tilt-up technology.
You can check out our projects using tilt construction
Reduced Lifecycle Maintenance Costs
Ask any Oregon construction company professional and they will tell you that unlike other construction materials, concrete becomes stronger the more it ages. This is another attribute that makes tilt-up more cost-effective in the long-term.
Headwaters Construction Inc. can give the concrete exterior surface of the tilt-up walls nearly maintenance-free finishes, like cast-in brick. These finishes are part of the concrete structure and will, therefore, become stronger as the building ages. In addition, the paint or other coatings used on tilt-up panels can be repaired easily or altered if you want to give the building a new look. These changes come at a minimal cost, unlike the costs that one would incur if the building had been constructed using a different method.
You can also remove windows or create others within the wall panels without creating an eyesore. This is because the sections where existing windows are removed can be closed up with concrete and painted to leave a uniform appearance with the rest of the wall. This isn’t easy to attain with other building methods and if it is attainted, there often remains a visible “patch.”
As you can see, the initial cost of constructing a building shouldn’t be the primary reason upon which you select the building method that will be used. Work with the experts at Headwaters Construction Inc. to assess different simulations of the lifetime cost of the building so that the final decision you make is the right one both in the moment and in the long-term.
You can check out our projects using tilt construction in Sacramento, CA.