Elevator and stair shaft construction has traditionally been a long, slow process for multistory commercial, multifamily, industrial, and municipal structures. Traditional methods like concrete masonry construction are highly susceptible to weather delays and involve many steps to provide worker access to each level of the shaft. Precast concrete shafts offer several advantages over concrete masonry shafts, including quality control, speed of construction, and worker safety.
Quality Control
With concrete masonry construction, the quality of the finished shaft is dependent on the workmanship of the on-site labor crew. Working in the elements and dealing with access challenges can lead to variations in quality between each level.
At County Prestress & Precast, precast shafts are manufactured off-site in our NPCA-certified plants, resulting in a finished product that meets strict dimensional tolerances. We test every batch of concrete that we pour in a CMEC certified destructive testing laboratory onsite. We also conduct a comprehensive pre-pour inspection and post-pour inspection of every element we produce in our facility.
Speed of Construction
Precast shafts arrive ready-to-install and can be erected in one or two days, which is much faster than traditional shaft construction methods. In addition to the time it takes for masons to construct each level of the shaft, traditional methods also require the assembly and removal of scaffolding.
Another time-saving aspect of precast shafts is the ability to produce the shafts at the same time as the site and foundation are being prepared. With traditional construction methods, sitework must be completed before shaft construction can begin.
Because of the testing that is done during production, precast shafts require fewer inspections than concrete masonry shafts, which can also streamline the construction schedule.
Safety Advantages
In addition to being time-consuming to install and tear down, scaffolding presents inherent safety concerns. Workers can slip and fall while climbing or standing on scaffolding, and tools and materials can fall off of scaffolding and injure workers below. Precast shafts can be installed without the need for scaffolding at any point.
Contact a sales representative to use County Prestress & Precast elevator and stair shafts for your next project.
