Precast Concrete

Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and lifted into place. In contrast, standard concrete is poured into site-specific forms and cured on site. Precast stone is distinguished from precast concrete by using a fine aggregate in the mixture, so the final product approaches the appearance of naturally occurring rock or stone.

By producing precast concrete in a controlled environment (typically referred to as a precast plant), the precast concrete is afforded the opportunity to properly cure and be closely monitored by plant employees. Utilizing a Precast Concrete system offers many potential advantages over site casting of concrete. The production process for Precast Concrete is performed on ground level, which helps with safety throughout a project. There is a greater control of the quality of materials and workmanship in a precast plant rather than on a construction site. Financially, the forms used in a precast plant may be reused hundreds to thousands of times before they have to be replaced, which allows cost of formwork per unit to be lower than for site-cast production.

Total precast concrete building systems are becoming a popular choice for many construction projects. Architectural and structural precast, prestressed concrete components can be combined to create the entire building.

Precast products range from small mass produced items like the concrete hollow masonry blocks below to the cast on site tilt up wall panels above.
precast concrete products have certain advantages over cast in situ work.
In the case of the wall panels above they are an excellent method of quickly building odd shaped and repetitive wall panes.