Reducing our carbon footprint and green building is more important than ever, do your part by using precast concrete for your border walls around communities and businesses, fences, retaining walls, and Hardscapes.
With decades of experience you can feel confident Florida Wall Concepts will deliver a quality product at a price you can afford. We personally work with each client, ensuring every project goes smoothly.
Precast concrete is durable, a green building material, and sustainable, according to Pre-Cast.org
What makes precast concrete so durable?
The primary ingredients of concrete -sand, gravel, and cement- are mineral based. When mixed with water, the cement chemically reacts to create a crystalline matrix with a high compressive strength. This matrix binds the sand and gravel together, creating concrete.
Unlike other construction materials that can rust, rot, or otherwise degrade when in the presence of moisture, concrete can actually get stronger if there are unhydrated cement particles available to react with the water .
Is precast concrete a green building material?
Precast concrete contributes to green building practices in significant ways. The low water-cement ratios possible with precast concrete -0.36 to 0.38- mean it can be extremely durable. The thermal mass of concrete allows shifting of heating and cooling loads in a structure to help reduce mechanical-system requirements. Because precast concrete is factory-made, there is little waste created in the plant (most plants employ exact-batching technologies) and it reduces construction waste and debris on site, reducing construction IAQ concerns. The load-carrying capacities, optimized cross sections, and long spans possible with precast concrete members help eliminate redundant members, and concrete readily accommodates recycled content.
What steps are precast operations taking toward sustainability?
PCI Producer Members meet local and state ordinances and emissions requirements. Initiatives within the industry include:
Use of local materials in all mixtures; local aggregate resources
Water reclamation and recycling
Reducing cement requirements by lowering watercement ratios
Admixtures such as hardening accelerators to eliminate applied heat in curing
Use of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) for quicker placement, no vibration, and reduced surface defects
Use of environmentally friendly thin brick in place of conventional brick in precast concrete systems
Carbon-fiber reinforcement that allows lighter and larger concrete sections with less embedded energy and no corrosion Use of supplemental cementitious materials (SCMs) to reduce cement consumption; participation in Cool Climate Concrete Enclosed sandblasting facilities with 100% process-waste control
Standardizing wood form parts for multiple reuse; recycling discarded forms into mulch or fuel Recycling all scrap steel and reinforcement
Reducing and reusing product packaging received in facilities