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Who Cares About the Details?

Innovation | October 4, 2015

After months of negotiating, re-pricing, cost savings, development permits, building permits, etc. you finally have the green light to start your project. As your supervisory crew begins setting up the site and the site prep contractors are beginning to mobilize, you have about a million tasks running through your mind. The goal is to keep the project moving ahead as quickly as possible while ensuring that the contracts you are negotiating with sub-contractors are in place in time and detailed enough that you maximize value for the project.

With all of this going on, let’s be honest about what starts to slip. It’s the specific details…for anyone who relates to this post you know the feeling of speaking to an electrical trade that almost sounds like they are speaking a different language with the technical jargon they are using in the update they are providing. In the back of your mind you just want one assurance; that the building will have power on when it is required on the project schedule.

So the next guilty admission, how many times have you been stung by one of those small details that you paid very little attention to in the heat of the project and are now stuck with trying to resolve?

Focusing in on insulated tilt-up panels; once you have completed your order for the insulation package and ordered your connectors, you’re done right? Time to move on to your next task? The next time you start looking at your insulated tilt-up package, consider the following issues with your insulation package:

Continuous Insulation

ASHRAE 90.1 calls for a continuous insulation layer between the 2 concrete faces (wythes.) When you get to your overhead door detail or to other openings, resist the urge to hold your insulation 6″ back from openings. The problems associated with this are huge as the 2 concrete wythes need to move independently of each other, if they don’t the thinner fascia wythe will tell the story of what was done inside the panel.

Custom Cut Insulation

This is a good option, even if it is expensive; with one exception. For those of you unfamiliar with this option, a piece of insulation is tapered down to 1″ thick at openings maintaining full wythe separation and the continuous insulation requirement. The trouble with this installation method is that your thermal line between your window and your insulation is not continuous. Because you have to off set your window frame to tie into solid concrete and not insulation, a thermal bridge is created around window openings. The bottom line is that by using the custom cut insulation application you are paying a large expense for insulation that is going to dictate where you are able to put your window and door frames.

The Tigerloc System

The Tigerloc system can eliminate the issues described above. The cost for our system versus having your insulation custom cut is lower so you can achieve project cost savings by using our system on your next insulated tilt-up project.

Our system is easy and quick to install. It’s strong enough to tie window and door frames into yet still maintains an R-value rating so your insulation layer is continuous and your window frame can align with the insulation layer. Our system ties into the structural wythe only, leaving the fascia wythe to move completely independently of the structural wythe, eliminating unsightly panel cracking associated with this issue.

Next time you’re awarded an insulated tilt-up project, contact us to take care of the details in your insulated panel assembly. We will work closely with you to make sure the insulation details are taken care of so you can focus on other project details that might sneak up on you.