Precast Building Design

We provide complete precast concrete building design — from the frame elements (beams, columns, corbels and ledge beams) to precast bearing-wall systems and insulated (sandwich) wall panels. We design each element and its connections for the gravity, lateral and handling actions, and detail everything for casting, handling and erection.

The design checks we perform

Flexural design

We size longitudinal reinforcement for the design moments along the span and at supports, and confirm minimum steel, cover and bar curtailment.

Shear design

We verify shear capacity and provide stirrups where required, including the higher shear near concentrated loads and supports.

Corbels and brackets

We design corbels and brackets using a strut-and-tie model to ACI 318-19, sizing the primary tension tie, checking the concrete strut and the bearing, and detailing the anchorage of the tie reinforcement.

Ledge and L-beams

We design the ledge (and the web above it) of L- and inverted-T beams for the bearing reactions, including ledge flexure, shear and punching, and hanger reinforcement to suspend the load into the web.

Bearing and connections

We check bearing stresses and design the connection hardware and embedded items that transfer the reactions to the supporting members.

Deflection

We verify serviceability deflection under sustained and live load.

Lifting and handling

We check lifting inserts and member stresses during demoulding, handling and erection.

Bearing-Wall Systems and Insulated Panels

Alongside framed structures, we design precast bearing-wall systems, where load-bearing wall panels carry the gravity load and resist in-plane (shear-wall) and out-of-plane actions, removing the need for a separate frame. We also design insulated sandwich wall panels — two concrete wythes bonded to a rigid insulation core by wythe connectors — which combine structure and thermal envelope in a single precast element. For these we verify the axial and out-of-plane capacity, in-plane shear, the wythe-connector arrangement and the degree of composite action, together with crack width, thermal-bow effects and the lifting and erection stages.

Building Section

Corbel Design to ACI 318

Connection Details

Wall Panel and Section Details

Governing standards and how we apply them

ACI 318-19

Primary code for flexure, shear, serviceability and detailing, including the strut-and-tie provisions used for corbels, brackets and ledge regions.

PCI

Followed for precast connection design, ledge-beam and bearing practice, and handling.

QCS

We align materials, durability and cover with the project general specification.

Why choose Precasterz for building design

Member and connection together

We design the corbel, ledge or bearing and its connection as one load path, so the reactions are carried correctly into the supporting members.

Strut-and-tie where it matters

We use proper strut-and-tie modelling for the disturbed regions (corbels, brackets, ledges) rather than approximate beam rules.

Buildable detailing

Reinforcement, inserts and connections are detailed for casting, lifting and erection.