Floors are the key element when it comes to architectural freedom and design.
Their load bearing capacity has a direct influence on the need for partition walls and other structural elements of a building. Double tees and hollowcore or solid slabs are prestressed floor elements. The excellent loadbearing capacity and structural efficiency allows you to build large areas with fewer partition walls. Ultimately, this means greater freedom in design and savings in material costs.
Double Tees
Named for its shape, double tees are used primarily as floor and roof deck components for any type of structure, including parking structures and all types of buildings. They are made either:
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Pre-topped using a flange thickness of 4 in., which creates the wearing surface in parking structures; or
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Field-topped with a 2-in. flange, on which a cast-in-place concrete composite topping of 2 to 4 in. is added in the field. For roof construction, there is typically no need to add topping on the 2 in. flange.
Typical widths: 8, 10, 12, and 15 ft.
Typical depths: 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, and 34 in.
Typical span-to-depth ratios: Floors: 25 to 35 / Roofs: 35 to 40
Finishes: Form side will mainly be “as cast,” resulting in a smooth, hard finish. This generally remains as is and is not painted, although it can be if desired. The top-of-flange side will be smoothed for roof construction, left rough if it will receive a field topping or broomed (either transversely or longitudinally), or circular swirl-finished if it will be used as the wearing surface in a parking structure.