What makes it so fast, then?
Every precast column mold needs an end plate. Just drill holes to this end plate to the locations of the anchor bolts, and you have a template for column shoes. You may use steel plate or plywood, as long as it’s stiff. Simply fix the column shoes with screws and nuts to their places – and if you want to do it super easy, purchase Peikko’s Casting Boxes, which have the necessary screws as well as the recess boxes to keep the bolt recesses clean from concrete. After finishing the package, slide it in to the reinforcement cage of the column. Necessary additional reinforcement flies into the column in the same package. I’ve seen workers making this in 5 minutes when working alone, and in 3 minutes if they work in pairs.
How about the other options?
I have also seen workers cutting, bending and taping corrugated tubes into the reinforcement. Both ends of the grouting tube must be in the correct place and closed to prevent the concrete from leaking – otherwise there’s no space for a starter bar inside the tube. It is an easy task when you know what to do, but not trouble free.
A splice sleeve installation looks as easy as a column shoe installation. You fix the sleeves to the end plate mold, connect the upper end to the column reinforcement, and you are almost done. After successfully placing all the splice sleeves to their places you still need to do one task - connect the grouting hoses and route them to reach the column surface. Not rocket science, but the installation still requires some accuracy and is really time consuming.
All this makes me wonder why there are still other ways to erect columns. Bolted connections are easier to install at the precast factory than other methods and also faster and safer on site, as you can see from our video on how to speed up the construction process with bolted column connections. Indeed, the connection that is trouble free to install, quick to finish and cost-effective is the most effective connection on the market.
Bolted column connections, anyone?
