Careful planning for vertical chases in the construction of a high-rise building can save thousands of dollars in rework later in the project. For this 50-story high-rise in Morrisville, PA the contractor carefully laid out the location of vertical penetrations on each floor and used .9 lb density EPS of various sizes to create the block-outs. All the block outs were the same thickness as the slab that was to be poured and they were all secured in place using strapping. The EPS was delivered to the site, several floors at a time, labeled per the contractor’s instructions. After the concrete set up and the forms were removed the EPS block-outs were easily punched out.
Expanded polystyrene is used for both horizontal and vertical block-outs in concrete. It is used to form architectural treatments and waffle forms for concrete floors. EPS form liners are used to form columns and vertical and horizontal bridge supports. They are more economical than steel or wood forms and can usually be produced much faster. The high strength to weight ratio of EPS makes it ideal for most of these applications.
Let Universal Foam Products take a look at your next project to see if we can save you time and money with block-outs or form liners.
