Value engineering a precast facade
Cost comes out of a brick-faced panel through the pattern, the format, the bond, the edges and the coursing. The design can stay where it is.
Six decisions that move the number.
Each one is settled on paper, before tooling.
| Decision | What it changes | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern and liner reuse count | A multi-use liner runs again across pours, so the tooling is spread over more panels. A single-use liner is one pour. The break-even depends on how many times the liner runs on your job. | Compare the systems |
| Brick format | A larger face covers more square feet per piece, so fewer pieces are set in the bed for the same elevation. The packing figures below show the spread across formats. | Sizes and shapes |
| Bond pattern | The bond is cast by the liner, so it is a tooling decision rather than a field decision. Half bond, third bond and stacked bond each carry their own liner number per format. | Liners by format and bond |
| Corners and returns | Caulkless corners and returns remove caulking every corner by hand and then grinding the squeeze-out off the finished panel. That is the single biggest labor item the accessory line removes. | The accessory line |
| Panel joint layout and coursing | Panel size comes from bed length, crane capacity and truck width. Reconciling the coursing to those three before the elevation is fixed keeps slivers of brick out of the panel edges. | Coursing and openings |
| Color and format | Format sets the piece count per square foot, and color sets which formats the maker offers. Settling both early keeps the elevation and the takeoff in step. Your Advanced rep confirms availability for the job. | Browse the colors |
A larger format sets fewer pieces.
King Klinker figures for the line. Bed labor follows the piece count.
| Format | Face | Brick per sq ft | Pieces per bundle | Sq ft per pallet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modular | 7-5/8 by 2-1/4 in. | 6.86 | 48 | 490 |
| Expanded Modular | 9-3/16 by 2-3/4 in. | About 5 | 22 | From your rep |
| Norman | 11-5/8 by 2-1/4 in. | 4.5 | 22 | 472 |
| Meridian | 15.594 by 2.219 in. pocket | 3.383 | 12 | 440 |
Alternates that hold the look.
- Thin brick in a formliner, or a brick pattern liner with a coating
- A thin brick formliner puts fired clay in the face of the panel. A brick pattern formliner casts the coursing and relief in concrete and takes its color from a coating. The two are priced and specified differently, and they age differently. Compare the systems →
- Single-use Solocast, or multi-use Flex2Fit
- Solocast is a single-use liner. Flex2Fit is multi use and seals around brick that varies in size, shape and texture with no ledge. On a repetitive elevation the reuse count is the number that decides it. How Flex2Fit seals →
- A pattern already tooled, or new tooling
- An existing pattern carries no tooling work. New tooling buys the exact profile. Advanced matches any other liner company pattern and builds any pattern from a drawing, a photograph, a sample or a site scan. Custom liners →
Every Advanced liner is made to order in Sparta, Wisconsin, stock pattern or custom, so relief depth, draft, texture, repeat and sheet size are set for the job. Every maker in the category →
Bringing Advanced into a design build job.
- 01 Bring Advanced in at schematic or DD The liner casts the bond, the joint width and the joint profile. All three are settled when the liner is chosen, and changing one after tooling means new tooling.
- 02 Pick the brick: color, then size, then tolerance Color first, because it is the decision the design is built on. Then the face size, which sets the coursing. Then confirm the unit is supplied for embedded work and meets the tolerances. Tumbled and handmade units fall outside PCI tolerances.
- 03 Confirm the liner and accessories against the panel layout The liner pocket has to match the brick, and the corners, returns, sills and soldier courses have to land on the coursing module the panel layout uses.
- 04 Run the take-off Brick per square foot, flat and corner counts, bundles, pallets and shipping weight all come off the wall area and the format.
- 05 Get samples and a mockup Color reads differently in person than on a screen, and coursing is hard to judge from a dimension. We ship samples to your plant or your office.
- 06 Write the section A three-part precast section with the thin brick and formliner articles included, so the finish the team settled on is the finish that gets bid.
At step two, confirm the unit against the PCI thin brick requirements, and at step six the builder writes the thin brick and formliner articles into the section for you.
Seven things to confirm.
- Panel size, from the producer
- Sets the largest panel that can be cast and delivered, and every coursing decision sits downstream of it.
- Coursing module against panel width
- Decides whether the panel joint lands on a head joint or through the middle of a brick.
- The corner condition, named on the drawing
- Decides whether the panel edge shows the thickness of the brick, and whether the corner is caulked by hand or cast as a part.
- Joint width and profile
- Both are cast by the liner, so naming them early keeps them out of the retooling conversation later.
- The color and the format it is offered in
- Not every color is made in every format, so naming both early settles the coursing and the takeoff together. Your Advanced rep confirms availability.
- Reuse count for the pattern
- Spreads the tooling across the pour count on a repetitive elevation. Your Advanced rep confirms it for the pattern and the job.
- Packing and freight for the real quantity
- Bundles, pallets, weight and container count follow the format and the clay body. Your Advanced rep confirms the shipment against current stock.
What Advanced puts on the job.
| What Advanced brings | Detail |
|---|---|
| Design and manufacturing in one place | Formliner design and manufacturing in Sparta, Wisconsin, with the thin brick distributed from the same building. |
| Any pattern, made to order | Built from a drawing, a rendering, a CAD file, a photograph, a physical sample or a site scan of a standing wall, including a pattern from another maker. |
| Accessories that cut bed labor | Caulkless corners, edge caps, returns, arches, soldier courses and sills, tooled to the liner so they drop in with no cutting on the bed. |
| CEU sessions | A lunch and learn carries 1 LU|HSW in person or virtual. A plant tour in Sparta carries 2 to 4 LU|HSW. ALA and AIA approved, meets NCARB standards. |
| Reps who confirm the real numbers | Reuse counts, packing, freight and current stock for the job in front of you. |
Costing a facade that is still on paper
Send the elevation, the panel sizes and the color you want. Your rep comes back with the liner, the accessories and the take-off.