precast sill

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Author Message Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 158 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Tuesday, June 05, 2012 - 02:57 pm:    We have a project where the punched window openings in precast were built too tall for the windows. Both windows and precast have been constructed. My question is: can a reinforced concrete sill 2”x10” work? Even with fiber reinforcing in addition to mesh this seems awfully thin. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1404 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Monday, June 11, 2012 - 11:21 am:    I agree that this seems too thin. How about some sort of head or sill extension for the window? If they're aluminum, this could work fairly easily. Ellis C. Whitby, PE, CSI, AIA, LEED® AP Senior Member Username: ecwhitby Post Number: 159 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 - 12:47 pm:    Thanks. The AE originally sugguested an aluminum sill extension among other solutions. The precast was a contractor proposal. We'll see how it plays out. Paul Gerber Senior Member Username: paulgerber Post Number: 126 Registered: 04-2010 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 01:45 pm:    I'm assuming 2" high x 10" deep? It might work, but I would suspect very susceptible to cracking. I would agree with John's suggestion that an extension would work much better, but my preference would be at the head and not the sill. Ride it like you stole it!!! Dave Metzger Senior Member Username: davemetzger Post Number: 432 Registered: 07-2001 Posted on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 - 03:08 pm:    Not only cracking due to the thin profile, but that's less than an inch of concrete cover over the mesh. I too like the aluminum extension, as there would be a single trade responsible for filling the opening. And the extension would be finished to match the windows; a color and texture match between the thin precast member and the main panels would be dicier. Justatim Senior Member Username: justatim Post Number: 39 Registered: 04-2010 Posted on Thursday, June 14, 2012 - 09:27 am:    Can I assume by the alternatives under consideration that the aestheics and geometry of these windows in the wall is of minor importance? Otherwise, either the windows or wall should be rebuilt, and reuseable parts can be given to a Habitat ReStore as a charitable donation. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1410 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Monday, June 18, 2012 - 11:58 am:    The aesthetics may be important, but reconstruction would surely be a very large expense, and depending on the relationships, cause litigation. This may lead to poor performance on other portions of the project. Not only that, but it would be a considerable waste of resources, even if product were donated. And that presupposes that any corrective measure, such as the extension I suggested, would be unattractive - it may be just fine. Also, reordering windows or rebuilding the wall may mean the owner can't occupy the project on time. I often found, when I was doing construction contract administration, the "right" solution does not meet anyone's needs.