• 15 March 2024
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Monolithic construction - how buildings are erected
Monolithic construction - how buildings are erected

What is monolithic construction?

Monolithic construction is a method of constructing a building by pouring concrete into formwork forms, inside which reinforcement is installed.

A monolith is an integral object that is created not by connecting disparate parts (bricks, blocks, panels), but by casting walls and ceilings from concrete. A monolithic building is erected floor by floor by pouring the concrete mixture into the formwork, tying the reinforcement together, waiting for the concrete to harden, and again installing the wall formwork and pouring concrete into it. This structure has no seams, joints, or cracks. Houses built in this way are allowed to be built even in seismically hazardous areas.

Technology of construction of monolithic buildings

  1. A concrete foundation with steel reinforcement is poured, the ends of which stick out for further connection with the reinforcement of the 1st floor.
  2. Connect the reinforcing mesh of the first floor to the protruding ends of the foundation reinforcement.
  3. Install wall formwork. Formwork panels have different sizes and are designed for different concrete pressures. The formwork can be removable, reusable, with plywood panels on a steel frame, which is removed after the concrete has hardened and moved to a new location, and non-removable, disposable, made of concrete, polystyrene foam, cardboard, wood concrete and other materials.
  4. Cement mortar is poured into formwork forms
  5. Waiting for the concrete to harden
  6. Using horizontal formwork (another name is floor formwork), the floor between floors is poured.
  7. The next floor is built using the same principle.

What kind of buildings are erected using the monolithic construction method?

Monolithic construction technology is used for the construction of high-rise buildings and private cottages. There is a nuance - walls can be erected using the method of monolithic construction or monolithic frame construction, where, along with the technology of casting walls from concrete, brickwork or masonry from building blocks, for example, ceramic block, is used.

What conditions are needed for monolithic construction?

  • Good quality concrete should be used
  • Carefully plan economic communications, since it is quite difficult to fix them in a monolithic house,
  • Use experienced builders.

Why is monolithic construction becoming increasingly popular?

Because a house built using the monolithic construction method can have the most original shapes - corner windows, panoramic rooms, apartments without internal load-bearing walls, where the layout is done by the owners themselves. To build a private cottage, this is an ideal way to realize all the ideas of future owners so that they get the home of their dreams.

Advantages of monolithic construction:

  • Speed of building construction (only a panel house can be erected faster than a monolith),
  • Possibility of implementing bold architectural solutions and forms,
  • High building heights - up to 30 floors,
  • No joints, seams or cracks.

Disadvantages of monolithic construction:

  • Concrete walls with reinforcement quickly heat up and cool down, so insulation is necessary.
  • The need for qualified builders who know how to install formwork.
  • Concrete conducts sound well, so audibility in apartments is quite high.

For monolithic construction, formwork is needed: vertical for casting walls and horizontal for creating floors.

Call us if you need formwork for monolithic construction!

You may be interested in the article from the blog “Formwork racks - what and how are they used for?

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