The Costs of Precast – Why Shipping Alone Can Be a Major Expense

Precast concrete is one of the most popular materials available for creating decorative architectural details, especially on the exterior of the property. Some of the benefits of using precast concrete – both as a material and as an alternative to cast-in-place options – is that it is extremely durable, easy to mold into any shape, less likely to produce on-site waste, and can be both left untreated or finished in essentially any way.

But, for all of pre-cast concrete’s advantages, it also has its problems – especially related to price. Precast can be more cost effective than cast-in-place and some other alternative materials, like stone. But there are many supplementary costs that can quickly cause pre-cast to run into prohibitively expensive challenges, especially for residential properties that may not have a high architectural budget.

The Cost of Shipping

We’ll explore some of the cost issues related to pre-cast in other blog posts, but the one we want to highlight today is the cost of shipping. Pre-cast concrete is heavy. Though estimates can vary considerably depending on where it is shipped and with who, precast typically costs over $1000 per load to travel only about 100 miles.

The shipping cost of concrete can create many problems:

• Once you add shipping costs to the cost of the project, it can add a lot to the cost of the project.
• You typically have to choose precast manufacturers close to you, regardless of price.
• Shipping costs cannot typically be recouped if there is a problem with the design.

Shipping itself is also risky. Precast concrete is prone to chipping, and if there are any chips in the concrete, the long lead times to get a replacement could delay the project and result in an even greater expense.

Precast is a useful material, but it does have many cost challenges, and the shipping costs and risks are one of the most common areas of concern for those that depend on it.

Better Than Pre-cast – Our EPS and Cement Alternative

Patterson Whittaker Architectural Profiles developed its proprietary architectural products to replace the need for pre-cast concrete, GFRG, and other materials. We did this by using a reinforced EPS blend in cement that has not only better durability than precast, but also additional advantages including:

• Far Lower Shipping Cost – Our products are light weight and cost very little to ship.
• Less Risk of Chipping – Our products are more durable than precast concrete, making chipping and breaks less likely.
• Shorter Lead Times – Should there be any mistakes, they are unlikely to hold up the project for long, as our lead times are typically much shorter than precast concrete.

This does not even include some of the additional advantages, including a lower price point to fabricate, far fewer installation requirements (including less manpower), and better durability in all weather conditions.

We know that many of the contractors we work with are used to pre-cast concrete, but once they’ve tried our products, they typically always become repeat customers that use us for all their architectural trim, molding, and decorative needs. Learn more by contacting our sales team, today.