News Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser coming to Walt Disney World 2021

[Rteetz]

 

[Rteetz]

 

[kthomas105]

same construction technique they use to build the data centers around here... they put up nearly 50+ft walls like that in rapid succession

This is known as tilt-up construction. The walls are made of precast concrete trucked to the site and "tilted up" into place by a crane. This form of construction is often times used in commercial office buildings or industrial warehouses but is becoming more and more popular in various settings. Universal is using this method to construct its 2 new value hotels on the old site of Wet N' Wild (International drive)

 

[Mac Tonight]

Jack does a good job summarizing, but, you realize it's mostly info he's gotten from here and BlogMickey, right?

Summaries are fine, but what irks me is that he gets all his info from here and other sources, yet gets paid for it (through ad revenue) and still has the gall to ask for Patreon donations. Like, dude, I'm not gonna fund your livelihood to live in your mom's basement and regurgitate borrowed information I already know.

 

[drod1985]

Summaries are fine, but what irks me is that he gets all his info from here and other sources, yet gets paid for it (through ad revenue) and still has the gall to ask for Patreon donations. Like, dude, I'm not gonna fund your livelihood to live in your mom's basement and regurgitate borrowed information I already know.

But you're not his target audience.

His patrons are paying him to browse these sites all day so that they don't have to. For a lot of people it's a lot easier to watch a well produced 5-10 minute video summary than it is to browse these forums on a regular basis.

 

[Mac Tonight]

But you're not his target audience.

His patrons are paying him to browse these sites all day so that they don't have to. For a lot of people it's a lot easier to watch a well produced 5-10 minute video summary than it is to browse these forums on a regular basis.

That's just laziness and a waste of money. I already pay for the internet, I don't need to also pay someone else to search it for me.

But hey, that's just me.

 

[Lensman]

That's just laziness and a waste of money. I already pay for the internet, I don't need to also pay someone else to search it for me.

But hey, that's just me.

Also, one is paying to not put up with off-topic dissing of the business model of curated content when all you're after is updates on Disney's progress in constructing the Star Wars hotel.

I'm willing to put up with it.

But hey, that's just me.

 

[Mac Tonight]

Also, one is paying to not put up with off-topic dissing of the business model of curated content when all you're after is updates on Disney's progress in constructing the Star Wars hotel.

I'm willing to put up with it.

But hey, that's just me.

You don't have to pay for that. This board has an "ignore" feature.
Save you time AND money!

 

[Missing20K]

same construction technique they use to build the data centers around here... they put up nearly 50+ft walls like that in rapid succession

This is known as tilt-up construction. The walls are made of precast concrete trucked to the site and "tilted up" into place by a crane. This form of construction is often times used in commercial office buildings or industrial warehouses but is becoming more and more popular in various settings. Universal is using this method to construct its 2 new value hotels on the old site of Wet N' Wild (International drive)

Those are enormous panel sizes. Once you get above 12 feet wide you need permitting and an escort to ship them ("Wide Load" trucking) and once you go over 40 feet tall you generally need to pretension the panels to handle the stresses and avoid cracking. Anything over 50 feet becomes nearly impossible to truck as well.

Just had a client come back with a change order to use precast panels in place of brick/CMU cavity wall construction on a power plant because although the panels are more expensive, the time saved makes up for it. They are also uglier and prone to both production and installation issues but that's neither here nor there.

 

[kthomas105]

Those are enormous panel sizes. Once you get above 12 feet wide you need permitting and an escort to ship them ("Wide Load" trucking) and once you go over 40 feet tall you generally need to pretension the panels to handle the stresses and avoid cracking. Anything over 50 feet becomes nearly impossible to truck as well.

Just had a client come back with a change order to use precast panels in place of brick/CMU cavity wall construction on a power plant because although the panels are more expensive, the time saved makes up for it. They are also uglier and prone to both production and installation issues but that's neither here nor there.

Just had a new Grocery store open up that was built with precast panels. The facade is dressed with a brick pattern and there are architectural details added after it is in place but you can definitely tell there is something odd or different about the building. As you said not the prettiest or cheapest but it does provide some expediency for construction. End tangent.

 

[flynnibus]

Those are enormous panel sizes. Once you get above 12 feet wide you need permitting and an escort to ship them ("Wide Load" trucking) and once you go over 40 feet tall you generally need to pretension the panels to handle the stresses and avoid cracking. Anything over 50 feet becomes nearly impossible to truck as well.

normally I'm driving so not easy to get photos... but there are no less than 10 new data centers going up right now within a 1-2mile radius of me and they've almost all used this tilt up design and steel columns and beams on the interior which appear to bolt to brackets to the walls. Being data centers, most are only 2 level... but they have like 20ft per level and then the wall continues past the second level to provide the screening for the materials on the roof. The walls go up in just days... but they leave it braced for what seems like a long time. I thought I had a picture because ironically I took a photo awhile back to comment on how quickly they were able to put these structures up... compared to the main buildings being built for SW:GE attractions. Thought the concrete use was an interesting one and didn't know how suitable it was for FL weather profiles. Here, they use it for some level of defendable nature.. since these buildings are all targets.

 

[Missing20K]

Just had a new Grocery store open up that was built with precast panels. The facade is dressed with a brick pattern and there are architectural details added after it is in place but you can definitely tell there is something odd or different about the building. As you said not the prettiest or cheapest but it does provide some expediency for construction. End tangent.

You can get them in an array of colors and aggregate finishes and they almost always have a thin face brick option. You can stamp them with patterns and varied colors, but a trained eye can almost always spot a precast panel building due to how one has to "panelize" the facades. It becomes worse when if there is not good QC on the production of the panel. I've seen many precast buildings where the panels waver, and/or the joints aren't straight, etc.

normally I'm driving so not easy to get photos... but there are no less than 10 new data centers going up right now within a 1-2mile radius of me and they've almost all used this tilt up design and steel columns and beams on the interior which appear to bolt to brackets to the walls. Being data centers, most are only 2 level... but they have like 20ft per level and then the wall continues past the second level to provide the screening for the materials on the roof. The walls go up in just days... but they leave it braced for what seems like a long time. I thought I had a picture because ironically I took a photo awhile back to comment on how quickly they were able to put these structures up... compared to the main buildings being built for SW:GE attractions. Thought the concrete use was an interesting one and didn't know how suitable it was for FL weather profiles. Here, they use it for some level of defendable nature.. since these buildings are all targets.

I didn't mean to suggest that it's not a popular method of construction. It's obviously very popular.

And yes, when you do a steel structure with a non-load bearing precast panel exterior wall, there are steel angles bolted to a bracket embedded in the concrete panel. I'm not aware of any reasons one would not use a precast panel in the FL climate. I've also never done any work in FL so take that for what it is.

The panels being used for the SW hotel are about as large as a panel as you can ship, was really my only point in posting.

 

[NoChesterHester]

Those are enormous panel sizes. Once you get above 12 feet wide you need permitting and an escort to ship them ("Wide Load" trucking) and once you go over 40 feet tall you generally need to pretension the panels to handle the stresses and avoid cracking. Anything over 50 feet becomes nearly impossible to truck as well.

Just had a client come back with a change order to use precast panels in place of brick/CMU cavity wall construction on a power plant because although the panels are more expensive, the time saved makes up for it. They are also uglier and prone to both production and installation issues but that's neither here nor there.

Not precast. On site casting.

 

[Missing20K]

Not precast. On site casting.

I didn't see any forms in the photos that have been posted. Are they casting them somewhere else on property and trucking them over?

 

[kthomas105]

Not precast. On site casting.

The floor is being cast on site but the walls which are currently being supported with temporary metal trusses (beside the crane) are precast panels. The panels appear to be no more than 9ft wide (based on door sizes from the picture below and equipment on site). These panels can easily be trucked by a standard flat bed. Curing conditions for concrete are less controlable on site and therefore can be less desirable. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but based on the photos we have, these walls are precast panels and the floor/celing is the only concrete currently being cast in place on site.

 

[Missing20K]

The floor is being cast on site but the walls which are currently being supported with temporary metal trusses (beside the crane) are precast panels. The panels appear to be no more than 9ft wide (based on door sizes from the picture below and equipment on site). These panels can easily be trucked by a standard flat bed. Curing conditions for concrete are less controlable on site and therefore can be less desirable. I'm happy to be proven wrong, but based on the photos we have, these walls are precast panels and the floor/celing is the only concrete currently being cast in place on site.
View attachment 377281

I'd argue that the panel widths could be as wide as 10 feet.

But my inclination was the same. If they were casting them on site, they would have huge forms on the ground with metal studs between. The cure time would also be prohibitive and not reflective of how quickly they've erected these panels.

Also, site casting walls on the ground isn't terribly common these days, as the quality control when casting in situ without full formwork, as is done when site casting walls, is sub par at best. Even pre-cast panels can have some quality issues from the factory.

I will say I'm a bit surprised the floor/ceiling assembly isn't precast as well. We've used hollow core planks on a couple of multi-story retirement/assisted living facilities with good success. They are a fairly popular option in hotel construction as well.

 

[Rteetz]

 

[ChrisFL]

This might just be my odd way of thinking but............does anyone think that having a hotel with a space...or what looks basically like a permanent "nighttime" view might mess with people's sense of daytime and nighttime, if they stay in the hotel room for a while?

 

[danlb_2000]

This might just be my odd way of thinking but............does anyone think that having a hotel with a space...or what looks basically like a permanent "nighttime" view might mess with people's sense of daytime and nighttime, if they stay in the hotel room for a while?

I don't think you are going to be in the hotel long enough for that to matter, and you will likely go out to GE for part of each day.

 

[ChrisFL]

I don't think you are going to be in the hotel long enough for that to matter, and you will likely go out to GE for part of each day.

Yes, for most people but I can definitely see some situations where people stay in the room. It's just a curiosity more than anything. I suppose indoor cabins on cruise ships that don't have window portals (or fake ones) would be similar.