Planning, Layout, and Site Preparation
Read the drawings as a system
Panel layout starts with the elevation drawings, not the plan. Each panel elevation carries a mark, its length, height, thickness, opening sizes, reveal and chamfer pattern, and the location of every embedded item - lift inserts, brace inserts, weld plates, and bearing angles. Cross-check those elevations against the foundation plan, the structural drawings, and the connection details before layout begins. A panel that is cast perfectly but has its brace insert 12 in. from where the detail calls for it cannot be braced.
The second planning decision is the casting surface. Panels are normally cast face-down on the building slab, on an engineered casting bed, or on a stabilized ground bed. That surface must be flat, clean, structurally adequate for the panel weight plus construction loads, and treated with a bond breaker. Confirm in writing who owns the surface and who inspects it before forms arrive.
Site planning must also leave a travel and set-down path for the crane and delivery trucks, and keep the lifting zone clear of stored material.
Traps
- Assuming any slab will serve as a casting bed.
- Confusing as-cast orientation with final orientation, so the finish lands on the wrong face.
- Forgetting the bond breaker, or applying it after forms and steel are in place.
- Using plan area alone for weight, ignoring thickness, openings, and embeds.
Rule of thumb
Panel weight ≈ length × height × thickness (ft) × 150 lb/ft³, then add 5–10% for reinforcement and embeds.