StarTec XT with large 330/270 panels reduces labour and time requirement
A contract for an agricultural equipment dealer involved construction of an exhibition hall with imposing fair-faced concrete and glass surfaces. Large-format StarTec XT wall formwork panels helped to achieve on-time completion of the structural shell with its homogeneous finishes.
As an experienced contractor, Erich Ehrsam knows from many projects that rapid progress on site and top quality down to the last detail are not mutually exclusive. To speed up the works on the project in the Black Forest town of Altensteig, the Nagold-based company – as on many other commercial and residential contracts – deployed the biggest StarTec XT wall formwork panels from its own stock.
"Standard panel heights are often too small for the specified storey heights," explains site manager Andreas Ehrsam. "With our large-format 330/270 panels and associated fillers, we don't have that problem. The need for fewer vertical extensions shortens assembly times." This also paid dividends on the site in Altensteig. The 4.50 m high rear wall of the building is surmounted by a 2 m tall glass skin. The side walls, 6.50 m tall at the rear and rising to a height of 7.60 m at the front, were each cast in two cycles.
Flawless tie hole and joint pattern
StarTec XT's integral combi tie holes allow speedy selection between three tying methods. The Ehrsam team opted for single-sided tying with XT taper ties. With no need to secure the initial formwork side with fixation screws, formwork assembly and stripping were fast and simple. Moreover, the fact that the large-format panels generally require far fewer connectors reduces the effort needed for storage, fitting and removal. This system's fresh concrete load capacity – 60 kN/m² over the full surface – also helped to speed up the pour cycles. The horizontal construction joints on the side walls were elegantly concealed by the subsequently inserted floor slab. The end product combined homogeneous finishes with a uniform tie hole and joint pattern, made possible by StarTec XT's symmetrical internal tie holes. The project once again underlined the wall formwork system's ability to meet stringent architectural requirements.
Test with rental Mammut XT
Before deciding to use the formwork with the combi tie hole, the contractor first wanted to try out the concept. "We rented Mammut XT for a contract with 12 m high walls that we cast in 6 m cycles," reports Andreas Ehrsam. "Here too, we used XT taper ties so that we could dispense with the assembly works on the initial formwork side."
AluStar to remain in service
Contractor Erich Ehrsam was among MEVA's very first customers some 50 years ago and is now using its fifth generation of formwork. Until recently, it intended to phase out its StarTec and AluStar inventory, parts of which have been in service for over 15 years, in favour of the new formwork system. "The new StarTec XT considerably speeds up our formwork operations, in some cases by up to 30%," notes Andreas Ehrsam. "But the old panels are still in good shape and so we're keeping them, for example, for housing alterations." As StarTec, AluStar and the new StarTec XT are fully compatible, there is nothing to stop their continued regular use in future.
Data & Facts
Project: Exhibition hall in Altensteig, Germany
Contractor: Erich Ehrsam Bauunternehmen, Nagold, Germany
MEVA systems: StarTec XT wall formwork
Engineering and support: MEVA Schalungs-Systeme GmbH, Haiterbach, Germany.
