A precast concrete window well is made by pouring solid concrete slabs at our facility. These slabs are then transported to your home and attached to your basement foundation.
What is Precasting?
Precasting is what we call the process of pouring a concrete object at some other location besides the job site.
In our case, we have a small manufacturing facility where we use specialized equipment to create the concrete slabs which will form the three sides of the window well.
Wet concrete is poured into forms, which is essentially a concrete mold. These forms make so that each slab of the window well has the correct dimensions. Before we pour the concrete, we position steel rebar inside the form to reinforce the concrete.
Before the concrete dries, we use a concrete stamp to give each slab a decorative finish. This finish gives it a stonelike look. That’s why we say our egress window wells have the strength of concrete with the beauty of stone.
After the concrete has dried into a hard, solid slab we remove the forms from the concrete. We stack the concrete slabs to cure until we are ready to install them on a customer’s home.
What are The Benefits of Precast Concrete?
It would be possible to create forms and pour a concrete window well at your home. So why is precast concrete better?
The three main benefits of our precast concrete window well system are consistent quality, fast installation, and affordability.
Consistent Quality
Pouring concrete in a controlled environment allows us to create an extremely consistent window well. It always looks good, and it’s always strong.
When you pour concrete on the job site, it’s harder to get the exact same quality of pour every time.
Fast Installation
Nobody wants to have a construction crew working on their home longer than necessary.
If we were to pour a concrete window well at your home, we would have to let the wet concrete harden for at least several days before we tamp (pack) the dirt back in around the outside of your window well.
At a minimum, we would spend parts of several days at your home.
Because our window wells are precast, we can simply lower the hardened slabs into the window well hole, and bolt everything into place.
It's how we can offer a concrete window well AND a one day installation.
Affordability
We’ve never tried to be the cheapest window well installer, but we do believe we offer the absolute best quality window well and window well installation.
Because we can install most window wells in a single day, it cuts down on our time and expense. That time savings means we have always been able to offer our window well installation at a very competitive price.
Final Thoughts
Yes, it is possible to pour a concrete window well on the job site. But the time requirements, potential quality issues, and expense all indicate that a precast concrete window well is the better option.
If you have any questions about our precast egress window wells, give us a call at 620-200-0616.