Questions About Tilt Walls
 

We had lunch with friends who are considering moving close to Eastport. They asked us questions about new construction homes. We have never lived in one and do not know the answers. Is it difficult and more costly to replace doors and windows? What if you want to remove a window and make it a solid wall? Is this doable? Is it difficult to hang pictures or artwork? Are the homes more energy efficient? Does the cold weather keep the inside of the home cooler longer? Hotter in the summer? Thanks for your input.

No idea of TILT walls, maybe you are asking about the precast concrete walls? From your questions it sounds like your friends would be better off to buy a lot and if possible have the house built the way they want. If this is not possible, some of the changes would void the 1 year warranty, I would proceed carefully.

We have a concrete block house and find it very energy efficient. You will find both wood and metal studs the hangers for artwork etc., are different for each. Our house has sufficient insulation in the walls and ceiling that we do not see significant heat transfer, for example a West facing wall in the evening is not hotter than the east facing wall.

It sounds like your friends should have a discussion with a Villages sales agent, as there may be a different layout that would be more suitable.

"Tilt Up Construction" is exactly what it sounds like. Walls are formed on the ground and tilted into place. It is not "precast concrete", which is an entirely different animal.

Tilt-Up Construction 101 - ConcreteHomes.com

My friends talked to sales. You are no longer allowed to build a home the way you want. They were told they would have to make changes once the home was built.

They are thinking it may be best to buy a preowned concrete block home. The block home may be easier to make changes. As I said, we have no clue.

You are correct. Concrete on its own will not maintain inside temperature. Construction crews form the walls like a sandwich with insulation embedded between two layers of concrete. This makes the home energy efficient.

Replacing windows and doors with SAME SIZE versions should be easy and not costly. Changing to a much larger window could be difficult and costly if the wall is load bearing. In most cases, it probably is. A contractor will most likely advise you not to replace a narrow window with a much larger rectangular window.

If you want a solid wall instead of a windowed discuss this with the sales or design team. It may be possible to do when constructing the home. However, fire regulations mandate every room must have an exit.

Hanging light weight pictures and artwork should be relatively easy with adhesive wall hooks. Heavy artwork will require concrete/masonry screws.

Not much different from concrete block. Tighter tolerances on outside walls, Windows installed at the factory.

Somewhat stronger structure. Similar energy efficency. But difficult to modify.

Interior is the same as with block, interior outside walls have drywall attached to furring strips.

Thanks. The floor plan they like is the Mason model. They were told Veranda homes are built as spec homes with no modifications or color choice.

They would prefer a built in wall unit or fireplace instead of two windows in the living area. The window areas would need to be filled in. Is this difficult and costly to do?

Before purchasing, get ARC approval. If permissible, I advise you to move forward with caution:
1. New homes come with a one-year warranty. You made void this warranty if you make structural changes

2. Structural changes can be costly. Once you remove the windows there may be a problem you were not expecting. Fixing the issue may cost you more money than you bargained for.

3. You most likely will not recoup the cost of this change when you resale. In fact, depending on your design choice, it may chase buyers away.

4. Home decorating fads come and go. In 2-4 years, what you built may be outdated. What are you going to do then? Tear it down and build something new?

5. Technology changes. I remember when big-screen TVs were giant boxes. Many new homes came with a built-in to fit these massive units neatly into the wall. Flat screens came along and they had to replace these built-ins. Do you want this expensive must change?

Sometimes, it is better to leave well enough alone.

My advice is to walk through as many model homes as possible. You may find a simple and inexpensive solution you like. The Villages is near completion of many near the new high school. On top of the World Ocala has some, as well. If you do not want to make the drive, they are available online. There are a ridiculous amount of model home tours on Youtube. Some furniture stores will help you with design. You can google the words " wall unit between two windows design ideas" With all this free information, I think you can find something you like without making structural changes.

After purchasing the home and settling in, if you are still hellbent on removing those windows, you can PM me. I will try my best to convince you not to make this mistake.

The Villages is now building with precast walls brought in on trucks and placed with a crane. But it is commonly being called tilt wall on just about all the YouTube channels. Not much difference.

The difference is tilt walls are made on site. Precast are made in a factory or off site. I have heard several Villages sales reps use the term tilt wall. They are either using the term incorrectly or some walls can be made on site. I never had a need to ask. Both are put into place with a crane.

I took a ride down towards Middleton the other day and saw a line of at least 10 trailers with concrete wall sections on them waiting to be lifted into place. No question these were precast sections.

Tilt wall construction, at least for the homes, is less likely due to the limited space available. There simply is not enough room between many of the homes in my neighborhood for the walls to have been cast horizontally and then tilted into place.

But for what the OP is asking, there doesn't seem to be a significant difference. If the walls are made to a template, whether on-site or in a factory, the concern for whether they can be modified after the home is constructed is the same.

Apples & oranges.

Precast & "tilt up" are 2 different kinds of construction.

Precast is is stronger as a complete structure.

Tilt up (in some ways) is more flexible and built on-site, but not as flexible as to overall "shape" ... it's best used with simple, rectangular designs.

Tilt up can be customized on-site, pre-cast cannot.

Precast panels are built by concrete professionals and shipped to the site.

Tilt up (in many cases) is amateur hour and there's minimum quality control and seldom used for residential construction.

Tilt up is a cheaper construction process and likely one of the reasons TV is now using it.

If you read the link I posted in Post #3, you'll learn some of the differences and better understand the 2 different processes.

Here's another link that will help: Precast Concrete vs Cast-In-Place vs Tilt-Up | High Concrete

The Villages do not use conventional tilt up construction for homes….although most people use that term. TV uses precast walls that are manufactured by DZ Precast in Sumterville.

Four years ago, I was able to ask questions like this with my designer prior to meeting via email.

But based on friends recent experience, the answer to most modifications was no.

They did maximize any available expansion, especially the garage and Lanai.

All I was pointing out is the OP is talking about the pre cast walls. I wasn’t trying to debate the differences in terminology. We know what the OP is asking so why get into semantics of the terminology?

Anyhow I assume it’s easy to close up a window. But matching the stucco outside may be a concern. And as mentioned I doubt ARC would approve if it’s a window on the front, just for aesthetics.