Precast Concrete versus Machine-Made Products

The Architectural Precast Concrete and Cast Stone products by Steps Plus have numerous advantages over machine-made products such as calcium silcate units, block trim, and brick. These are:

Longer Piece Sizes:
Most machine-made products are made in relatively short lengths of two to three feet and contain no reinforcing. Our architectural precast is typically supplied in longer lengths in the four to five foot range. For window sills and copings, this means fewer joints which provides better protection against water problems. These longer pieces provide a classic appearance that you don’t get with short, choppy block units.

Wider Piece Sizes:
Not only are machine-made products limited in length, they are also limited in width. Wide belt courses, panels, datestones, and signs that are not possible with machine-made units are no problem for us. Custom art work and lettering is easily added to our product.

Structural Advantages:
Our cast products are made with steel reinforcing so they can be used in structural applications. Because of this steel reinforcing, we can supply long load bearing units such as lintels or hanging fascia panels that can’t be made up of small individual units.

Custom Units are Standard for Steps Plus, Inc.:
Nearly everything we do is custom. If there is a unique situation on a project, we make a custom piece to accommodate it. Most machine made products result in cut-to-fit solutions for unique situations which are sometimes far from attractive.

Weather Resistance:
Our Architectural Precast Concrete and Cast Stone have a high compressive strength and low absorption rate. This makes our product very resistant to the nasty weathering effects of the northeast United States. Unlike some machine-made products, there is no problem with installing our product at grade level (however, like any cement based product, care should be taken to protect our products from the harmful effects of deicers).


Brick Sills and Copings – Don’t even think about it !:
The northeast United States is no place for brick window sills and wall caps. Every joint is a potential source of water penetration.