Precast wall panels for this house are cast on the floor slab for the house and then tilted vertical. The casting is performed on site and panels can be cast on top of each other (stacked), cast on “waste slabs” which will later be removed, or produced on casting tables. Credit: Mike Weber
The NileBuilt Corp., based in Irvine, California, is taking a new and novel approach to building concrete homes. Starting their company in 2019, they combine three different concrete systems; a hybrid of precast, tilt-up, and cast-in-place concrete (CIP). Their first big market focus is the Los Angeles area, especially in the communities that lost homes in the 2025 fires. To show the public what a NileBuilt® house looks like they are currently building a model home in Laguna Hills, California.
Mike Weber, the company’s chief operating officer (COO), says they have been working with local code authorities and insurance companies to gain pre-acceptance for their product. They have also been working with structural engineers to meet structural requirements and fire testing laboratories to validate that they exceed fire standards.
Weber says their company strategy is to build on their “Powered by Nilebuilt®” branding. They want building code departments, insurance companies, building contractors, and homeowners to recognize NileBuilt as a mark of quality they can automatically trust and depend upon for resilience, net-zero energy performance, and sustainability.
Finished panels are 8 inches thick; 2 inches of concrete on the outside, 4 inches of foam insulation in the center, and 2 inches of concrete on the inside. Panels can be lifted into position in as little as 24 hours. The concrete attains as much as 8000 psi strength in 28 days. Credit: Mike Weber
Precasting concrete parts usually occurs in a casting facility. Afterward, they are shipped to a jobsite for assembly. But the NileBuilt system manufactures everything on site so there is no shipping involved. For locations like new subdivisions, a temporary “pop-up” manufacturing location is utilized to eliminate the over-the-road cost of trucking the manufactured panels to a jobsite. With NileBuilt panels being half the weight, jobsite equipment can be used for production and installation of the panels.
Powered by Nilebuilt
Weber says their company goals include facilitating a pre-permitting process for their homes and helping NileBuilt home owners’ secure home insurance. Getting insurance has been challenging for stick-built wood-constructed homes due to disasters like the Los Angeles wildfires, where close to 17,000 homes were destroyed. Without homeowners’ insurance, there will be no home mortgages.
To make the granting of a building permit easier, company engineers hold meetings with code officials at the local, county, and state levels to provide assurance that their structures exceed code requirements, working toward the goal that a NileBuilt home will automatically be approved for construction because the code authorities already understand the engineering involved.
The same idea is true for securing home insurance because insurers know that NileBuilt homes offers maximum fire resistance and have been engineered to exceed minimum standards for seismic requirements. Weber adds that their goal is to equate the name NileBuilt with a level of quality that makes ownership attainable and a strategy for homeowner equity.
Because these panels are much lighter than solid concrete precast panels they can be lifted into position by a forklift instead of a crane. The red steel clips at the bottom of the panel will be bolted into the floor slab. Credit: Mike Weber
Working with builders
Instead of trying to develop their own homes, NileBuilt plans to work with the home builders already there. They will work with the builder, providing the building envelope and the builder will use their own network of sub-contractors to complete the construction.
As part of their relationship, NileBuilt will supply design and engineering for the structure. Their design staff will also supply design services to the builder and coordinate with the builder’s design services.
By working with NileBuilt, builders are assured that building permits will get expedited and owners will have the assurance that their NileBuilt home will be able to secure home insurance based on lower risk to insurance companies.
Design and Engineering
Weber says they have their own group of engineers and design staff. The core of their patented product is a highly engineered structure, developed through research and laboratory testing. They developed industry specifications based on how their structures should perform, followed by many discussions with code authorities. They are also encouraging code authorities to enforce more stringent codes, especially with regard to fire resistance.
Panel being lifted. Photo Credit: Mike Weber
The ASTM E 119 fire test is the standardized test for evaluating how fire resistant a construction material or building component is. Weber says their wall panels meet a minimum 2-hour fire rating in these tests, meaning that their structures can contain a fire and maintain structural integrity for a 2-hour period. This rating separates them from most other building materials which typically claim a 1-hour rating.
Weber adds that code bodies are entertaining their proposal for an updated “Model Ordinance” which requires 2-hour fire ratings for housing envelopes, exceeding what a wood frame house can achieve.
Engineers also design each home to meet or exceed local seismic code requirements. Until NileBuilt finishes their ICC Evaluation Service Report (ESR), their 2-story, 5,200+ square-foot model home meets the next-to-highest seismic category by including a few centrally located cast-in-place concrete “shear walls” to resist seismic forces.
Patented construction process
The core of their system is a double wythe wall panel—two 2-inch concrete panels separated by 4 inches of insulation in the middle. The 5,000-psi ready-mixed concrete is reinforced with macro- and micro-synthetic fibers. The center panel of insulation is a low-global-warming potential (GWP), sustainable extruded polystyrene (XPS) insulation.
This panel will become the wall for the master bedroom. The large opening is for pivot doors which will open to the backyard of the house. A 5.7 magnitude earthquake occurred while panels were being set into position. Photo Credit: Mike Weber
Exterior walls
Unlike most precast operations, NileBuilt wall panels are cast on location. Panels can be constructed on casting tables, the floor slab of the house, or in some cases a “waste slab” (a concrete slab just for casting panels, removed at the end of a job). Each panel is cast so the inside facing wall is face down, creating a surface that is ultra-smooth. Painting the wall is the finishing step.
Immediately after the 2-inch inside concrete is placed, the insulation panel and connectors are set down on the fresh concrete and the top 2-inches is then placed. Finishers place and finish the top of the panel (the outside surface of the house) in the standard fashion.
During the casting operation, electrical conduit is also placed in the panel. Weber explains the finished NileBuilt panel is half the weight of a typical precast panel.
When all panels for the house are cast they are moved into position with a forklift, the process doesn’t involve truck transportation. The panels are joined together and fastened to the floor of the house with steel embeds secured with bolts or by using weld-plates.
When wall panels are set in position they are braced while they are secured to the floor and to each other. Photo Credit: Mike Weber
Interior walls
Weber says the interior walls of their homes, those not part of the building envelope, are light-gage steel frame with drywall surfaces, eliminating wood. The exception is the common wall between the house and garage, which are insulated NileBuilt panels.
Ceilings and roofs
If a home includes a second story, the floor is formed with corrugated metal decking, and macro-synthetic fiber reinforcement is included with cast-in-place concrete. Weber says NileBuilt roofs are cast the same way, giving added strength to the building’s engineered design. “If a homeowner wishes, we can include parapets for architectural effect,” he adds. Insulation panels are placed on top of the roof’s concrete surface, which is pitched toward drains. A PVC membrane is installed on top for waterproofing.
The two-story inside panels are cast-in-place shear walls reinforced with rebar, engineered to provide necessary strength to resist earthquake forces. The rebar sticking out near the top will be cast into the flat concrete roof to secure it to the wall. Photo Credit: Mike Weber
Solar power
Electricity in Southern California is expensive, and in keeping with NileBuilt’s goal to be net-zero, they will install solar voltaic power systems with battery storage, allowing homeowners to avoid monthly power bills. Given their homes' flat roofs, installing solar panels is easy to do. And, when parapets are installed, the panels are not visible. Weber says their systems will also be large enough to recharge a homeowner’s electric car(s) durintg off-peak hours.
Cost
NileBuilt was building its first home in the LA area during the time this article was being written, so they are still developing information about cost. However, Weber said their homes will be competitive with the cost of wood-frame construction. “We might even be less than wood in some instances. But even if we turn out to be a little more than wood, we will still all but eliminate utility costs such as heating, cooling, and electricity if owners choose that option. In addition, NileBuilt homes will be insurable, unlike wood framed construction,” he adds.
The only step needed to finish inside walls is paint. Electrical conduit is cast into the wall panels so outlets appear as they would in other wall building systems. Photo Credit: Mike Weber
Closing thoughts
One of the most important considerations for people living in Southern California now is to reduce the risk of wild fires, so building fire-resistant homes is important. But the cost to buy land to build on is high and government bodies across the state are reclaiming some areas as too risky to build on, making land even more expensive. But, concrete homes could safely be built in those high-risk areas.
Constructing NileBuilt houses is fast; they can cast the panels for an average 2,000 sq. ft. home in one day and set them in place in a matter of hours.
The goal for building concrete homes is to provide safe living conditions in the face of natural disasters, to allow life to continue with a minimum of disruption afterwards, and to put fewer greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
RELATED:
Part 1: The Case for Fire-Resistant Concrete Homes
Part 2: Concrete and Fire
Part 3: Reinforcement for Concrete Homes
Part 4: Resiliency
Part 5: The Removable Form System
Part 6: Concrete Composite System for Home Building
About Joe Nasvik
Joe Nasvik has been a prominent figure in the concrete industry for over four decades. Before transitioning to editorial roles, he owned and operated a concrete construction company for nearly 20 years. In his editorial career, Nasvik served as a senior editor for Concrete Construction magazine, contributing extensively to the field through articles and insights.