• A post-tensioned floor, being lighter than a reinforced concrete floor of similar span and carrying the same applied load, imposes smaller loads on the columns and foundations.
The columns particularly benefit from the post-tensioning of the floor, because the tendon curvature and the higher creep of the floor combine to reduce the column moments, as shown in Chapter 5. The size of a column and its reinforcement are usually governed by the bending moment. A reduction in moment can, therefore, result in significant savings.
Stiff columns and walls may attract significant magnitudes of lateral forces. These should be checked.