CON FORMS ADVANTAGE a good bet for Tutor-Saliba in Las Vegas
From Concretepumping
The boom pump was located on the far west side of the project, and was unable to reach the point of placement. For this project, Tutor-Saliba used a Putzmeister T14000 boom pump and Schwing 32-meter placing booms. Those pumps were selected because of previous pumping experience with them. Con Forms engineers developed a plan for an underground baseline from the boom pump to the building itself, utilizing three high pressure diversion valves to direct concrete to the desired section for pumping, or to stop the flow for pipe maintenance. Each section’s line could be closed off and maintained, while concrete was directed to another section.
The diversion valves, designed specifically to withstand the vertical pressure of high-rise pumping, ended up saving Tutor-Saliba time, effort and expense. The valves allowed pipe replacement in sections, rather than the entire system.
The quarter-wall pipe also proved to be a great choice, as the 1,000-foot-long underground baseline had 50,000 cubic yards of concrete pumped through it at the time of replacement, with wear life still left. The replacement was part of the scheduled maintenance plan and not the result of any pipe failure.
The three vertical pipe lines on the tower itself never needed replacing, with 30,000 cubic yards of concrete being pumped through each line.
Also specified and specifically designed for this project were PBX customized elbows. The elbows were designed at .50-inch thickness, rather than the standard .25-inch thickness to extend elbow life. None of the elbows failed from wear, or any other reason.
One factor that reassured Cetnar during this project was his past experience with Con Forms products. On previous projects, Cetnar had found Con Forms willing to make product changes to accommodate his special requirements. And, as the Wynn Encore project progressed, Cetnar found that Con Forms was ready and able to keep him fully supplied with the necessary pumping system components, including Con Forms 4-inch and 5-inch wire reinforced placing hose.
Tutor-Saliba is already working on their next high-rise project in Las Vegas – the Planet Hollywood Casino and Hotel. While that project is smaller from a concrete pumping volume point of view, Cetnar and Tutor-Saliba can be extra confident of success because they have the Con Forms ADVANTAGE!
Thanks to Mike Cetnar, concrete pumping foreman for Tutor-Saliba in Las Vegas NV. Cetnar contributed the information and photos used to write this story. Cetnar has been pumping concrete for over 12 years in the Las Vegas market. His first high–rise project was the Monte Carlo Casino & Hotel in 1995.
