Pumper Takes On ICF Challenge – And Succeeds 2006
From Concretepumping
Norcon Concrete Pumping, Coldwater, Ontario, brought the untamed landscape of Lake Simcoe to its knees in early December of last year. Armed with three concrete boom pumps and a solid partnership with one of the largest ready mix suppliers in North America, the pumper railed against the cold lakeshore winds and rough terrain for one entire workday, eventually succeeding in the precision placement of over 650 cubic yards of concrete in a single, nine-hour pour.
Bill Gueadlo, President and owner of Norcon Concrete Pumping, says the pre-pour planning and coordination with ready-mix supplier LaFarge North America leading up to execution was vital to the pours success. Before heading in to battle, crews needed to have a game plan, and be on their best game.
“Relatively speaking, pre-pour planning was as critical to this particular project as it is on larger commercial mat pours,” said Gueadlo. “The ready-mix supplier, the block installers, the supervising contractor and myself had several meetings preparing a comprehensive blueprint. All of the logistics had to be completely worked out before we even thought about dispatching equipment to the site.”
The first challenge: maneuvering the pumps and ready-mix trucks from the perimeter of the project site to the interior of the residential property, and setting up safely immediately adjacent to the footprint.
After surveying the property, it was apparent that a narrow, 600-foot long driveway was the only way in, and the only way out. Concrete pump and ready mix truck operators would be forced to back down the driveway in order to access the project. This would require careful constant communication between operators, dispatchers and on-site traffic coordinators.
The second challenge: the owners of the property elected to construct an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) home in the middle of a densely forested area, using 12-inch blocks. “Those are relatively large ICFs on a residential job,” said Gueadlo, “We had a lot of ground to cover, and a few trees in the way of directly accessing all of the site.” Not to mention that the first floor of the property’s main structure measured in at approximately 6,000 square feet, requiring a 10-foot ICF wall around the perimeter.
The physical span of the project could be easily dealt with; Norcon boasts a fleet of all-Schwing concrete boom pumps equipped with the reach and output capabilities to handle just about any job. To accommodate the narrow forms, Norcon reduced down to a four-inch tip hose.
The third challenge: two separate mix designs. According to Gueadlo, the property’s new guesthouse, garage and tunnel adjoining the main house to the guest house were specified at a high slump, early set mix design. The foundation of the main house was constructed using a standard mix design. Both of these mixes were to be installed on the same day.
Crews from Norcon mobilized on December 7, 2005, taking one hour to back two of their KVM 28 and one 36-meter truck-mounted boom pumps down the driveway and on to the site. As the project progressed, Gueadlo marveled at the advantages of a well-planned job.
“It went off without a hitch,” said Gueadlo. “There were several challenges involved on this project, most of which had practical solutions. But I base the successful completion of this job on experience and well-engineered equipment.”
