Mar

Pumping 153 Yards of Concrete

It was a perfect day to pump (not pour) 153 cubic yards of concrete.

There was a frost last night so it was a crisp morning as everyone arrived and started preparing at 8:00 am. Given the site, we needed to pump, not pour, the concrete. Our boom pump truck, a small Putzmeister and No. 1 in CF&T’s fleet, on site and positioned within minutes. Bill Brown’s 13-person crew was busy getting ready for the day.

Preparing to Pump Concrete

The boom pump truck was situated in the driveway with its outriggers and feet extended to level and support the truck so it could reach everywhere we needed to place the concrete. With the boom pump truck in position and, given the house is almost a perfect square (56 ft wide by 54 ft deep), this was a relatively easy exercise.

Putzmeister boom pump truck, with outriggers extended.

Extending the boom to test the reach to where we need to pump concrete.

And the boom reaches the north-east corner. Note the operator with the remote control for the boom pump truck.

Pumping Concrete

With the boom pump truck in position, the first of 17 truckloads of concrete backed into place from Winchester Boulevard to fill the boom pump truck’s hopper. We had a dedicated flagman in place to control the traffic on Winchester, and to allow our neighbors on Via Sereno to turn onto Winchester.

Traffic control in place on Winchester Boulevard.

Traffic control on Winchester Boulevard as Granrock truck backs into position.

We started pumping concrete in the north-west corner of the house. Bill Brown’s team worked in 10 ft strips going west to east.

Starting in the north-west corner.

The new concrete is looking good ...

The last corner - almost finished pumping.

After the concrete was pumped, it was time for lunch. Our architect, John Rider, and his wife, Jennifer, stopped by to see our progress and brought some ice cold soft drinks for Bill Brown’s team.

After a full morning it was time to enjoy lunch.

John, a bit overdressed for the construction site, was extremely interested in the remote control for the boom pump truck.

John Rider with remote control for boom pump truck.

John walked the entire property, smiling as he saw the construction details he worked on being followed diligently by Bill Brown’s team. John savored the moment as he saw his work on ArchiCAD becoming ‘hard coded’ in concrete.

Key Metrics

17 truckloads with 9 cubic yards of concrete per truck
153 cubic yards of concrete
70% slag
5,000 PSI
6 cylinder samples
Started pumping concrete at 8:35 am
Finished pumping at 12:15 pm

Graniterock Supplies Our Concrete

Earl Boyd of Graniterock, our concrete supplier, came to the site and discussed the mix that they were delivering today. Earl, a LEED AP, explained that Graniterock will provide the reports required to verify LEED compliance. Specifically, Earl promised to provide data regarding the source of, and recycled nature of, the components used in the concrete mix that Bill Brown had ordered for our project. Graniterock had just completed this analysis and can now report on it to their customers.

Since we used a significant amount of concrete, Graniterock also sent an onsite quality assurance technician to verify the characteristics of the concrete. He took six cylinder samples of the concrete from different trucks and also measured the ‘slump’ of the concrete.

Tony from Graniterock performing a Slump Test (ASTM C-143).

Measuring the slump. Note the cylinder samples in the background.

Visitors Arrive

Our good friend, Lena Walters, brought her son, Andreas, over to see the pour (pump). Andreas had registered for our blog updates and has been following our progress for several months. He is in college and has an interest in architecture so, taking a short break in his studies today, he came by the job site to see the activities in person.

Andreas Walters reviewing progress in person.

Since he was in the area, Bill Brown dropped by to see how the pour was going. He was pleased with his team and delighted with the weather. We discussed the upcoming special inspections required when the foundation walls will be shotcreted.

Later in the day, Pete Janovich came to the site. This gave Bryan a chance to review how the two steel beams supporting the existing structure will be removed from the site. Pete explained his plans for doing so and how easy and fast it will be.

Pete Janovich, from Bill Brown Construction, reviewing progress and explaining how the steel beams will be removed.

Finishing the Structural Slab

After lunch, the crew spent the afternoon finishing the structural slab. Although there will be another 3 inches of concrete over most of the structural slab, the stairwell and the mechanical rooms are now ‘finished concrete.’