We placed 48 hollow core concrete panels this morning.  The first panel was lifted from the truck at 8:10 am and the last panel was put in place less than 4 hours later at 12:01 pm.

Also, Bryan met with a neighbor that needs a home for some virgin dirt, located only a few blocks away.

Yes, another big day.

Preface

One of our stated objectives for this project is to use ‘innovative building materials’.  We are one of the first single family residential homes to use hollow core concrete panels in Northern California.  We engaged Bill Brown Construction Company to partner with us on 17509 Via Sereno because:

1. Bill Brown has extensive experience in all the areas that we need expertise (e.g., seasonal perched water tables, waterproofing, ‘green’ building design and construction, etc.).
2. Bill wants to innovate and be a leader with new building products and new construction practices.
3. Bill has a great team that can ‘do the hard stuff’ that he leads personally and, most importantly, has a passion for construction while having fun.

Preparation

We wanted to get in front of the day so our plan was to assemble at 7:15, have the crane arrive at 7:30 am and get into position, and have the first truckload of hollow core concrete panels arrive at 7:45 am so we could start working at 8:00 am as we unloaded the first panel.

Chad Sisson, Summit Cranes, and Bill Brown, Bill Brown Construction Company, preparing for the day at 7:35 am.

Korolath strips, which go between the concrete retaining walls and the hollow core concrete panels. These strips help to distribute the load evenly across the concrete retaining wall

The first truckload of hollowcore concrete panels arrived on time at 7:45 am,/

Bill Brown inspecting the first load of hollowcore concrete panels.

Chad extended the boom and confirmed the crane could reach everywhere in the site that was required. We're good to go!

The First ‘Bay’ of Panels

 Chad lifted the first hollowcore concrete panel from the truck at 8:10 am.  Bill and Bryan were on ladders so they could position the first panel at the far end of the house, in the first ‘bay’. (more…)

Hanson Structural Precast confirmed our three truckloads of hollowcore concrete panels will arrive on Tuesday morning so we can start unloading (working) at 8:00 am. 

Bill Brown and his team are ready, and the weather looks perfect.

Completing the Steel

Larson Steel finished installing our steel columns and beams today.  Of course, this is a prerequisite to putting in the hollowcore concrete panels tomorrow.

We had to ensure there was always a three inch bearing surface on top of each beam.  This required moving some Nelson studs and trimming the ends of some beams.  We confirmed that our structural engineer, Innovative Structural Engineering, had verfied the conditions in each location where the steel beams were connected to either the concrete retaining walls, other steel beams, or steel columns.  Shane Lothrop confirmed each connection was acceptable.

Require 3 Inch Bearing Surface

The following photos show the conditions where we had to ensure there was a 3 inch bearing surface on the steel beams for the hollowocore concrete panels.

Nelson studs and W6x16 beam projecting into the 3 inch bearing surface for the hollowcore concrete panels.

W6x16 flush beam projecting into the bearing surface.

This W10x12 drop beam needs to be moved so our stairs can be at least 36 inches wide.

Making the Final Changes

Both Pete Larson’s team and Bill Brown’s team worked to ensure that we were prepared to place the 50 hollowcore concrete panels tomorrow morning. (more…)