Concrete Pumping magazine

AMERICAN CONCRETE PUMPING ASSOCIATION

CONCRETEPUMPING

FALL 2008

Old Hollywood’s Old Hollywood’s New Golden AgeNew Golden Age

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The tight construction deadline of the Atlantic Times Square, a large scale, mixed-use develop-

ment in Monterey Park, California, put the concrete contractor in a time crunch to build the project’s walls faster, plus place the concrete slabs at high speed. To solve both challenges, the contractor CS Concrete Solutions, Inc. (Concrete Solutions) of Mission Viejo, California, turned to uncommon construction tech-niques and high performance Putzmeis-ter equipment to step up the pace.

“We’re shotcreting the walls with greater speed than possible with block construction (CMU) or poured-in-place,” says Marty Vasquez, general

superintendent of Concrete Solutions, “and we’re relying on a Thom-Katt® trailer pump to handle all the shotcrete work under an aggressive schedule.”

Vasquez adds, “Plus, we’re using boom pumps for their extremely high outputs in placing the concrete faster for the slab work.”

Need for SpeedThe need for speed is critical on the

Atlantic Times Square, considered one of the largest projects under construc-tion in the Los Angeles area today and one that requires highly efficient con-struction methods to achieve its targeted winter 2009 opening.

To help meet the fast-track completion date, Concrete Solutions is depending on the state-of-the-art equipment and prompt services of three key sub-con-tractors: Global Shotcrete, Inc. (Global) of Ventura, California, to supply the high performance trailer pumps; Flem-ing Concrete Pumping, Inc. (Fleming), of Santa Ana, California, to provide the high volume truck-mounted concrete boom pumps; and Cemex to deliver the specified concrete mixes from its two local plants in Los Angeles and Azusa, California. The $200 million project is under the direction of general contractor Pan Construction, Inc. of Rosemead, California.

During construction of the Atlantic Times Square mixed-use development in Monterey Park, California, the concrete contractor is taking the uncommon route of shotcreting the walls to realize added efficiency.

Up Against a Wall

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Up Against a Wall

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Unbelievable SizeThe Atlantic Times Square is under

construction in the heart of Monterey Park. Residents and visitors will soon enjoy the convenience of the first mixed-use devel-opment in the San Gabriel Valley.

Developer Kam Sang Company, Inc. of Arcadia, California, has specifically designed the huge complex to satisfy the need for retail and residential in one place. Inspired by Times Square in New York City, the center stretches a full city block, located at the corner of Atlantic Boulevard and Hellman Avenue, adjacent to the I-10 San Bernardino Freeway.

Offering over 230,000 square feet (21,368 m²) of retail and entertainment space, the complex will be anchored by a 14-screen AMC Theater Cineplex and 24 Hour Fitness, as well as including a mix of national and local businesses. The enclosed community also integrates 210 luxury condominiums and parking for 1,640 vehicles.

The magnitude of the job site is dif-ficult to comprehend. With three levels below grade and six levels above, it is about the size of six football fields. Therefore, the sheer volume of con-crete to be pumped, in addition to the incredible number of walls to shotcrete, underscores the importance of reliable, high performance pumping equipment to meet an important completion date.

Unusual TechniqueTraditionally, concrete walls are con-

structed of block (CMU) or poured-in-place. However, for this project, the contractor is taking a rather unusual tactic and is instead using shotcrete to construct the interior and exterior walls. The technique is significant-ly improving efficiency to meet the demanding deadline.

“If there’s a wall to be done on this major job, we’re shooting it with shot-crete,” says owner Joe Able of Global. “The speed of shotcreting allows con-tractors to push jobs forward faster than other alternatives. Plus, the setup process is ‘green-friendly’ because only half the wooden forms are needed and can be reused several times over.”

For this particular job, poured-in-place walls would have been the typical choice, consisting of a rebar core, using two braced wooden forms and then pouring concrete in place from the top. How-ever, with the shotcrete process, wooden forms are set on only one side of the wall instead of two and formed all the way

to the top instead of in stages; the same amount of rebar is used. This process reduces labor costs and cuts the amount of material required almost in half. Plus, precious space on the job site is saved, as the crew works from only one side of the wall—an important benefit on the extremely congested construction site.

To meet a time-sensitive construction schedule, the concrete contractor is relying on the high outputs of Putzmeister boom pumps for faster concrete placement of the slab work.

With the ‘green-friendly’ shotcrete process, forms are set on only one side of the wall; the nozzleman shoots shotcrete into the open side; the crew hand-finishes the exposed side; and then the forms are pulled and reused to set the next wall on this particular job.


Up Against a Wall

CONCRETE PUMPING ■ FALL 2008 ■ 25

Once the forms are set, the nozzle-man shoots shotcrete into the open side of the forms. Then, the crew hand-fin-ishes the exposed side, the forms are pulled and are then reused to set the next wall.

“It’s just so much faster to shotcrete the walls, and there are plenty of them to shoot on this major project,” says Vasquez. “There are the structural exte-rior walls around the perimeter of the 330,000 square foot (30,658 m²) com-plex; plus all the interior walls, which include three levels of underground parking, a retail level and five residen-tial floors.”

Vasquez adds, “Global is doing a great job while paying attention to all the details.”

Shooting 80 to 130 cubic yards (60 to 100 m³) of shotcrete during an aver-age eight- to 10-hour day, Global is on

the job site about twice a week using their trailer pump with special shot-creting features. The pump has plenty of power, as it is capable of outputs up to 54 cubic yards an hour (41m³/hr) and maximum pressures to 1,450 psi (100 bar). Therefore, it can pump the 5,000-psi mix, which features a low water-to-cementitious material ratio for a shortened curing time and reduced shrinkage. Because of the unit’s shot-creting capabilities, Global has two of the same model in its fleet.

Gaining Popularity Although shotcreting is not the norm

for placing commercial walls in southern California, Global has handled various jobs in this manner before. However, the prominent Atlantic Times Square is their largest single project to date utilizing the distinctive approach; and consequently, it should ultimately help the method gain wider acceptance.

Able started his shotcrete business three years ago, initially renting equip-ment and then buying two trailer pumps.

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Up Against a Wall

26 ■ FALL 2008 ■ CONCRETE PUMPING

He says, “Although shotcrete is only a small per-centage of our industry today, our company has been experiencing explosive growth. The popular-ity of shotcreting is definitely catching on with contractors, as they are finding it an attractive alternative in saving time and money.”

Able does note that “although the growth of shot-creting offers our business a great opportunity, it is extremely hard work and each day brings unex-pected challenges to tackle.”

Cranking It OutWhile the walls are getting the shotcrete treat-

ment, the footings, columns and slabs are being pumped with concrete. Fleming Concrete Pumping (Fleming), reliably serving southern California since 1997, has been on the job with almost every boom pump size in the company’s expansive fleet, ranging up to 63Z-meters.

Due to the especially crowded job site conditions, setup of the boom pumps often takes place in the street or in specific areas on the job site, which are far from the point of concrete placement. Therefore, the longer reach of the 63Z-meter is favored for extending its boom 203 feet 9 inches (62.10 m) vertically and 190 feet 7 inches (58.09 m) horizon-tally to access the pours. Plus, all the boom pump models, whether with a .16H or .20H pump cell, can deliver the high concrete volumes the contrac-tor demands.

“For the decks, we’re pumping around 190 cubic yards an hour (145 m³/hr) with the .16H pump cell,” says Alan Fleming, co-owner of Fleming. This is providing the contractor with the high outputs required, as it is just shy of the pump cell’s maxi-mum 210 cubic yards an hour (160 m³/hr) output.

“Our minimum pour is 22,000 square feet (2,044 m²) using about 900 cubic yards (688 m³) of concrete so we need high volume pumps to place the concrete quickly,” says Vasquez. “It ultimately saves us a tremendous number of man hours.”

“Fleming and their boom pumps are doing an absolutely outstanding job,” adds Vasquez. “Plus, we haven’t had a single problem with their equipment so we don’t need to request a backup pump.”

To meet a fast-paced project completion, over 65,000 total cubic yards (50,000 m³) of concrete will be pumped and about 4,000 total cubic yards (3,058 m³) of shotcrete placed while utilizing the advanced technology of today’s pumping equip-ment to handle the job at high speed. ❏

SPECS Developer: Kam Sang Company, Inc.—Arcadia, California Project Architects: F+A Architects—Pasadena, California General Contractor: Pan Construction, Inc.— Rosemead, CaliforniaConcrete Contractor: CS Concrete Solutions, Inc.— Mission Viejo, California Ready Mix Supplier: Cemex— Los Angeles and Azusa, California Shotcrete Contractor: Global Shotcrete, Inc.— Ventura and Rosemead, California Concrete Pumping Contractor: Fleming Concrete Pumping, Inc. —Santa Ana, California Equipment: Two Putzmeister Thom-Katt® TK 50HP trailer- mounted pumps; various Putzmeister truck-mounted concrete boom pumps up to 63Z-meters

Above: The Thom-Katt® TK 50HP trailer pump is on the job site twice a week, efficiently shooting 80 to 130 cubic yards (60–100 m³) of shotcrete during an average eight- to 10-hour day.

Below: The extremely congested job site requires long reaching boom pumps such as the 63Z-meter to access the concrete pours.


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