CFA Project of the Year Awards

by Kimberly Hegeman
Created: July 1, 2009

Winners of the CFA 2009 Project of the Year Awards for single family, above grade concrete home and commercial/multi-family projects include Ekedal Concrete, Bartley Corporation and Action Concrete Contractors.

At the Assael Residence, Ekedal Concrete sandwiched the waterproofing membrane in between concrete slabs to prevent rebar from puncturing it.
At the Assael Residence, Ekedal Concrete sandwiched the waterproofing membrane in between concrete slabs to prevent rebar from puncturing it.
Ekedal Concrete's winning Villa Del Lago project featured 60 corners and angles as well as a structural deck above the foundation.
Ekedal Concrete's winning Villa Del Lago project featured 60 corners and angles as well as a structural deck above the foundation.
Bartley Corp. created a suspended half-moon staircase that was mostly supported by the top landing and steel reaching from the patio to the back of the residence.
Bartley Corp. created a suspended half-moon staircase that was mostly supported by the top landing and steel reaching from the patio to the back of the residence.
Action Concrete Contractors used four different forming systems for the walls, elevated columns and slabs of this dormitory addition.
Action Concrete Contractors used four different forming systems for the walls, elevated columns and slabs of this dormitory addition.

The double, half-moon-shaped suspended staircase was formed with a curve to minimize an obstructed view from the lower level of the house, says Project Manager Ron Mack. This was a new challenge for the company. The suspended nature did not allow Bartley many options for reinforcement. "The top landing is actually bordered by the patio and the steel goes into the patio and all the way back into the building like a cantilever," Mack says. "The building itself is holding the staircase up."

Another challenge was the arched windows and doors within curved walls. Although Bartley had done radius walls before, the windows were formed with square blocks. To create the arched windows, Bartley shaped Styrofoam into an arched radius and placed it into the forms, Mack says.

Action Concrete Contractors

Commercial/Multi-Family
Action Concrete Contractors' addition to an existing 4-story Rhodes Hall Annex dormitory at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C., was a large, seven month project. The cast-in-place walls and foundation totaled 32,000 square feet with 1,852 yards of concrete containing 25 percent fly ash. The elevated slabs also contained 16- to 18-inch drop beams for structural purposes. Action Concrete also poured a detailed staircase with two architectural concrete beams that cantilevered out of the wall, says Vice President Dustin Pelletier.

Forming this project was the most difficult challenge, Pelletier says. Action Concrete used four different forming systems. For the walls on grade, the company was able to use typical aluminum forms. For the elevated columns they used a Gates Column Form System, which allowed them a faster turn around. "It allowed us to set the rebar, lower the gang form system over the rebar and pour right away," Pelletier says.

For the structural elevated flat slabs, Action Concrete used its PERI SkyDeck system which didn't require shoring and saved on labor. But the slabs with drop beams required a different system. Here they used a PERI Multiflex form system, Pelletier says. "Using the combination of these two different form systems for the slabs, we were able to utilize the benefits of each to make it work," Pelletier says.

Space was another issue, requiring Action Concrete to use its mobile tower crane to move all materials and equipment on the jobsite. And because they were working on an open campus, the company had restrictions on the times it could work as well.

Pelletier says that detailed planning both before and during the project was the key to it running smoothly.