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The size and detail of this house created a highly visible job for Ekedal Concrete. "There were a lot of eyes on us," he says. "We had to make sure that on top of delivering the project to our client on time and under budget we had to ensure this massive project carried the Ekedal brand of perfection."

Bartley Corporation

Above Grade Concrete Home
Bartley Corporation's above-grade concrete home was not just a challenge because of its size - 29,000 square feet of walls and floors - but also because of a suspended concrete staircase. The project, the Mangum Residence Concrete House in Stevensville, Md., took Bartley nine months to complete and required 1,016 yards of concrete.

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.