Concrete contractors work in many different markets, each of which has its own demands and jobsite conditions. Short Cuts, a concrete cutting, drilling and demolition company in Beachwood, N.J., recently completed a cutting job for an electronics retail store in Wayne, N.J., that posed certain jobsite conditions such as a short timeline and indoor air quality requirements. Hard work and some equipment adaptations helped the company complete the job on time and safely.
The store was rearranging its center island displays requiring the electrical conduits be moved with the center islands. Short Cuts had to remove parts of the existing concrete floor and then patch it back up all in one night, explains Paul Rudd, Short Cuts' president. "In retail, everything has to be done very fast because their sales can turn out lower for that week if the job goes on for too long," Rudd explains.
Short Cuts performed its work at night when there were no customers, but the company still had to prevent any dust and slurry from spreading throughout the store and into the electronics equipment. To do this, Short Cuts erected a plastic sheeting barrier around the work area, Rudd says.
Regulations for indoor work limit the amount of carbon monoxide emissions equipment can emit. To help solve the issue, Rudd and his crew used three propane-powered walk-behind concrete saws. With the extra plastic sheeting around the work area, Rudd wanted to make sure his crew was staying safe, so he added Bartell Morrison's Ultra Low Emission (ULE) Exhaust Systems to his saws.
"The installation took about five minutes for each muffler," Rudd says. "We just popped the existing mufflers off and put the new ones on."
This system can reduce up to 99 percent of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide. They also eliminated the need for fans on the jobsite, Rudd adds.
ULE Exhaust Systems will make small gas engines 4.5 to 35 hp virtually emissions free. They can be installed on any rotary, spark or compression engine running on gasoline, propane, natural gas, diesel or bio-diesel to reduce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides.
With the new mufflers in place Short Cuts was ready to go. Prior to the start of the cutting, another company - DCM Contractors - came in to tear up the floor tile. A scanning company then came in to locate the existing electrical conduits and mark the floor where Short Cuts would need to cut.
Short Cuts arrived at 9 p.m. to set up all its equipment before starting the work. With the floors marked, Rudd and his crew cut up the concrete using one push and two self-propelled saws. After laborers removed the cut concrete, the electrical conduits were put in place. Short Cuts followed right behind, pouring a Quikrete non-shrinking grout to replace the concrete.
"When concrete dries it may dry faster in some areas. The non-shrinking grout dries at the same time and does not shrink," Rudd says. He mixed the grout on site with an electric portable mixer and troweled it on just like concrete.
Short Cuts' six-member crew was able to complete the 300 linear feet of cutting and replacing within seven hours. And Rudd has since added the Bartell ULE to all of his concrete cutting saws to help keep the working environment safer for all his crew members.
