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On Solid Ground

Concrete Flatwork

Crews with Ivan Rice & Sons completed a 60,000-square-foot pour in one day with help from its Somero laser screed. Special planning with the concrete producer helped the concrete flow smoothly all day, but owner Randy Rice says, "We couldn't have done a job of that size in one day without the laser screed."

Ivan Rice & Sons recently completed a 60,000-square-foot storage warehouse. The project will be finished off with Prosoco Consolideck LS, a liquid sealer, hardener and densifier that will add shine to the floor over time with traffic, prevent concrete dusting and add strength to the floor.

Ivan Rice & Sons' first superflat job included 160,000 square feet of superflat and 80,000 square feet of random traffic areas. Randy Rice says superflat floors are a "whole different game" compared to the usual commercial flooring his company performs. "Everything is more detailed on a superflat job, and everyone on the job has to pay close attention to the work," he explains. "It's a labor intensive process."

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By Rebecca Wasieleski

Crews with Ivan Rice & Sons typically see daily pours in the range of 20,000 to 30,000 square feet. But things got a little heated on the jobsite recently when owner Randy Rice decided to push his employees to complete a 60,000 square foot pour in one day. "A pour like this needs to be coordinated right to the finest detail," Rice says. "Coordination starts with making sure you are ready to pour - you have the proper amount of ready mix based on yards per hour and you have enough people and equipment on hand."

The Ivan Rice & Sons crews had been working on a 7-inch-thick slab at a 250,000-square-foot manufacturing and warehouse facility for a few days, going about with their average pours. A few things came together toward the end of the project, however, that led Rice to push his crews to finish up the job's remaining 60,000 square feet in one shot. First, his second crew was coming off another job so those men were available for the large pour. Second, time deadlines for the job were starting to tighten and Rice was feeling pressure to finish the slab as soon as possible.

The Ivan Rice & Sons supervisors coordinated with the concrete supplier to haul concrete from two plants to ensure they had the 150 to 170 yards an hour they needed to keep things rolling. They started the pour at 4 a.m. Rice had about 10 guys finishing the slab, and saw cutting started by 2 p.m. Crews were heading home by 8 p.m.

Rice had his second laser screed on the job as backup, knowing this piece of equipment was key to attaining this sort of productivity. "We couldn't have done a job of that size in one day without the laser screed - it saves a lot on labor," he says. "It probably would have taken us three days to lay that amount of concrete without it."

Despite the long hours and need for acute planning, Rice says more pours like this may be in his company's future. "With the lead people and employees I have, I would not hesitate to make pours of this size again," Rice says. "The pour could not have gone any better."

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