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Project:
Extreme Home Makeover
Location:
Dundee, Wisconsin
Owner:
ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition
Concrete Producer:
Bend Ready-Mix
Architect/Contractor:
Monarch Homes (general)
Coello & Associates, Inc. (poured foundations/walls, floors)
Requirements:
Time-sensitive, viscous mix design
Products:
SUPERFLUX 2000 PC
CATEXOL A.E. 260
CATEXOL 2000 R.H.E.
Situation
If you've ever watched an episode of ABC's Extreme Makeover Home Edition, you know that everything on the show happens at an accelerated pace, as a new home is constructed in a seven-day time period.
When the show chose the Koepki family in Dundee, Wisconsin, little did AXIM's Technical Sales Rep for S.E. Wisconsin, Paul Piekarski, know that his company would indirectly make a contribution. His solid relationship with a customer, Bend Ready-Mix, led to an amazing opportunity for Piekarski and AXIM.
Challenge
Accelerated production schedule
Daunting logistics included providing a time-sensitive mix design from a plant 45 minutes away from the site
Night time pour
Avoiding cold joints
Solution
CATEXOL 2000 R.H.E.
Use two conveyors to place concrete
Onsite dosing station for AXIM Admixtures, to pinpoint concrete rheology and set times during placement
Axim polycarboxylate superplasticizer, SUPERFLUX 2000 PC
Highlights
Mike Coello and his crew began pouring the footing, calling for 20 yards, at 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 1. The foundation pour started exactly 5 hours later and it took 70 yards. The same mix design was used for the footings and the foundation walls. At this point the project was almost 2 hours ahead of schedule. At 9:30 the next morning they started pouring the basement and garage floors almost simultaneously. They took 27 and 13 yards, respectively. Total time for concrete footings and foundation was 10.5 hours.
According to Mark Larsen of Bend Ready-Mix, AXIM technology was a pivotal contributor throughout the entire project. "The preplanning, testing and logistics aspects of the job took about a month and AXIM was with us every step of the way. Our sales rep, Paul Piekarski, works very well with our QC Department, and often stands in for them when we are in a bind," commented Larsen.
Piekarski and AXIM's Dispenser Service Technician, Andy Pearson, set up the "onsite" dosing station and manned it for the entire job, which Larsen noted, turned out to be a key component for success. When they discovered that the mix would be too viscous for the wall forms, Piekarski suggested they use an AXIM polycarboxylate superplasticizer, SUPERFLUX 2000 PC, which provided the exact high early strength and finishability the job required. They also used an air-entrainer, CATEXOL A.E. 260 (footing and foundation concrete only), and added CATEXOL 2000 R.H.E. as an accelerator at the job site. Coello pointed out that AXIM's onsite admixture dosing station worked perfectly to allow for the best control during the placement process.
Comments
"We go back a long time, not only with Axim, but the Piekarski family. It was Paul's dad, Don, who was our rep before him. I believe our relationship goes back 20 years. If it wasn't for Axim and Paul's and Andy's tireless devotion to service and quality, an Extreme Home Makeover project wouldn't have been possible for us. And that's exactly why we stay with them.
— Mark Larsen, Bend Ready-Mix |
