Waiting for concrete to dry is time-consuming. It lengthens the overall work schedule to complete a job, and that costs money. Let’s take a closer look at a solution developed by U.S. Concrete, Inc.’s National Research Laboratory, USC Technologies, Inc.
WHAT IS THE SOLUTON?
The product is ARIDUS® Rapid Drying Concrete. It consumes the excess water and accelerates the drying time of concrete slabs, eliminating extended drying times and the need for costly and time-consuming topical products, such as epoxies, silicates, and cementitious overlays. As a result, ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete not only prevents moisture-related floor covering failures, but also allows contractors to reduce construction schedules and costs.
WHY WAS IT DEVELOPED?
ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete was developed and patented by U.S. Concrete’s National Research Laboratory, USC Technologies, Inc., to address changes in environmental government regulations that limit or restrict Vapor Organic Compounds (VOCs) in flooring adhesives. While these formulations can reduce the environmental impact of new flooring installations, the new adhesives are less durable and more susceptible to moisture-related issues. As a result, contractors have been forced to combat the problems by adding sealers or lengthening the drying time of the concrete, in hopes of reducing the risk of liabilities associated with the failures of floor coverings. In addition, these remedies increase the construction time and costs associated with the projects.
WHAT DOES THE SOLUTION PROVIDE?
In addition to drying quickly, ARIDUS offers other benefits for the slab and the construction project overall. Because of its drying process, the slab will have extremely low curl and a significant reduction in shrinkage. High early strength should be expected to be 5,000 psi in 3 days, allowing the slab to be used and construction to continue quickly. ARIDUS is a high-performance concrete that not only provides the highest quality slab, but also speeds the construction timeline. A reduced timeline will save the contractor money and allow the owner to benefit financially on an accelerated opening. ARIDUS also provides a unique advantage to fight sick building syndrome and other air quality issues by eliminating the moisture in concrete slabs. ARIDUS protects against vapor emissions that lead to mold and mildews. This is critical for hospitals, schools, and office buildings.
REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES
Cymbaluk Medical Tower
Mortenson Construction, Inc.’s $300 million Cymbaluk Medical Tower at the Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Washington, was on track for project success, except for one issue: time. In order to meet its critical path schedule and the client’s accelerated deadline, the contractor needed to quickly place and finish slabs, and get the flooring down in several patient-critical spaces.
With 5 decades of experience at the nation’s finest healthcare facilities, Mortenson had learned to leave nothing to chance. When ARIDUS was presented to them, they recognized this as the solution they needed.
The risk of future flooring failure is not an option for critical care and patient areas, which can cost a contractor tens of thousands of dollars when shut down. ARIDUS not only dries much faster than traditional concrete, its unique system of moisture elimination within the concrete means the unacceptable risk of a future flooring failure is reduced as well.
On the job, ARIDUS smoothly pumped 300 feet to the 10th floor of the project. The two main ARIDUS pours totaling approximately 16,000 square feet reached the required relative humidity (RH) levels in a remarkable 19 days and 21 days, respectively, allowing flooring to be applied much earlier than expected. These exceptional results aided Mortenson in gaining valuable time in the project schedule.
The original project scope had included using an epoxy based vapor control topping on these schedule driven pours. At the end of the project, Mortenson found they had not only saved a considerable amount of time and risk, but the ARIDUS solution cost less than the epoxy toppings.
Billy Earl Dade Middle School
The original construction schedule for the Billy Earl Dade Middle School was 14 months, risking failure to meet the school’s August 26, 2013, opening date. Working closely with the general contractor Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc., and joint venture architects Kell Muñoz and KAI Texas, the construction team selected ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete to shorten the construction schedule. The use of ARIDUS cut the construction schedule by 30 percent (from 14 months to 10 months) and resulted in similar reductions in construction overhead costs.
“We have seen, first-hand, projects negatively impacted by the changes in adhesives and the resulting emulsification. ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete not only prevents moisture-related floor covering failures, but it significantly reduced the construction schedule for this project,” says architect Randy Barnett with KAI Texas.
“Within 21 days, we were able to achieve the acceptable standard of measures to start receiving the floor. This was phenomenal. It typically takes anywhere between 4 to 6 months, even as much as 8 months, to get below 80 percent relative humidity inside standard concrete,” says Jim Hagemann, construction manager at Satterfield & Pontikes.
Charles Schwab Campus
The new Charles Schwab campus in Lone Tree, Colorado, was under a tight timeline to get its retail building open on schedule, and without enough time for a secondary moisture mitigation application, they turned to ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete.
Mortenson Construction placed 20,000 square feet of ARIDUS on metal decking with varying thickness of 4 to 6 inches. ARIDUS achieved a relative humidity of 78 percent, per ASTM F2170, insuring speed to market. The concrete reached 5,400 psi within 3 days, allowing Mortenson to use the slab for machinery and storage, cutting even more time and resources from the project. “Using ARIDUS will eliminate the need to cover our floors with a topping compound before installing our floor coverings. This will save us and other contractors thousands and thousands of dollars,” says Mike Lewis, concrete superintendent at Mortenson Construction. ■
For More Information: For more information about ARIDUS Rapid Drying Concrete, visit ARIDUSconcrete.com.
_________________________________________________________________________
Modern Contractor Solutions, August 2015
Did you enjoy this article?
Subscribe to the FREE Digital Edition of Modern Contractor Solutions magazine.
BUTTON_ClickHere