The Situation
Two years ago, PACA was contacted by a representative from
The McKnight Group, a design/build firm located in Grove City, Ohio. The
company had been contracted by Parker Hill Church to construct an addition onto
the existing building at its Clarks Summit location and was interested in
pervious concrete.
As the company started to move forward with the project, they learned that the site had exceeded its impervious cover limit. PACA staff member, Ken Crank, met with representatives from The McKnight Group, the church, and local officials to explain pervious concrete and its benefits. He also provided sample ordinance language that could be used to modify the existing code and allow for the use of pervious concrete. Without this change the church addition could not have been built
“Attention to detail and a cooperative effort between the contractor and the concrete supplier are critical. The mix has to be properly designed and consistent from batch to batch. The supplier on this project, Masters Ready Mixed Concrete, did a great job working with us.”
The Solution
Along with the installation of pervious concrete, the
project also featured the use of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF’s). The
McKnight group has now started incorporating ICF’s into their project designs.
Mr. Ronald Zinn, Senior Project Architect for the McKnight Group noted “In the
case of the design for this project, ICF’s made tremendous sense. ICF
construction creates a building that is very energy efficient, while providing
excellent sound attenuation. Aspects of the building also possessed an EIFS
(Exterior Insulation Finishing System) exterior. The foam that comprised the
form portion of the ICF allowed us to minimize the prep involved prior to
applying the exterior finish”. “The walls of the project went up very quickly,
and we were pleased with the expertise exhibited by the concrete contractor,
Benedict Construction. We will definitely use ICF’s for future projects” he
stated.
The pervious concrete was installed by Magruder
Construction. The company’s pervious concrete division, out of Sanford,
Florida; has extensive experience placing the material. After spending several
hours on the job and talking with Magruder’s superintendent, Bruce Glaspey, it
is clear this is not his first rodeo. Having placed over 2 million square feet
of pervious concrete, this gentlemen brought tremendous insight with him.
“Attention to detail and a cooperative effort between the
contractor and the concrete supplier are critical. The mix has to be properly
designed and consistent from batch to batch” stated Glaspey. “The supplier on
this project, Masters Ready Mixed Concrete, did a great job working with us” he
noted.
Project Manager Ralph Redwine (The McKnight Group) stated
that there were several challenges with the placement of the pervious concrete.
Most notable was the slope that the parking area was constructed on. “Due to
the slope of the lot, a series of dams was constructed within the entire
parking area footprint. The dams provide breaks between paving sections and
direct the water downward, through the system”.
This installation is the first of its size in the area and
will allow architects and engineers in northeastern Pennsylvania to view
pervious concrete up close.
Concrete, It Just Makes Cents!
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