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market Consolidating the

Self-compacting concrete finding expanded role on job sites

BY DAVID KENNEDY

Permeating to the far corners of formwork, through dense networks of rebar, all with little or no vibration, self-consolidating concrete has carved out a considerable niche on job sites over the past two decades. With origins in the ‘80s, it was firmly established in the Canadian market by the early 2000s.

But like the highly fluid product, it has not stopped expanding beyond its traditional place in the industry.

Easy to use, flowable, nearly self-finishing and often requiring a smaller crew to pour than general use concrete, self-consolidating concrete (SCC), also known as self-compacting concrete, is expected to see strong growth on a broad range of projects in the years ahead.

It is all about streamlining the process, says Pierre Courchesne, product line manager for Concrete Restoration Systems in Canada at Mapei. “Anything you can make simpler for the contractor is usually well accepted by the industry,” he says.

“You need to vibrate regular concrete with a vibrator, whereas you could vibrate the self-compacting concrete, but outside

Self-consolidating concrete is particularly popular for columns or other rebar-heavy elements.

of the form,” Courchesne says. “You just vibrate the form to ensure you’re getting rid of air, rather than placing it.” In many cases, no mechanical vibration is required at all, he notes.

To put growth in the market in perspective, Courchesne says Mapei saw a double-digit increase in SCC last year, and is expecting a similarly strong performance in 2021.

On the ready-mix side, Lehigh Hanson is also seeing an uptick in demand, particularly in the residential segment.

“The market has been more mature on the commercial side in high-rise construction for columns, core and shear walls, architectural finished applications, and slabs,” says Lori Tiefenthaler, senior director of marketing for the ready-mix firm. “In more populated areas, there is often more demand as a result of developers focused on maximizing floor space in high rise construction which means more structural concrete and dense reinforced elements.”

This growing demand for smaller, densely-reinforced columns translates to the need for more highly flowable SCC.

Architectural finishes, where concrete is exposed, is another part of the market seeing growth.

“When natural concrete surfaces are exposed, they take CO2 from the air and contribute to the sustainability of a project over its lifetime,” Tiefenthaler says. “As sustainability measurement becomes advanced, it’s easier to account for these types of benefits to our environment, thus these surfaces are becoming increasingly more popular.”

Lehigh, a subsidiary of HeidelbergCement, offers the SSC under the High Flow and EZ Floor brands across six provinces.

The pandemic, which has limited the number of workers on-site, has also added to demand.

“With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are seeing increased use in the residential market on slabs since the product finishes better, requires fewer labors, shortens concrete truck time and finishing crews can complete more slabs per day,” Tiefenthaler says.

Even when job sites put the pandemic behind them, Courchesne says, high labour costs, as well as a shortage of experienced workers in many parts of the country, make SCC attractive for contractors, despite the higher cost than the general use product.

“If you don’t have to finish the concrete, well obviously, you’re cutting down on labour that’s $60 to $65 an hour,” he says.

While finishing becomes less of a concern with SCC, formwork often requires extra attention. SCC’s high flowability means testing for leaks needs to be more of a priority, though crews can be confident when they remove the form, the concrete will have spread entirely throughout it.

For Mapei, which offers its Planitop 11 SCC in bags, structural repairs on jobs with congested reinforcing steel are the main focus.

“You would have a column, for example, that has been damaged by deicing salts and fluorides and so on and it’s degrading,” Courchesne says. “You’ll take away all of the unsound concrete, expose the steel, clean the steel, do your surface prep as prescribed by the International Concrete Restoration Institute (ICRI) and then form it up and basically pour your self-consolidating concrete into the form.”

To prolong the life of the concrete and rebar next time around, Mapei’s product includes a corrosion inhibitor. Contractors taking on rehab projects on parking structures are likely top users of the product. Still, Courchesne says the applications run the gamut, with both interior and exterior uses ranging from small to larger projects, such as underground work on the Montreal subway. Being bagged, the product is most often used on sites where space is limited and simply pulling in a ready-mix truck is not an option.

Mapei’s SCC is often put to use on repair projects in parking structures.

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A DIFFERENT

KIND OF SHOW

Waiting for the doors to open at World of Concrete 2021 will likely look a little different than at the 2020 event. The annual show will go on this June in Las Vegas, having been postponed a handful of months due to the pandemic. With borders closed and the construction season starting in full swing, however, Canadian attendance this year is likely to be sparser. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of new equipment to watch in the concrete market. We’ve rounded up some of the key products to watch

WORLD OF CONCRETE 2021

Where: Las Vegas, Nevada Venue: Las Vegas Convention

Center

Exhibits: June 8-10

AQUAJET

Exerting an impressive 1,000 newtons of reaction force – four times the power of a hand lance – Aquajet’s Ergo System gives contractors a powerful new hydrodemolition tool. Designed for work on floors, walls and ceilings, it incorporates four main components: the Controller, the Ergo Power Head that manipulates the high pressure lance, and either the Spine or the Climber take on vertical concrete removal and repair.

BROKK

Electric-powered with a 10-foot reach, the Brokk 110 remote-controlled demolition machine is small enough to fit through standard doors and inside passenger elevators. It weighs in at 2,183 pounds and has a low floor load, meaning it can maneuver in otherwise inaccessible areas, such as stairwells or elevators. Designed for top-down demolition to interior strip-outs and selective concrete removal, a wide range of attachments are available, including breakers, crushers, grapples, rock drills and shears.

CURB ROLLER MANUFACTURING

For curb and gutter work ranging from 50 to 5,000 linear feet, the Curb Roller CM4000 helps eliminate back-breaking work and dramatically speed jobs compared to manual methods or face forming. A single-operator machine, the product lets contractors take on a broader scope of work without having to invest in larger, more expensive equipment. More than 25 pre-designed drum profiles are available, or customers can fit the unit with a custom drum made to their project’s specifications.

GOMACO

The new Xtreme GT-3600 curb and gutter machine will be on display once again at World of Concrete 2021. The Gomaco machine was the first three-track to slipform a 24-inch radius, and now, with the Xtreme package on board, tight radius paving is easier and more efficient than ever. Along with a broad range of added features, the Xtreme package adds G+ radius software with slew drives, smart-sensored hydraulics and intelligence to the Gomaco GT-3600.

LIGCHINE

Putting new features at the fingertips of concrete placing contractors, the Screedsaver Elite is the newest laser-guided screed machine from Ligchine. Features on the machine, launched last year, include a side-shift screed head for screeding around tough obstacles, a new chassis design, a larger fuel tank and a lower profile design for greater operator visibility. The heavy-duty boom sections that extend 18 feet to support the 12-foot-wide screed head also allow for more finished square footage per pass.

MAX

The patented and safety-equipped Twin-Tier platform of Max rebar tying tools, is the safest and fastest solutions for tying a huge range of rebar sizes and combinations. The company’s TwinTier tools replace the repetitive motion used in the process of manually tying rebar, replacing it with a mechanical solution that simplifies the process and prevents injuries.

MILLER FORMLESS

Designed for curb and gutter work, sidewalks, V-ditches and a range of other applications, Miller Formless manufactures the most compact, four-track curb and gutter machine. The M-1000 can be ordered as a left- or right-hand pour and can pour areas as tight as a 24-inch radius. The M-1000’s compact design and four-track steering allows for easy and quick turnarounds and maneuvering. It offers best-in-class operator visibility for monitoring all aspects of the pour process.

MINNICH MANUFACTURING

Lightweight, durable and available in a 15-amp (115-volt) version, the Stinger from Minnich Manufacturing offers a more compatible speed range for placement challenges on the job site. The versatile flex shaft concrete vibrator has a standard 14.5-pound double-insulated universal motor that drives a full line of Minnich shafts and heads. It also comes with a quick disconnect that adapts to the vibrators of many manufacturers.

PETTIBONE

Featuring an extendable, traversing boom that moves loads by traveling horizontally, the Traverse T944X Telehandler allows users to precisely and safely place loads at full lift height through tight openings without having to coordinate multiple boom functions. The new telehandler from Pettibone has a specified lift height of 44 feet, six inches, nearly identical to its landing height of 44 feet. It’s powered by a 74 hp Cummins QSF 3.8 Tier 4 Final diesel engine.

PUTZMEISTER

Having launched both new and upgraded products heading into 2021, Putzmeister is giving customers enhanced capabilities fully supported by its service and aftermarkets groups. It recently launched the 33-4-Meter Truck-Mounted Boom Pump, an enhanced CP 2110 City Pump, and two additional models in for its Sany offering: the 47- and 66-meter boom pumps.

QUIKRETE

Designed for repairing broken edges and corners on concrete steps and curbs, Quikrete’s Polymer Modified Structural Repair does not require forms. The rapid hardening, high strength, shrinkage compensated repair material that is formulated with special polymer resins that provide superior bond strength and allows the material to be molded, sculpted and shaped to match the contour of the surrounding concrete without sagging. It can be sculpted to match the contour or existing concrete surfaces.

SOMERO

The SRS-4 Laser Screed Machine, the newest innovation from Somero offers greater visibility, with no lower frame to give operators a full field of vision. The company’s lightest boomed laser screed yet, the 4,400-pound machine offers two-wheel, four-wheel and crab steering, and a hydraulic cylinder for head lowering, eliminating the wrenches. Convenience features include LED work lights, an optional seat and pressure washer. Among other areas, it’s designed with agriculture construction projects in mind.

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