Rooms-to-Go Distribution Center, Lakeland, Florida A Giant

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PROJECT PARTICIPANTS
Contractor: Seretta Construction,
Orlando, Fla.
Project Superintendent: Alfredo Garcia,
Orlando, Fla.
Project Manager: Andrew S. McPherson, Vice President, Orlando, Fla.
Owner/Developer: Seaman Development Corp., Duluth, Ga.
Ready-Mix Producer: RMC Ewell
Industries, Lakeland, Fla.
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Rooms-to-Go Distribution Center, Lakeland, Florida
The Rooms-to-Go concrete tilt-up project
faced a number of unique challenges due
to its size, the Florida heat, and a scarcity
of water. In addition, the project required
a crew of 60, working in all phases of
the concrete construction process—
placing foundations, forming and pouring slabs and panels, erecting panels, and
patching—all at one time. The more than
40 main slab placements consumed an
average of 600 yards of concrete per day,
6 days a week—a final total of more
than 38,000 cubic yards of concrete.
In the intense Florida heat, a steel
measuring tape tends to expand as the
day heats up, so intermediate control
points were set to maintain accuracy
in measurement of the slabs on grade
and panels.
During slab and paving placements,
the aggregate bins were being drained
daily. The volume of concrete being
placed each day left little time for the
ready-mix supplier to restock and properly wet down the aggregate. Having a
strong relationship with the ready-mix
supplier helped to minimize these problems. The building subbase was sand,
which created a challenge in maintaining
proper moisture content. The crew
hauled water long distances from the
building to wet cure the slab.
A high-speed transport lane, which
was placed 6 months after the original
slabs, began cracking at the load-transfer
dowels. This was a result of concrete
shrinkage in the new lane after shrinkage
in the main slab had long since ceased.
The contractor switched to a PNA diamond-plate dowel system, which allowed
for side-to-side movement of the newly
placed lane, thereby minimizing cracking.
The final building, 1,650,000 square
feet with 479 tilt-up panels, is more than
1.5 miles around.
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A Giant Undertaking
Publication #C02L028, Copyright © 2002 Hanley-Wood, LLC. All
rights reserved