Cell-Crete Corporation

In Portland, OR, reservoirs that have served the city for over 127 years are being replaced with a new 12.4-million gallon, seismically reinforced underground reservoir. When completed, this project will supply water to more than 360,000 people, 20 schools, five hospital complexes, and more than 60 parks. The reservoir is being engineered to withstand future seismic activity, as well as movement from an ancient landslide on site.

13,434 CY of Permeable Lightweight Cellular Concrete (PLCC) is being placed to create the perimeter of the new seismically reinforced underground reservoir. PLCC was used for this project because of the material’s strength and open-cell structure. The project required a mechanically stabilized earth wall backfill strong enough to hold the 12.4-million gallon reservoir to ensure a healthy, resilient, and secure water system. The unique design of the reservoir, featuring a reflection pool on top of the structure, also required the material used to filter water. The pour was completed in 17 total lifts, with a 24” recirculation water line, 4” compressed air and 2” waterline placed in between lifts.

The original design of the MSE wall included geofoam as the proposed backfill material. The project team soon realized that geofoam caused buoyancy and drainage issues. We helped the team make the switch to LCC to achieve their project goals.

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A new Alaskan Way corridor in Downtown Seattle will feature improvements for general-purpose traffic, transit, freight, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. The project will also construct a pedestrian promenade, a continuous public open space that facilitates pedestrian movement to and along the waterfront located west of the roadway from S. Washington to Pine Street.

A combination of Class II Permeable LCC (open cell) and Class IV Conventional LCC (closed cell) was used as backfill for a retaining wall to extend Elliot Way. Preparation included excavation, shoring, and installation of ground anchors. With LCC, it is easy to pour around the ground anchors and maintain straight alignment of anchors. We placed open cell LCC first, serving as a majority of the backfill material that was directly underneath a sidewalk and cycle track. Water coming from an adjacent dirt embankment will be able to drain through the open cell LCC, mirroring the natural flow of water through soil. 2’ of closed cell LCC was required for placement underneath roadways because of its strength and ability to withstand the expected weight of traffic.

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As part of LAX’s Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP) all rental car operations spread across the surrounding area will be consolidated into one location. The new facility will feature a Quick Turn Around (QTA) area for maintenance of vehicles, alleviating traffic congestion by keeping operations within the facilities footprint. LAX expects this facility to provide a better rental car experience for travelers.

We are sloping to drain using Lightweight Insulating Concrete which keeps the weight of the topping slab to a fraction of what regular concrete would be. After we install the Lightweight Insulating Concrete, we will begin installing the Cement Board with the use of Thinset Mortar over the top of our lightweight system. The cover board acts as a protection layer that allows installation of a waterproofing system over the top of our lightweight insulating concrete. After this installation is complete, 4” finished regular concrete topping slab will be placed.

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Fig + Pico Conference Center Hotels

A new mixed-use development in Los Angeles, near the Convention Center in Downtown LA will feature new hotels and amenities such as sky lobbies, rooftop pool deck and outdoor common areas. Following the installation of pipes in the basement of one of the buildings, the floor needed to be raised with cellular concrete.

Lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) was preferred over traditional fill materials, such as sand, to fill the basement floor. The pour site was a restricted area not easily accessible, which would have been an obstacle for traditional fill. Unlike other fill materials that require trucks to unload, cellular concrete can be pumped through a hose to the point of placement even in difficult to reach areas. The installation of pipes made the fill site another obstacle for traditional fill, but cellular concrete easily flows to surround the pipes. Approximately 1,900 CY of LCC was poured in this basement backfill to raise the floor 3ft. In the end, the project was finished faster with LCC because we eliminated the need for isolation of the area and compaction of the material required by other fills.

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Mission Rock

A new waterfront neighborhood is coming to San Francisco, CA across from the AT&T Stadium. The location of this development site poses unique engineering challenges, one of the most pressing issues is protecting the site against Sea Level Rise (SLR). The proposed design needs to meet the recommended elevations of the ResilientSF plan, the City of San Francisco’s strategic plan to improve construction standards and strengthen the community.

The first phase of this project requires building lightweight cellular concrete (LCC) gravity walls along the perimeter of our pour site. Cellular concrete gravity walls were incorporated in the design to help construction crews work simultaneously without conflict and prevent schedule delays. The LCC gravity retaining walls will resist lateral pressure produced by heavy equipment and materials on adjacent pads, allowing for safe excavation and construction of utilities in the streets.

In the second phase, lightweight cellular concrete backfill will raise grade elevation of the streets and limit consolidation settlement. We poured 27 and 30 PCF LCC to raise the site 5 ½ ft. If the site were raised by placing traditional soil fill, then the weight would cause predicted settlement of up to 22 inches. The result would be non-functioning infrastructure, including slopes in paving, poor drainage and damage to underground utilities. Cellular concrete was also chosen because it meets all the required performance goals required for the projects backfill material: high bearing capacity of heavy loads, excavatable for utility maintenance and favorable earthquake performance.

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Oyster Point

In San Francisco, CA, 81 acres of bayfront area is being transformed into a mixed-use development. The location of the project required designs to protect against expected future sea level rise through the year 2050 and beyond. The project’s civil engineers provided design criteria for the necessary grading and development of the site.

Improvements at Oyster Point include raising the development site with Permeable Lightweight Cellular Concrete (PLCC) for future sea level rise. PLCC, also known as open-cell cellular concrete will be placed to raise the entire waterfront by 6ft, approximately 27,050 cubic yards in total. PLCC will be used to reduce buoyancy. Conventional fill will be placed on top to provide for local vegetation and appearance.

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Seattle Tunnel

The first phase of this tunnel project in Downtown Seattle began in 2019 with the demolition of a viaduct. Rubble from this demolished structure was then used to fill the tunnel’s first 7 feet in height. New utility lines for electrical infrastructure were also added. Once this portion was completed, the final phase of construction commenced in 2020. This process includes topping off and sealing the rest of the tunnel with lightweight cellular concrete (LCC).

Phase II of this tunnel fill is now in progress. Starting from the north end of the tunnel at Denny Way, Cell-Crete is pouring LCC through various holes cut along the street and pumping the material to fill the remaining gap, which is a height of about 9 feet. LCC is being mixed on site and will include approximately 40,000 cubic yards (CY) in total. Because of LCC’s lightweight property, it helps protect the utilities underneath it from excess weight. Other benefits include the ability to easily cut or dig through the material for future utility work and the elimination of the 15 truck loads that traditional fill would have required.

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Chapman Fowler School of Engineering

The parking garage of Chapman Fowler School of Engineering met building codes by contracting our fireproofing services. All of our products meet and exceed required testing standards. Our teams mask and protect all work areas, as well as clean-up any messes to leave the area clean.

We used Monokote Z-146, a high density cementitious fireproofing solution. This product can be spray applied directly to structural steel beams and columns. Monokote Z-146 physical characteristics of being extremely durable and resistant to environmental or climatic conditions makes it an excellent choice for parking garages. We hand troweled after spraying to achieve an attractive finish.

LAX Taxiway P

This project involves constructing a new 3,600-foot long taxiway that would provide an unimpeded connection between the north and south airfields and access to the upcoming Midfield Satellite Concourse. Adding Taxiway P will satisfy the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plan to help manage aircraft flow and mitigate airfield congestion, which would also improve taxi-time delays at LAX. Part of this project includes filling in the void space underneath a tunnel to essentially convert the bridge into an embankment.

Cell-Crete is providing the material as an alternate to CLSM (controlled low strength material) and backfilling underneath the bottom slab of the existing bridge. Due to our material’s flowable and workable nature, it’s easier to pump and covers more distance. We have the ability to quickly set up and remove our equipment from the job site. Our low-density cellular concrete mix requires fewer cement truck deliveries and material than traditional fill, resulting in savings in cost and time. Another added benefit is that since it does not need compaction, the material will not compress over time, which helps reduce the lateral load against the existing abutment.

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Bay 37 – Alameda Point

New buildings are being constructed along with a variety of amenities for residents including picnic areas, a playground, a public dock, walking paths and more in Alameda, CA. Evaluation results of the proposed buildings concluded that the estimated total and differential settlements were excessive for the planned structures and settlement mitigation techniques be sought out.

Lightweight cellular concrete was a proposed solution to reduce the long-term consolidation settlement of the site. The lightweight fill was placed underneath multiple building pads and streets to provide load balance for the soil. Before pouring the soil was excavated, then 8’ of LCC was poured in 3 lifts. Utilities were installed prior to the pour and in between the placement of each cellular concrete lift.

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