Technical

Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist The Voice Newsletter September 2023 Question:  We were recently awarded the subcontract for a reinforced concrete high-rise tower that features 3-ft thick shear walls with moderate to heavy reinforcing steel congestion. The shear walls in some sectors are up to 4-ft thick. This upcoming project has a fast-track schedule, the so-called "3-d...

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Mike Hernandez, Technical Director The Voice Newsletter September 2023 Several years ago, climate change and sustainability were not something the concrete construction community would hear much about. Now action on sustainability is increasing all around us, which translates to less cement in concrete and more supplemental cementitious materials. In the last few years, the following has occurr...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist The Voice Newsletter August 2023 Question: We are building an addition onto a small commercial steel building.  The vertical supports for the elevated work consist of relatively light structural steel columns that sit on concrete footings, each with footing dimensions 2 ft long by 18 inches wide by 12 inches deep. Our submitted mix design is 30...

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Mike Hernandez, Technical Director The Voice Newsletter August 2023 There are various new and developing technologies on the market that are of use to concrete contractors. ASCC technical staff and Associate Members can assist you with many of them. Members can also ask for feedback from the general membership in the ASCC Forum. Total Station The most accessible technology may be to inves...

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July 10, 2023 – The American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC), St. Louis, has published its first ALERT!, a new bulletin to apprise members of issues and developments in the concrete construction industry. The first ALERT! covers Portland-Limestone Cement Concrete. “ALERT! bulletins will be published as needed to provide timely notice of unusual, challenging, and sometimes comple...

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May 22, 2023 – The American Society of Concrete Contractors (ASCC) announced that Bruce Suprenant, P.E., PhD., FACI, and Bev Garnant, HACI, have been retained to develop and manage the association’s sustainability initiative. Suprenant and Garnant are ASCC’s former technical director and executive director respectively.

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist The Voice Newsletter May 2023 Question:  We are building a post-tensioned (PT) concrete parking garage that features 3 levels below grade and 4 levels above street level. We bid the job to a General Contractor (GC) who in turn is working for a private developer. At bid time, the requirements for the quality of formwork and allowable deviations ...

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Mike Hernandez, Technical Director The Voice Newsletter May 2023 ASCC had a great Committee Week May 1st – 3rd in St. Louis both technically and socially. The Manufacturers Advisory Council discussed several issues including the need to bring new talent into the construction industry. We have an aging workforce and are losing people to retirement. Members encouraged one another to prov...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist The Voice Newsletter April 2023 Full Disclosure: Every once in a while, we field ASCC Hotline calls that appear straightforward at first but quickly elevate into interesting exercises in onion-peeling. In this case, it takes a little bit of wordsmithing to arrive at truth's upper floor and save our ASCC Hotline callers from making a mistake or t...

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Jim Klinger, Concrete Construction Specialist The Voice Newsletter March 2023 Full Disclosure: To recap our column that appeared in last month's ASCC VOICE newsletter (Feb. 2023, "Guidance for Concrete Contractors, #14 in a Series"): we introduced and explained issues related to the performance of the "new" ASTM C595 Type 1L portland-limestone cement, hereinafter referre...

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