New High-rise Project in San Jose

The Conco Companies are providing concrete services for One South Market, a new high-rise residential tower that is being constructed in downtown San Jose at the corner of Market and Santa Clara streets.  The project broke ground in June, 2013 and is scheduled to be completed next year.  The developer on the $135 million project is Essex Property Trust and the contractor is Balfour Beatty Construction. 

The 23-story mixed use redevelopment project will consist of 312 multi-family attached units and 6,000 square feet of commercial space on almost an acre of property.  The project is part of the Downtown Growth Area that is identified in the Envision San Jose 2040 General Plan.  Since San Jose has experienced a faster job growth than the national average in large part due to Silicon Valley, the city hopes that the new high-rise will attract more people to the downtown area.   

For Conco’s part, we once again had to come up with a creative way to fulfill one of our responsibilities on the project.  The task was to backfill 2,900 tons of crushed rock in a period of three 8-hour days and any delay in completing the job would impact the timeliness of future jobs on the project.

A jobsite is already a busy place so in order not to congest the site any further, Conco brought in its Direct Feed trailer, which allows a Superdump, Transfer, End Dump or 10-Wheeler to unload its contents directly into the hopper attached to the trailer.  This allowed us to feed material from the hopper onto one of Conco’s Telebelts.  From there, the Telebelt placed the material directly to the point of placement.

Using this system, we eliminated the need to stockpile material on the jobsite and did not have to handle it twice via a loader or bobcat.  The job was quicker and less labor intensive than using a loader since the material was discharged directly from the back of a truck.  Reliable Trucking provided the Super Dumps for the project and the job was completed well within the required timeframe.

Sources:

nbcbayarea.com/news/local/One-South-Market-High-Rise-Building-to-Change-San-Jose-Skyline-213004711.html

 

conco is a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States.  As one of the leading commercial concrete contractors in the Bay Area, we have been involved with large-scale projects in the area including the Mineta Airport.  Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects and highways.

 

 

Reinforced Concrete

 

The Conco Companies reinforcing division was established in 1989, and since then, we have grown to become one of the leading reinforcing steel and post-tension cable subcontractors in the Western U.S.  We own and operate two large, state-of-the-art rebar fabrication facilities in Benicia, CA and Rochester, WA.   Utilizing our extensive in-house services and resources, we offer the most advanced technologies including building informational modeling (BIM) to meet fabrication specifications and requirements.

Our plants are outfitted with modern shear lines, benders and post-tension cable manufacturing equipment to increase accuracy and productivity and meet the most exacting standards.  Furthermore since the fabrication process requires highly skilled workers, we train our employees on up-to-date technologies that make use of BIM and our advanced field fabrication tools such as a Bartec coupler system.

So why does a project require reinforced concrete?  Without reinforce concrete, many buildings and structures that are built today would not be possible.  The natural tendency of concrete is to be brittle and it can crack or break under high pressure or when faced with strong winds, earthquakes, and other forces.  When steel reinforced bars (rebar) are embedded into the concrete before it sets, it gives the concrete a higher tensile strength and ductility. 

Reinforced concrete is used in precast or cast-in-place concrete to construct slabs, walls, foundations, beams, and columns as well as other projects.  In most cases to achieve the maximum performance required for a specific construction project, concrete only requires a relatively low percentage of rebar.  A typical equation for a concrete beam is to add 1% rebar while a column may use up to 6% of embedded rebar.  By adding the rebar, it gives concrete the required strength, ductility and durability needed for the structure and is an economical way of doing it.  

When your project demands exceptional services and the best value, Conco can deliver.  We have been offering premium concrete services throughout the Western U.S. since 1959, and have four regional offices serving California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado. With state-of-the-art equipment and modern facilities, we work diligently to meet goals and stay within budget.

 

High-Quality, Professional Formwork

 

The Conco Companies’ wide range of services includes high-quality, professional formwork.  With our extensive background and expert workmanship, we can design and implement any type of concrete formwork to meet the most challenging job specifications and requirements.  Our numerous in-house resources mean we are fully capable of serving as a single source for all formwork from the design stage, to fabrication, to placement.  Furthermore we provide engineered shoring systems for any kind of concrete surfaces from unexposed to architectural.

To efficiently serve our customers throughout the Western U.S., Conco maintains a large material inventory and operates several complete fabrication facilities in California and Washington State.  Our in-house, experienced design teams are highly qualified to recommend the proper materials that will meet the requirements and expectations of your structure.  In addition, we see to it that all safety regulations are met. 

Even though formwork is a temporary structure that is designed to contain and to mold poured concrete as it hardens into shape, it is important to choose the right material.  The formwork must be strong enough to support its own weight and that of the workers and equipment used in the process as well as to control the concrete’s position and alignment.     

In the past, formwork was mainly constructed out of lumber but today a variety of materials is used such as plywood, aluminum, and steel along with custom-made plastic and fiberglass forms.  These advancements in formwork have helped to improve safety, speed, and manageability on the jobsite.  At Conco, our team works closely with a project’s engineers, contractors, and architects to take into account the quality, cost, and safety requirements as we design and implement forms to meet the specifications of a project. 

Discover the experience of working with one of the top professional commercial concrete contractors in Washington State.  Conco has been in business since 1959 delivering first-rate concrete services and has all the experience and expertise to handle even the most challenging projects.

The Concrete Industry is Constantly Improving

The advancements in concrete design and technology over the past several decades are truly impressive.  The performance of concrete has improved for an even wider variety of applications as well as being “greener”.  All of this is a good thing as concrete is one of the most widely used man-made materials throughout the world. 

Concrete’s evolvement comes from new materials used, a wider acceptance to recycling, mixture proportioning, and better durability.  The recent introduction of new concretes such as high performance concrete (HPC), ultra high performance concrete, and geopolymer concrete offer many advantages over standard concrete with few disadvantages.

According to AggregateResearch.com, one of HPC’s benefits is that it contains industrial waste by-products such as fly ash and silica fume that is not only extremely abundant but helps to keep it out of landfills.  By using more of these materials, it allows the concrete to be produced with less Portland cement, which in turn reduces the carbon dioxide emissions that are released during the production of cement.  Not to mention the advantage that the industry by-products are typically less expensive than cement. 

Furthermore technological advancements continue to improve the longevity of concrete.  It is believed that the concrete produced today will last for hundreds of years not just decades.  AggregateResearch.com adds that, “new concretes have better corrosion resistance, equal or higher compressive and tensile strengths, higher fire resistance, and rapid curing and strength gain. In addition, the production and life cycle of these new concretes will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 90%.”

P. Kumar Mehta, a recently retired Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, and author of numerous papers on the properties of concrete and cementitious building materials commented on the emerging developments in concrete technologies.  He says that, “It is not surprising that many advancements in concrete technology have occurred as a result of two driving forces...the speed of construction and durability of concrete.”

Sources:

aggregateresearch.com/articles/19247/Advances-in-new-concrete-technology.aspx

 

Conco is a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States. We got our start in the Bay Area in 1959 by offering clients the best value on a wide range of concrete services and products.  Since that time, we have taken a leading role as one of the top concrete contractors in the region. We have four regional offices serving California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.

Why Concrete is so Widely Used

Concrete still remains the building material of choice for most structures and is the single most widely used material throughout the world.  Its properties are such that it resists weathering, erosion and other natural disasters, and requires very little maintenance.  Dating back to early Egyptian times, humans have mixed together the basic ingredients of concrete from sand and gravel, a cement-like binder, and water for thousands of years. 

Concrete’s continued popularity comes from the fact that it is not only economical but it is very strong and durable.  When compared to wood, asphalt or other building materials, concrete outlasts them by decades and even gains strength over time.  Concrete is an extremely versatile material that is used to construct buildings, bridges, dams, tunnels, pavements, runways and roads.  Additionally concrete is extremely fire resistance so it is a safe material to use.

The raw material used to make cement, which is a part of concrete, is limestone, and is the most abundant mineral on earth.  Also concrete can be made from waste byproducts that come from power plants, steel mills and other manufacturing facilities such as fly ash, slag cement, and silica fume.

The concrete industry is very large, and given the nature of concrete, it is locally produced.  It is estimated that the industry provides more than two million jobs to Americans.  Generally the concrete used on a particular project is produced quite nearby and very little cement or concrete is traded or transported internationally.  Most cement travels by trucks and the remainder by barge or train. 

Furthermore concrete is environmental friendly.  Decades later, concrete can be recycled into an aggregate that has a hundred or more different uses.  The concrete is easily crushed and recycled to be used for such things as new concrete pavement, a road base, or backfill. 

Sources:

wbcsdcement.org/index.php/key-issues/sustainability-with-concrete/properties-of-concrete

concretenetwork.com/concrete/greenbuildinginformation/what_makes.html

 

 

The Conco Companies are a leading supplier of concrete services for the Western United States serving Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Colorado.  Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects and highways.

Follow Conco on Pinterest

The Conco Companies have opened up our archives to share pictures of recent and past projects we have been involved with on our Pinterest boards.  The boards depict our scope of work in industrial, commercial, educational, healthcare, parking structures and highways as well as interesting facts about the commercial concrete industry.  Follow us to continue to see a selection of great pictures and information regarding some of the most prominent construction projects going on in the Western United States. 

As a leader in the industry, Conco has an extensive portfolio of challenging projects as shown in our Cool Concrete Construction board. The Building in the West board helps to demonstrate that construction projects are back in a big way with some interesting charts showing growth patterns in the Western U.S.  One chart estimates that California's population grew by roughly 332,000 people in the last fiscal year - its biggest increase in nearly a decade, according to new California Department of Finance study.

We think you will enjoy our Designing with Shotcrete board that shows the work of our talented craftsmen using sculpted shotcrete as a canvas to create artistic looking walls.  Our pictures give you an idea of how rock sculpting and texturing is used to take a functional project and turn it into something that is very attractive.

Take a look at our Commercial Construction, Conco Now, and Conco Projects boards for many additional projects that we have been involved on.   And do not forget to check out our board dedicated to a photographic journal of the Wilshire Grand Pour.

We invite you to contact Conco if you have any questions regarding our wide range of services.  The Conco name has been an integral partner on many architecturally distinguished projects, and we commit to bringing that same standard of excellence to each job we undertake.

For over 50 years, Conco has provided premium concrete services throughout the Western United States and is one of the most trusted concrete contractors in the Seattle area.  We partner with clients on every project from the pre-construction stage right through to final completion to maximize efficiency and ensure goals and budgets are met.  Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects.

San Francisco 49ers Stadium Opens

On August 2, 2014, the Levi’s Stadium hosted the first event to the San Jose Earthquakes VS. Seattle Sounders FC, which is one of the biggest rivalries in major league soccer.  Julio Fuentes, the Santa Clara Stadium Authority Executive Director, said, “The Santa Clara Stadium Authority is extremely pleased to open Levi’s Stadium with an event that showcases one of our region’s very own professional sports franchises, while allowing our community the opportunity to experience the premiere outdoor sports and entertainment venue in the world for the first time.”

The $1.2 billion, 1.85 million sq. ft. stadium in Santa Clara, CA. serves as the new home for the San Francisco 49ers who have already announced a sell out for the 2014 season in the new stadium with standing room only tickets available.  The 49ers kick-off their first game against the Chargers on August 24. 

The large stadium seats approximately 68,500 and features 165 luxury suites and 9,000 club seats.  Contractor on the project was Turner Construction and Devcon Construction, Joint Venture.  Designed by HNTB, an international architecture firm that is known for their multi-purpose venues that emphasis the fan experience as well as green technology.  The stadium was constructed with environmentally friendly features such as the green roof over the suite tower.  There are also three solar bridges used to connect the stadium to the major parking areas.

It was recently announced the stadium has been connected with Santa Clara’s recycled water system, which makes it the first stadium in California to use a drought-proof water source.  A spokesperson for the 49ers stated that the recycled water will account for 85 percent of all the water used in the stadium and will help to move them closer to getting LEED Gold certification.

The Conco Companies were responsible for extensive concrete work on the stadium that broke ground in spring, 2012.  The project consisted of slabs in excess of 2,000,000 square feet and used more than 65,000 cubic yards of concrete.  To meet the ambitious timeline to complete the foundation, Conco worked in four separate areas simultaneously.  The same approach was used for the many deck pours.

 

Conco is one of the leading concrete contractors in San Francisco offering a range of innovative, quality services.  We have built our reputation with superior concrete formwork, reinforcing, place and finish, shotcrete and other ancillary services that benefit from our vast experience.  We have been offering premium concrete services throughout the Western U.S. since 1959, and have four regional offices serving California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.

 

 

Sources:

levisstadium.com/events/event/earthquakes_vs_sounders/

ninersnation.com/2014/6/11/5800760/levis-stadium-faq-49ers-stadium-leed-certified-green-stadium

 

 

High-Performance Concrete

 

The Conco Companies have extensive experience using different types of concrete to meet the demands of a project.  One form of concrete we use is high-performance concrete (HPC).  It is specifically designed to be more durable and/or stronger than standard concrete.  The American Concrete Institute (ACI) defines high-performance concrete as “meeting special combinations of performance and uniformity requirements that cannot always be achieved routinely using conventional constituents and normal mixing, placing, and curing practices.” 

 

While a mixture for HPC basically contains the same materials as conventional concrete, the difference is in the proportion of the materials added to give the concrete the required strength and durability.  HPC mixtures must meet structure demands as well as the environmental conditions of the project and typically use materials other than just cement to achieve the desired results.  The materials used for the mixtures are flyash, ground blast furnace slag, or microsilica fume.

 

Not all high-strength concrete is high performance.  Since HPC is used in the construction of bridge decks and highways it must contain properties such as high density, low permeability and resistance to environmental conditions.  The Federal Highway Administration says that the performance benefits of HPC are ease of placement and consolidation without affecting strength, long-term mechanical properties, early high strength, volume stability, and longer life in severe environments.  They add that the cost benefits are less material and fewer beams reduced maintenance, and an extended life cycle.   

The ACI states that HPC has a specified compressive strength of 8000 psi (55 MPa) or greater.  They add that, “The value of 8000 psi (55 MPa) was selected because it represented a strength level at which special care is required for production and testing of the concrete and at which special structural design requirements may be needed.”

Sources:

concrete.org/topicsinconcrete/topicdetail/high%20performance%20concrete

cement.org/for-concrete-books-learning/concrete-technology/concrete-design-production/ultra-high-performance-concrete

fhwa.dot.gov/research/resources/uhpc/index.cfm

Conco is one of the leading commercial concrete contractors in the Western United States.  We have four regional offices serving California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Colorado.  We are experts at creating cost-effective solutions that take advantage of the most up-to-date techniques.  Our concrete services include commercial, educational, parking and other construction development as well as public works projects.

Stay Connected with What’s Happening at Conco

Along with current news articles published on our website at Conco Now, The Conco Companies have expanded our social media content to include many of the most popular sites.  We welcome our business associates, present and future customers, and the general public to stay connected and visit our sites to keep up with what’s happening at Conco.

You can find us at LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, where you will find our company profile and pertinent information along with newsworthy, up-to-date articles.  You will also have the opportunity to network with many of our Conco employees.    

Another way to stay connected with Conco is through our facebook page.  We make it easy to discover information about new projects and happenings at Conco as well as updates on many of our on-going projects.  We also have a nice assortment of quality photos taken right from our jobsites.  In addition our facebook page is a great place to leave comments and/or ask questions.

Here is our link to Conco’s videos at YouTube.  We are sure that if you have any interest in the commercial concrete industry, you will enjoy the technical aspects of the job that we captured on several of our videos.  One example is our time-lapsed video of pour day for the 815 Pine project in Seattle, WA.  The video was shot from the tower crane and shows the full concrete pour sequence for the deck and all of the vertical concrete with the one pour.  It follows the order in which the pour was done starting with the post-tensioned slab outside the core, the post-tensioned slab inside the core (they are pouring through trapdoors in the core work deck), core walls, and then the columns.

You can also connect with Conco through the following social media links:

http://conconow.wordpress.com

https://medium.com/@conconow 

http://conconow.tumblr.com

We welcome any comments and questions, and please let us know if there is any way we can help you with your next project.  Contact one of our regional offices for more information. 

Discover the experience of working with one of the top professional commercial concrete contractors in California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado and Washington State.  Conco has been in business since 1959 delivering first-rate concrete services and has all the experience and expertise to handle even the most challenging projects.