Floor Of The Year Award 2017
Washington State
Project Details
Project Location: Spokane, WA
Contractor: Cameron-Reilly, Spokane Valley, Wash. (Facebook)
Architect/Designer: NAC Architects
General Contractor: Garco Construction
Amount of polished concrete: 11,000 square feet
Size of building/project: 97,000 square feet
The Salk Middle School replacement project includes a new 97,000-square-foot, two-story structure and demolition of the existing building.
Long before Cameron-Reilly (CR), the contractor, provided a bid for the polished concrete floors, they invested a lot of time and energy in ensuring the specifications were written correctly. Knowing the project called for polished concrete, CR reached out to the design team to offer assistance.
From start to finish, CR was directly involved with design, planning, and construction. Strong teamwork with the general contractor, Garco Construction, lasted the entire process all the way to the final unveiling of the polished floors.
While most contractors either place and finish concrete floors or polish concrete floors, CR does both. By having both divisions, they are able to have additional quality control measures, which ensures a higher standard of polished floors. With this project, the contractor had specific techniques in applying the seeded terrazzo rock at concrete placement. These techniques ensured even coverage across the floor and also controlled how deep the rock is embedded in the surface. These fine details are essential at the polishing stage. If not done correctly, sometimes the rock “disappears” in the surface, causing a spotty appearance.
CR’s polishing process used newer technology of an Ra (roughness average) meter. Ra is the scientific measurement of the surface of concrete floors, determining smoothness to the micro-inch. Measuring Ra uses real numbers and data to determine the state of the floor. In essence, the Ra meter tells crew members the appropriate tooling to use on their machines. By using Ra technology, a contractor cannot “cheat” though the polishing process, essentially guaranteeing the owner a quality polished floor.
The contractor used sophisticated laser screed technology at concrete placement to aid in the flatness and levelness of the floor. Employees were properly trained with industry certification in concrete finishing, machinery operation, and concrete polishing. CR drew up a solid game plan before the work and executed with all the fine details.
