We are proud to announce that ConTech was honored with the “Project of the Year” Award for our $6.5 million restoration of the Royal Floridian Resort.  The award was presented by the International Concrete Repair Institute (ICRI) at their annual convention held in Cincinnati, Ohio.

ICRI, with over 2,000 restoration industry leaders from around the world, conducts the awards program each year to honor and recognize outstanding projects in the concrete repair industry. Entries are received from around the world for ten separate categories. One project is named Project of the Year.

Projects are judged based on the uniqueness, use of state-of-the-art methods, use of materials, functionality, value engineering, and aesthetics.

Previous Project of the Year winners include the Pentagon and the Ohio State Buckeyes Football Stadium.

The Royal Floridian Restoration Project was entered in the High Rise category, and surpassed all entrants in all categories to be named 2011 Project of the Year. To see the project under construction, play the video below. To read more about the project, click on this link to the cover story in Concrete Repair Bulletin magazine.

ConTech Restoration attended the ARDA Annual Convention, where founder Alan Haughey was interviewed for Developments magazine. In an article entitled “The Re-making of an Industry,” Haughey shares his strategy for adapting to changes in the construction industry. Timeshare restoration was an existing line of business for ConTech prior to the economic downturn. When new construction starts declined, Haughey decided to focus his business strategy on serving the restoration needs of timeshare owners. To read the Developments article, please click here http://www.nxtbook.com/ygsreprints/ygs/g20046arda_nxtbook/#/38/OnePage

Restoration Experts Create a Voice for Aging Structures

Group to address challenges to reusing existing buildings

Minneapolis, Minnesota, June 22, 2011 – Restoration industry leaders from across the United States and Canada met in Minneapolis on June 7-8 to discuss the state of restoration and its place in sustainable development.  The Restoration Round Table was held at the W Hotel in the historic Foshay Tower in downtown Minneapolis.  A diverse group of attendees included design professionals, restoration contractors, preservationist, building owners and product manufacturers.

Organizations represented:

Atlas Supply Company – Seattle, WA

BASF Corporation – Minneapolis, MN

Buildings Consultant Group – Minneapolis, MN

Clark Engineering – Minneapolis, MN

Coastal Construction Products – Orlando, FL

ConTech Construction – Orlando, FL

Crosier Kilgour Partners – Winnipeg, MB

Facility Engineering Associates – Fairfax, VA

Georgia Construction Products – Atlanta, GA

HHCC Inc – Austin, TX

Jaster-Quintanilla – Dallas, TX

Karins Engineering Group – Sarasota, FL

Meyer Borgman Johnson – Minneapolis, MN

Preservation Alliance of Minnesota – St. Paul, MN

Spiegel Zamecnik & Shah – New Haven, CT

State Farm Insurance – Bloomington, IL

Structural Group – Baltimore, MD

Sutton Kennerly & Associates – Birmingham, AL

The George D Alan Company – Dallas, TX

Walker Restoration Consultants – Denver, CO

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associatte – Austin, TX

The purpose of the meeting was to bring industry thought leaders together to discuss the state of the industry.  The maintenance and reuse of existing buildings are often overlooked or undervalued when compared to today’s sustainable alternatives.  The meeting was facilitated around a set of big questions that were passionately discussed and debated.  Some of the topics discussed were:

• Why is the restoration on buildings important?
• What are the things our industry can agree upon?
• What is holding the industry back?
• Who has a stake in the reuse of existing buildings?
• What could a group of like minded people do to get more buildings restored?

At the conclusion of the meeting, the group agreed on the importance of proving and promoting the value of restoration.  There was also agreement that this is a complex task that requires more effort, more resources and more insight.  This group plans to reconvene in the fall of 2011 to formalize their goals, objectives and organizational structure.

“To make a real difference in restoration, we need involvement from all the stakeholders.  We must energize more people.” Bryan Wood – Sutton Kennerly & Associates

Restoration and building reuse is about vitality, renewal and sustainability.  Buildings are “shovel ready” projects that create local jobs.  Renewed buildings lead to safe, stable neighborhoods and increased property values.  It is a responsible use of resources and inherently sustainable.  Building restoration is an opportunity for all of us to make an impact in our communities and cities.

ConTech poured the ISFSI pad at Turkey Pointe Nuclear Power Plant.

The 9,000 SF, three foot thick slab will support large concrete vaults which will house spent fuel rods from the reactor. The pour was planned in exact detail weeks in advance. The nuclear regulatory commission inspectors verified every detail from mix designs to the flow of concrete truck traffic on the site.

The pour started at midnight with two boom pumps placing concrete simultaneously. The pour advanced at a rate of 200 CY per hour. A crew of 20 men placed, vibrated, and screeded1,220 CY of concrete in 6 hours and 30 minutes.

By noon, the entire slab had been finished to a superflat tolerance of 1/8” in 10’, and the slab was covered with burlene and soaker hoses for wet curing.

Work continues on the project with the storage building and site concrete scheduled for August completion.

Kudos to Mike Reedy for his leadership on the project.

See the pictures on the Flickr slideshow.

ConTech Construction and Superior Concrete made the last pour at the new Amway Center Parking Garage last week.  The project has over 800,000 square feet of parking area.  

The crew earned high praise from everyone involved for their tenacity and dedication to high standards.  Almost every pour started between midnight and four AM, and the last man off the deck didn’t leave for over twelve hours on most days.  

Aaron Reedy from ConTech is singled out for recognition for leading our crew through over fifty pours on the elevated deck, and for overcoming equipment breakdowns, delivery delays, wind, rain and many other obstacles along the way.  The project was challenging from the start with an extremely tight schedule and a concrete mix design that was more difficult than normal to work with.  The concrete had an extremely low water to cement ratio and special additives to reduce shrinkage cracking.

The whole team overcame every obstacle and finished on time and on budget.  This structure will be a landmark building in downtown Orlando for decades to come, and we are proud of our role in the project.

Check out the new photos of the concrete pour at the Amway Arena in the Flickr gallery to the right. They give a great insight into this interesting pour. Notice the mirror-like reflection off the floor on the first photos.

Finishing Concrete at Amway Arena

The new ice floor was poured on February 26th starting at 4AM.  The
floor is 8″ thick and 18,000 square feet.  Just pouring took seven
hours, and the crew of twenty men poured a total of 420 cubic yards of
concrete.  The finishing crew worked all day and into the evening to
polish the floor to an almost mirror-like surface.

We were working directly for Cimco Refrigeration, a firm that
specializes in ice floors, installing over 4,500 ice floors world-wide.
They are the official floor installer for the National Hockey League.
Check them out at http://www.cimcorefrigeration.com/icesports.asp. They
were heavily involved in the Vancouver Olympic Games venues.

The Orlando Events Center Slab is resting on two layers of insulation
covered by 10 inches of sand.  This keeps the ground under the slab from
freezing.  Miles of refrigeration piping is embedded in the slab we
poured to freeze the water to transform the concrete into an ice rink.
We had to take extreme care not to puncture any of the plastic pipes
while pouring.

This was one of the most interesting projects we have been a part of,
and we are proud to have been chosen to pour the new floor for the
Orlando Magic.  Cimco representatives said this was one of very best
floors they have had installed.  Congratulations to all of our team
members.

The new ice floor was poured on February 26th starting at 4AM.  The floor is 8″ thick and 18,000 square feet.  Just pouring took seven hours, and the crew of twenty men poured a total of 420 cubic yards of concrete.  The finishing crew work all day and into the evening to polish the floor to an almost mirror-like surface.

We were working directly for Cimco Refrigeration, a firm that specializes in ice floors, installing over 4,500 ice floors world-wide. They are the official floor installer for the National Hockey League. They were heavily involved in the Vancouver Olympic Games venues. Check them out at http://www.cimcorefrigeration.com/icesports.asp

The Orlando Events Center Slab is resting on two layers of insulation covered by 10 inches of sand.  This keeps the ground under the slab from freezing.  Miles of refrigeration piping is embedded in the slab we poured to freeze the water to transform the concrete into an ice rink. We had to take extreme care not to puncture any of the plastic pipes while pouring.

This was one of the most interesting projects we have been a part of, and we are proud to have been chosen to pour the new floor for the Orlando Magic.  Cimco representatives said this was one of very best floors they have had installed.  Congratulations to all of our team members.

ConTech made the first pour on balconies on Friday Feb.5th at the Royal Floridian.  After one month of constant demolition and destruction, the re-building process has begun right on schedule.  The milesone of the first pour was welcome by all.  The new fire risers were also being installed on the West side of the building.  The site is still a beehive of activity with the sandblasters busy removing rust and scale from the balcony rebar, while ConTech was performing the detail chipping at the interior of the units and around the columns.  Carpenters are already setting the shoring and formwork for the third floor balconies on the North half of the building.  Despite unusually cold and wet weather, progress is extremely fast.