So, I get a call from someone who has some of her concrete dome put together. The basic shapes are there, they’re inflated, foamed, and shotcrete. Original shell contractor hits the road be/c the assigned task is done.
One problem. Neither the owner, nor her designer (not me) did any significant planning for shedding water or snow. The location is 20 mi from Woodstock, NY, so the snow can be significant, and with her design, has a knack for coming down the dome shell right over the doors and windows. (I’ll reserve further commentary on the “planning” that lead to this.) So, she’s seen one of my designs, calls, and asks how it was done. I tell her, and that progresses to describing how I’d handle it on hers, which progresses to I’m gonna be drawing up the canopies, which progresses to my question here. The canopies will be crescent shapes arching over each door/window. Some of the air form material will be heat welded to that shape, polyurethane foam will be sprayed beneath it, rebar will be doweled into the existing concrete shell, and then sprayed with shotcrete and finished. The finishing is similar to applying synthetic stucco on a commercial building. So the question is, what kind of contractor should she be looking for? Bringing the shell contractor back with his full rig would be expensive…all the travel and move-in. The individual tasks aren’t that hard, except maybe for someone not familiar with them. She could look for a jack-of-all-trades, or separately deal with the foam, rebar, shotcrete, finish via different contractors. Or? Anyone near Woodstock? The pix are the shell in the current state, and a really simplistic take on a canopy design. View Image View Image
Replies
that second pic ...
do U work with the Teletubbies?
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
I KNEW there was something wrong with him !!!I'll bet he carries a purple purse too...
The person you offend today, may have been your best friend tomorrow
Looks like the kind of work a commercial construction firm could easily handle. They'd have all the union skills to handle a job like that. Trouble is, it's going to be expensive, even if not paid union wages. She'd have to get lucky to find a smaller guy who would welcome the challenge. Even so, the shotcrete would have to be subbed out, unless it was troweled on as a stiff mix.
I'd say a swimming pool contractor who uses the shotcrete method would have most if not all the skills necessary for the job.
Aside from the excavation phase, that is.
They are, or should be, familiar with curved rebar, doweling, et al. Even the hand finishing should be a piece of cake.
The only part that may have to have another sub would be the foam. An insulation contractor would be the ticket.
An EIFS contractor might also have to lend a body in the unlikely event the pool contractors finishing guys can't handle the stucco-like finishing.