More concrete pours and winter weather preparation

If you’ve driven or walked by the site of the new hospital recently, you might have seen a sea of vibrant orange tarps across the site. Graham is planning and preparing for the winter months and starting to implement their frost protection plan.

It’s fundamental that heat and moisture control is addressed throughout the construction process during the winter months. This includes controlling the temperature and protecting the concrete foundations to avoid a negative impact on the quality of the installation and possible re-work, if not done correctly.

One of the biggest risks during the winter is the frost impact to the deep foundations. Planning and executing the plan has already started and will be an ongoing effort throughout winter. This includes:

• Installing and managing over 800 – 12x24 insulated tarps
• Procuring and installing five 1.8m BTU glycol ground thaw machines that provide heat to over 80,000 lineal feet of glycol lines
  • The glycol lines are spread throughout the foundation subgrade to maintain temperature levels
• Installing a 30-pound natural gas line to the site with a 5-pound distribution centre to 12 locations across the site footprint
  • This ensures there is a fuel supply to any location that heat is required for frost protection
  • It also supports concrete pours throughout the winter
• Elevating stored materials to ensure they don’t freeze into the ground
  • Materials are marked so they know what it is and where it is, in the case of heavy snowfall

Safety of the people working on or visiting the construction site remains a priority. Winter weather creates different challenges and risks that have to be eliminated and controlled, and colder temperatures and snowfall changes how work is done on site.

Special equipment, tools, and materials are procured in preparation for the winter weather including snow shovels, ice melt, sand or rock chips, and skid steer attachments. Snow clearing is completed before shift start to limit interaction with the public and construction personnel. Workers are constantly clearing snow, removing ice, working on safe access over tarps, moving heaters and glycol lines, setting up hoardings and running extension cords.

The amount of planning hours and labor-intensive work that goes into preparing the site for winter helps ensure that workers and visitors can safely gain access to the construction site and work safely at all times.