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Florida Tilt, Inc. is a full service tilt-wall and concrete contractor. We are fully insured, state certified general contractors and cover the entire state of
We specialize in large multi-story and super-flat projects. In 2004, we completed nine large tilt-wall projects, including the 189,000 sq. ft. Miramar Super Target Store. This project was completed from layout through erection in 31 days. In 2005, we completed thirteen tilt-wall projects, including the 200,000 sq. ft. Banyan Corporate Center where we achieved a record for pouring the largest concrete slab in the
Florida Tint Inc. along with Florida Concrete Unlimited provide lasers, laser screeds, and vibratory screeds that are capable of handling low slump concrete. We also offer trucks capable of pumping over 200 cubic yards of concrete/ hour & reaches from 75 to 200 feet. In addition, we supply mechanical spreaders and trap rock spreaders for dust hardened floors.
In 2004, we were awarded through the Latin Builders Association, “Tilt-wall Contractor of the Year”. We are also members of the Tilt-up Concrete Association and the Construction Association of South Florida. We were published in March 2004 in the Concrete Construction Magazine and in May 2004 in the Dixie Contractor Magazine. The
Florida Tilt is dedicated to producing the highest quality tilt-wall buildings in the industry with a strong commitment to excellence and integrity. Our large amount of repeat business is a direct result of our commitment and customer satisfaction. As always, we pride ourselves in “exceeding our clients’ expectations”.
Fast-track tilt-up construction: constructing the Super Target Store in Miramar, Fla., may have set a new record for fast-track construction
Concrete Construction, March, 2004 by Joe Nasvik
For many contractors and subcontractors "fast-track" is a dirty word. It often means compressing a building schedule, thereby causing conflict between trades as they scramble to finish their work. Fast-track construction can reduce the quality of a project by forcing installations before conditions are right. For example, impermeable floor coverings are sometimes installed on floor slabs that still have too much moisture in them. And electricians and plumbers may be anxious to remove curing plastic on a fresh floor so that they can move lifts into position for their work.
But fast-track construction is having a positive impact for a growing number of tilt-up contractors, providing them with a significant advantage as they compete with other building systems for work. This is a story of how one contractor completed a project on the original time schedule, despite a 30-day delay at the start of construction. In the process, it may have set a new record.
Zoning delays caused serious problems for the planned 200,000-square-foot Super Target Store in Miramar, Fla. Ray Cartaya, co-owner and director of construction for Miami-based Florida Tilt, says that the Target Corp., Minneapolis, doesn't put its projects out to bid--it selects and invites contractors to construct their buildings. In the state of Florida, for example, only three tilt-up contractors are allowed to build for Target stores, and they are kept busy. One consequence of this arrangement is that a delay on one project can cause delays on other scheduled projects.
The problem for the Miramar store centered on the order for structural steel, which had to be placed well ahead of the expected permit issuance date. "If a building isn't ready for structural steel when it arrives, Target moves its steel subcontractor to another project and it could take as long as 6 months to get them back to complete this work," says Cartaya. So Target approached Florida Tilt, wondering if it was possible to make up for the time lost in the permitting process. "When your company motto is 'exceeding our client's expectations,' it's hard to say no," he said. "So we worked out a plan with the owner, and I agreed to serve as the project manager representing our company. Target agreed to pick up overtime and other costs related to the condensed schedule."
Reducing the time needed for construction
The goal was to stay with the original opening date for the store. In order to achieve this, all of the subcontractors agreed to much tighter scheduling constraints and to working out the resulting coordination issues. Florida Tilt initiated a two-shift crew operation and started working 7 days a week. Its sister company, Florida Concrete, a pumping, placing, and finishing company, provided finishers and pumps 24 hrs a day for 28 days. The concrete producer, Adonel Concrete, Doral, Fla., provided concrete whenever it was needed--day or night. Even the city of Miramar got involved, agreeing to provide inspection service on demand, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Starting construction The commitment to meet the original construction schedule required improved communication, so daily meetings were held to better coordinate work between the trades and solve problems. Cartaya said that when he arrived on the first day, only the rough building pad was complete, so the first task was layout. Excavation for footings started as soon as an area was laid out. Rough plumbing and electrical started at the same time. Florida Concrete started placing concrete for footings on the third day. Fine grading for the floor started as soon as there was enough footing in place. Once an area was fine graded, Florida Tilt formed the slab and Florida Concrete started casting the floor, which was bulk-headed into five long strips. After the first strip was cast, Florida Tilt started constructing wall panel forms. Cartaya said that for a good portion of the job, excavation, grading, forming, placing concrete, and lifting panels were all happening at the same time.
Improving the flow of work
Constructing additional casting beds to speed up the construction of panels is a current trend in tilt-up work. Areas that will eventually be used for parking can be used for this purpose, but disposable casting beds are increasingly being used, too. To construct a casting slab, contractors typically fine grade an area using laser guided grading equipment and place a 3-inch thick-slab without reinforcement. When all the panels are cast, the concrete is removed and recycled. Florida Tilt used casting slabs for this project.
To aid the work of other trades on a project, tilt-up contractors sometimes place panel braces on the outsides of walls. To accomplish this, weights or "dead men" are used to anchor the braces. On the Target project other trades needed access in the grocery section of the store, so Florida Tilt braced those panels on the outside.
Casting panels
The 96 panels needed for the building were cast in 28 days. The average panel size was 34 feet tall by 24 feet wide by 8 inches thick, with an average weight of 80,500 pounds. Cartaya reports that there wasn't anything unusual about the concrete mix design. Target specifies its own concrete mix designs, which have higher than usual weights of portland cement, and the only admixture is a water reducer. Florida Concrete placed the concrete with a 4-inch slump and a water-cement (w/c) ratio of 0.52 using its 61-meter concrete pump.
Floor details
The finish flooring for Target stores is vinyl tile, which is impermeable to moisture transmission. The floor flatness ([F.sub.F]) specification is 35 (minimum local value) to avoid the appearance of ripples in the finished product. But the most significant issue is the moisture level in the floor at the time of the the installation. It's a significant problem for tilt-up construction because floors are cast before there is a roof to provide protection from rain. Under these conditions it's easy for water to run into control joints and saturate the bottom of a slab, increasing the time needed to reach the proper moisture level before finish flooring is installed.
The use of an impermeable floor covering necessitated the use of a vapor barrier, which was placed directly under the concrete for this application. The fast track nature of the project helped because the floor slab was exposed to the possibility of rain for only 45 days, leaving approximately 45 days for the slab to achieve the proper moisture content (the slab was tested for moisture content before the finished floor covering was installed).
Finishing in record time
Florida Tilt placed the last panel 31 days after they arrived on the jobsite, and then went on to do site work. By that time, ironworkers had already set 50% of the building's columns and 25% of the roof joists. Roofers followed immediately behind joist erection. Approximately 90 days after construction began, the building was turned over to the owner.
Cartaya says that a nearby building that's a quarter the size of the Target building was started 2 months earlier with masonry block walls. It required an additional 2 months to complete after the Target store opened--adding to the pride the construction crew felt for their accomplishment.
Project Participants:
Owner: Target Corporation, Minneapolis. It also provided the architecture and engineering for the project.
General Contractor: Wright Construction Co., Fort Meyers, Fla.
Tilt-Up Contractor: Florida Tilt Inc., Miami. It also supplied the lift engineering for the project.