Concrete Pumping Story

Concrete Pumping Magazine

Old Hollywood's New Golden Age



JLS Concrete Pumping (JLS) and its Putzmeister concrete placing system are helping bring back the glamour to the famed intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street on the mega Hollywood & Vine�W Hotel & Residences (Hollywood & Vine) development. The property will be LA�s first ever, ground-up lifestyle hotel, retail and condominium development. Due to the project�s curb-to-curb 4.6-acre footprint (the equivalent to pumping multiple towers 75 stories high), JLS and Webcor Builders (Webcor), general contractor of Hollywood & Vine, worked closely together on the concrete placing system. Most important was determining the precise locations of the pumps, towers and placing booms to ensure efficient delivery of the more than 108,000 cubic yards (137,620 m3) of concrete.

The Most Famous
Known for years as the entertainment hub of Los Angeles, a place where film executives, movie producers and aspiring stars alike would attempt to be �discovered,� the once vibrant intersection has faded significantly since the �Golden Age of Hollywood.� Up until the 1950s, Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was the place to be seen; the hot spot, if you wanted to make it in the city of stars. However, in the 1960s, many studios and broadcasters moved to more upscale areas, resulting in many abandoned stores and offices, as well as vacant streets. Major redevelopment of the area didn�t begin until the 1990s.
�Hollywood and Vine is the singlemost famous intersection in the world. But it�s been a long time since it�s been worthy of the name,� says Eric Garcetti, council president for the City of Los Angeles, as stated on the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce website. "Now,by working with developers, the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency),the local businesses at the site and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, as well as community members who worked hard to make this neighborhood safe for residents, tourists and investors when it was down on its knees, we're about to see Hollywood's wave of redevelopment crest at this corner."
�The project that we've envisioned together will bring hundreds of livingwage jobs and hundreds of units of mixed-income housing to an area that, despite its renewed glamour, still has median family incomes around $20,000 a year,� Garcetti notes. "The hotel that goes up here will be the landmark destination that ties together the Boulevard�s transformation. Hollywood and Vine has disappointed visitors in the past. Tomorrow, it will beat their highest expectations." Legacy Partners (Legacy), based out of Foster City, California, and Gatehouse Capital Corporation (Gatehouse), based out of Dallas, Texas, teamed up together as the owners to build this massive development. Legacy is the developer for the apartment buildings and Gatehouse is the developer for the condo and hotel. The other players include HKS Architects, Inc. (HKS) as the architect, Webcor as the general contractor, JLS as the concrete pump and placing system sub-contractor, and Catalina Pacific, a CALPORTLAND company, as the ready mix concrete supply company. Hollywood & Vine broke ground in May 2007, and will comprise six towers: Legacy�s three 12-story apartment towers, Legacy�s eight-story apartment tower, and Gatehouse�s 12-story W Hotel and 14-story W Residences condominium. In addition, there will be 61,500 square feet (5,714 m2) of street level retail and a threestory subterranean garage. Improvements will be made above the Hollywood/Vine Metro Rail Red Line Station, the MTA bus layover area and the commuter drop-off which is located at the northwest corner of the project site.



Tight Quarters
"An entire year of planning and coordination was conducted between Webcor and JLS for this project," says Vern Lee, construction manager for Webcor. "Because of Hollywood & Vine's massive footprint, it was a must to have everything planned to a T." JLS provided reliable and practical solutions to the challenges this project presented with their knowledge, experience and concrete placing equipment."
The extremely space-restrictive area surrounding the project site prevented boom pumps from being able to pump from multiple streets for the project�s concrete needs. So, the latest advances in placing system technology were utilized instead.
"By employing the advantages of their freestanding pin towers," explains Lee, "any delay of work by the interior trades for the project was mitigated. We've been right on schedule since day one of JLS arriving on-site in July 2007. JLS recommended using six placing boom towers allowing us to avoid a lot of scheduling and logistical issues."
Six pin towers and 36/40Z Series II Detach placing booms are positioned
throughout the site.
The different mounting and climbing configurations of the placing systems for the six different buildings include:
-Placing System #1�Located at Legacy�s 12-story apartment building, the pin tower is foundation-anchored and freestanding with a universal tie frame. It�s tied in on the inside at level five, and will be tied a second time at level 10.
-Placing System #2�Located at Gatehouse�s W Hotel, the pin tower is foundation-anchored and freestanding with a universal tie frame. It�s tied in on the outside at level six.
-Placing System #3�Located at another of Legacy�s 12-story apartment buildings, the pin tower is foundation- anchored and freestanding with a universal tie frame. It�s tied in on the outside at level five.
-Placing System #4�Located at Gatehouse�s 14-story W Residences condominium, the pin tower uses a hydraulic climbing system positioned in a corridor.
-Placing System #5�Located at Legacy�s eight-story apartment building, the pin tower is foundation-anchored and freestanding with a universal tie frame. It�s tied in on the outside at level five, and will be tied a second time at level nine.
-Placing Boom #6-Located at another of Legacy's 12-story apartment buildings, the placing boom is foundationanchored and is a freestanding pin tower.

"Originally, the hydraulic climbing pin tower at the W Residences was freestanding," says Willie Clemison of JLS. A last-minute change was requested by Webcor for the location of the pin tower due to the structure's design. "The tower had to be in a location where it would not interrupt the interior trades' work, so we determined an alternative method to use our hydraulic climbing technology installed in a corridor."
"Unlike most outside or inside tie-in configurations, the W Hotel's universal tie frame is secured underneath, instead of above. The reason for this is because of an upturn beam. We were able to easily accommodate the situation by tying in underneath the deck."
"The support throughout this project has been phenomenal and consistent," notes Lee. "Whether it's the timeliness of the equipment delivery, monitoring any wear on concrete pipe or troubleshooting unexpected situations, they have it covered."


The Underground Maze
According to Lee, the job site has three pumping stations that can pump concrete to any of the six placing booms at any given time.
"Every detail was scrutinized in planning the three pumping stations and the impressive 3,640 feet (1,110 m) of below grade delivery line system," comments Clemison. "The system includes both horizontal and vertical piping. We had to ensure the delivery system could transport concrete to any of the six placing booms with no problem and also allow three placing booms to place concrete at the same time."
"There are two main delivery lines. Placing systems one, two and three are all hooked up to the same delivery line. Placing booms four, five and six are all hooked up to the second delivery line."
In order for three placing booms to place concrete at the same time, Clemison says crossovers were built within the delivery line system.
"There are crossovers between placing system one and placing system four, as well as between placing system two and placing system five," notes Clemison.
"With the crossovers, we can do a vertical and two deck pours simultaneously." "To ensure three placing booms could place concrete at the same time, communication among Webcor and JLS's team was crucial," adds Lee. "Without that, it would have been very difficult."
The first pumping station is located at the West end of Selma Avenue; the second at the east end of Selma Avenue, and the third at the north end of Argyle Avenue. The first and third pumping stations are about 180 to 200 feet (55 - 61 m) apart.
At the first and third pumping stations, JLS uses the SBU hydraulic circuit on the head side of the truck-mounted concrete boom pumps to pump concrete up to any of the six placing towers. The first station is used primarily for vertical pours. The 40Z-, 36Z- and 28Z-meter truck-mounted concrete boom pumps act as trailer pumps. These particular pumps were set up on the head side so the pressures that would be reached on the longer pushes would be manageable, doing 100 cubic yards per hour (76 m3/hr) without a problem. These pumps were also set up with special transitions to withstand the high pressures.
The BSA 14000 HP-D trailer pump is permanently positioned at the second pumping station for the duration
of the project.



Exceeding Expectations
According to Ed Griff Sparks of Catalina Pacific (a CALPORTLAND company), 120,000 cubic yards (91,747 m3) of concrete is needed for Hollywood & Vine, and JLS is pumping and placing about 108,000 cubic yards (82,572 m3) of that total. "Right now our goal is placing 10,000 cubic yards (7,646 m3) of concrete per month total for the horizontal and vertical elements," says Lee.
Clemison notes that their equipment is pumping every day of the week. The permanently stationed high pressure trailer pump on-site is supporting two boom pumps on an average of four days per week.
"We usually place deck pours in the morning and those can range anywhere from 290 to 500 cubic yards (222�382 m3)," comments Clemison. "Then in the afternoon we place the verticals for the decks we placed earlier in the day, which are usually right around 90 cubic yards (69 m3)."
Clemison says an average of four decks and four verticals are pumped and placed each week. Concrete is placed on a daily basis. "Our trailer pump is pumping anywhere from 80 to 100 cubic yards per hour (61-76 m3/hr) for our deck pours," he notes. "Hydraulic pressures at the furthest point away are usually 3,771 psi (260 bar), and for closer deck pours we're usually at the 1,740-1,885 psi (120-130 bar) range. This pump has the power we need with its 630 horsepower (470 kW) engine."
"The concrete pumping and placing equipment has exceeded our expectations," says Lee. "An average of anywhere from 60 to 80 concrete ready mix trucks unload into the high pressure trailer pump-shopper every day," he adds.
Clemison doesn't hold back when boasting about the placing boom crew that has helped keep this job running smoothly. "With the large area we're working with here, it's important we're using placing booms that have a far enough vertical and horizontal reach so we can place the concrete exactly where it needs to be. With horizontal reaches of 115 feet 3 inches (35.13 m) and vertical reaches of 122 feet 8 inches (37.39 m), there's no spot that our six placing booms can't access."
In addition to the boom design and reach capabilities of the placing booms, Clemison also adds that setup is simple for the pin towers. "The heavy-duty pins on the pin tower allow for a fast and easy connection in installing and raising the towers on each of the six buildings," he says. "JLS is using the newest technology available in the placing boom industry."

Staying Flexible
Because JLS's other trailer pump is in use on another job site, Avenue of the Stars in LA, the pumping company maximizes the flexibility of its boom pumps. The boom pumps that are on-site are serving the role usually reserved for a high pressure trailer pump. However, these boom pumps have been used in thisway for many years on other high profile job sites.
"We've found that using our boom pumps has given our company the best of two pieces of equipment. It�s the best way to get the job done, next to using an actual trailer pump. Hydraulic pressures for the further distances are between 3,046 and 3,916 psi (210 and 270 bar), and the closer distances are in the 1,450-psi (100 bar) range. At any distance on the job, we're capable of pumping 120 cubic yards (92 m3/hr) per hour."
In addition to the boom pumps pumping directly into the delivery system, the pumps and their booms are used for placing delay strips for decks.
"Legacy residential and parking levels two through five (below the four residential towers) are separated by delay strips," notes Clemison. "We have to wait 28 days after we place concrete for the decks, and then we place the delay strips with the boom pumps. This is yet another benefit of having the boom pumps on-site."

Mix in the Spotlight
According to Sparks, there are sixteen different concrete mixes being used on this project. The strength of concrete mixes range anywhere from 4,000 to 8,000 psi. "The shear walls and columns use a high-strength 8,000-psi concrete mix," says Sparks. "The suspended decks use a high-strength 6,000-psi mix. The high-strength mixes on the project from 6,000 psi to 8,000 psi results in more selling space for the developers," adds Sparks. "Lower strength concrete, such as a 4,000-psi concrete mix, would make a column wider, for example, where an 8,000-psi concrete mix would make it smaller, yielding more useable space."
"We're pumping and placing three different concrete mixes at any given time," comments Clemison. "Our pumps and placing systems have handled the mixes with no problem at all." According to Lee, nine high-strength concrete mixes are being used on this particular project. Concrete work on Hollywood & Vine will wrap up in December 2008. With doors to the highly anticipated development opening in fall 2009, Hollywood & Vine is sure to be a star in its own right.

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