Contractor Gonzalez-De La Garza & Associates needed to install 4,000-psi concrete pads over an existing slab as part of a commercial boiler installation project at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. The contractor needed a fast-setting material with high early strength for the concrete pedestals. As part of these requirements, and similar to government transportation projects, the contractor construction could only use approved materials for military projects. Rapid Set® Concrete Mix was approved for use in this project.

Concrete Mix is a high-performance structural repair material that can be applied from 2 to 24 inches thick. It sets in 15 minutes, is ready for traffic in one hour and reaches a compressive strength of 4,500 psi in 24 hours. The multipurpose material is used in projects where fast strength gain, high durability and low shrinkage are required, making it an ideal choice for airport and military pavement repairs as well as the construction of industrial floors and machine bases.

For the Fort Sam project, Concrete Mix was mixed using a Hippo Mixer (four bags at a time) with two additives to provide additional strength and fluidity and to extend working times. With a CTS Cement representative onsite to provide technical support, the Gonzalez-De La Garza crew added the Flow Control water-reducing additive and Set Control set-retarding admixture to the mix to increase the fluidity and extend the material’s working time.

Each concrete pad was hand-troweled and broom-finished, then water cured for one hour. All parties were pleased with the project and the overall performance of Concrete Mix.

Facts

Project:                                            Fort Sam Houston

Location:                                         San Antonio, Texas

Project Type:                                  Repair & Restoration

Construction Start/End Dates:    Nov. 8–22, 2019

Owner:                                            Fort Sam Houston

Contractor:                                     Gonzalez De La Garza

Product Quantity:                          200 bags

Product Used:                                Rapid Set Concrete Mix; FLOW Control, SET Control

About CTS Cement

CTS Cement Manufacturing Corporation manufactures Rapid Set® professional-grade cement products and Komponent® Type K shrinkage-compensating cement for concrete repairs, restoration, and new construction projects. Contractors, owners, engineers and architects choose Rapid Set and Komponent to eliminate problems they have with other concrete repair materials, to save time and money, when superior durability is required, and results need to be structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing. For more information, please visit www.ctscement.com.