Conventional Concrete Paving: It Just Makes Cents and Here’s Why

While everyone is familiar with concrete’s durable and sustainable benefits, many specifiers overlook the true extent of cost savings that concrete can provide over the life cycle of a project. While concrete might not always be the cheaper choice up front, the investment extends over the life of the project.

There are several ways using concrete for parking lots and flat surfaces can save money in the long-term. Just to remind you, here are a few benefits:

• The great durability of concrete provides a long service life and reduced maintenance and replacement needs compared to other materials
• The light color of concrete naturally reflects light requiring fewer lamps and less energy to light a parking area
• The light color of concrete reflects light, reducing the heat island effect and decreasing energy costs for nearby buildings
• Concrete pavement does not need to be resurfaced or resealed
• With little or no maintenance needed, using concrete pavement eliminates possible business interruption costs associated with those activities

For your next project, let us help you find out how much you can save when choosing concrete over asphalt. Check out our interactive map that will show you all the benefits and cost savings when using concrete. Also, be sure to try out our concrete pavement analysis form, which quickly and accurately quantifies the differences between concrete and asphalt pavements.

Time is running out, only a few more days to complete your CE Credits!If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about how to save by choosing concrete, contact Ken Crank or Bruce Cody today.

Time is running out, only a few more days to complete your CE Credits! Contact us if you have questions.

Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Provides the Best and Most Cost-Effective Solution for PPL

Utility company PPL was in need of refurbished 15-acre parking lot at their Lehigh service center. As an alternative to using a top asphalt layer, Carl Bales, Jr., of Carl Bales Excavation proposed roller compacted concrete.

PPL needed something durable enough to withstand the heavy traffic that was also cost effective. Bales decided to propose roller compacted concrete because of a previous job he had worked on for Matheson Gas Advanced Gas Technologies that turned out extremely well.  Ott Engineering, who was in charge of the job for PPL, inspected the Matheson Gas project. They were impressed with the results and decided to approach PPL about using RCC.

Price was also a big consideration for the project. Paving with RCC came in at $875,000, cheaper than the cost of conventional concrete, $1.2 million. RCC also came in lower than the bid for asphalt.

Roller compacted concrete is a drier mix that is strong like concrete but is put down like asphalt. Bales paved about three-quarters of the job in 2010 and will finish out the job this year. One concern on the project was how the RCC would withstand the winter. David Zmijewski of Geo Technology Associates said the RCC held up “unbelievably well” throughout the winter season, with having been exposed to over 500 tons of salt.

“RCC opens up a door for us. The advantage is that it’s strong like concrete, but you put it down like asphalt in a single lift,” says Zmijewski.  “I’ve run into issues with heavy truck traffic where concrete is too expensive and the asphalt doesn’t hold up as well. RCC is a good system for those applications, it fills a niche.”

RCC is becoming more popular among industrial and commercial sites, because of its durability, ease of application and cost.

To find out if RCC is right for your next project, contact Ken Crank.

Take Advantage of our Online Resources

Our Product Information Sheets are put together with the goal of answering common, frequently asked questions about concrete and its applications. Continuously being updated, we welcome you to download the free information on preventing random cracks in concrete, tips for residential concrete  and scaling.

Check them out, and let us know what you think! 

Ask the Expert!

Q: It is my impression that concrete placement is labor intensive and slow due to the formwork, etc. Is that the only way it can be placed?

A: No, Concrete paving technology continues to advance, making concrete construction quicker than ever. Innovations such as slipform paving machines (though typically used on street/road applications) offer the highest production rates of any construction method, and yield uniform, durable surfaces. Technologically advanced finishing methods like laser screeding combine precision and speed to produce the highest-quality results.