December 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
50
Specialist Contractors or Suppliers
B
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Tarsus Warehouse
Project information
• Name of project: Tarsus Warehouse
• Company entering: Concrete Laser Flooring
• Project start date: 4 September 2013
• Project end date: 18 September 2013
• Client: Atterbury Waterfall Investment Company
• Main contractor: Group Five
• Principal agent: Boogerman + Partners Architects
• Project manager: Group Five
• Quantity surveyor: Group Five
• Project value: R9 484 721 (inclusive)
T
he Tarsus Warehouse in Woodmead, Johannesburg is a first,
not only for CLF but for the African flooring industry in general.
CLF used its pioneering new flooring system PrimeComposite
for the first time on the 18 000m
2
facility for IT distribution company’s
new warehouse in the Waterfall Estate office complex, which was
introduced to the local market in early 2013.
PrimeComposite is a jointless flooring system that allows
developers to completely eliminate the drawbacks that accompany
existing flooring technologies, including cracks, uneven surfaces
and curling joints. Jointless concrete floor slabs can be laid up to
6 000 m
2
in a single pour.
The system, due to the elimination of joints, ismore precise, is 50%
thinner than traditional concrete decking at 130 mm, and helps to
reduce CO
2
emissions by 50% or more while significantly improving
quality, making it an environmentally friendly and economical option.
The ground work on the project started at the end of August and
concrete placement began at the beginning of September 2013.
For this particular project, the earthworks needed to be very flat
and hardwearing so CLF used its laser grading equipment to ensure
the profile was +0 mm – 10 mm.
CLF’s Prime Composite flooring system utilises a high dosage of
special steel fibres, ahighdosageof patented shrinkage compensating
admixture and a quality control management software, which uses an
iPad programme on site and live web feedback of onsite conditions
including concrete temperature and humidity.
The dosage of steel fibres to concrete trucks was done using
a fibre blowing machine imported from Europe. Without the use
of this machine, the fibres are likely to ball together and hamper
production and quality of the concrete.The shrinkage compensating
admixture was done using CLF’s in house designed and built mixer
pump unit. Strict quality control had to be met by the readymix
supplier who provided constant onsite technical representation.
A total of 36 people from CLF’s national offices worked on this
project. During the course of construction a need for further per-
sonnel was noticed and three additional jobs were created. Skills
development played a major role in this project due to the new
equipment and fast paced nature of the products used. Some of
the skills gained by onsite personnel were in operation of the fibre
blower machine, operating the admixture pumps and monitoring
temperature and humidity during the pour.
PrimeComposite is 50% thinner than traditional flooring systems
so the project in itself was probably the most energy efficient and
environmentally considerate industrial concrete flooring projects in
South Africa. As cement production contributes a huge amount to
CO
2
emissions, further use of PrimeCompositewill reduce this impact.
