MIDLAND, VA, April 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Easi-Set Worldwide, a subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation (SMID), project update: Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G), New Jersey’s oldest and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, set out to upgrade and enclose its metering and regulating station in Sayreville, N.J. Because the facility is located in a residential neighborhood, it was important to create a strong, low-maintenance building with visual appeal. An Easi-Set precast concrete building was recommended by HMI Technical Solutions LLC, a Henkels & McCoy Group Inc. company based in Charlotte, N.C.
Henkels & McCoy’s Technical Services Group brought the PSE&G representatives to Oldcastle Precast Inc.’s Easton, Pa., facility to see current buildings in production and discuss their requirements. Oldcastle Precast, one of nearly 70 Easi-Set licensed producers, is an industry leader that focuses on supplying precast concrete products to various markets. From that meeting, the plans began to upgrade Sayreville’s station.
The design centered around providing a 30’ x 80’ x 15’ Easi-Set Building. The building consists of twenty-two 10’ wide x 15’ high concrete wall panels and eight 10’ wide x 31’ long tapered concrete roof panels. Oldcastle poured panels every other day from April 26, 2017, to July 10, 2017, to ensure the building was shipped on time.
“This building obviously could not be shipped in one assembly because of its size,” says Eric Bocich, a project manager for Oldcastle Precast. “We nonetheless ensure the integrity of every building with our quality control measures. In this case, each panel was poured and prepared in our facility to eliminate the possibility of panel damage or deterioration that can happen in the field.”
An advantage of selecting an Easi-Set precast concrete building is that buildings are fully customizable to meet each customer’s needs. The buildings, either pre-assembled or panelized, are manufactured in a controlled environment that provides greater quality control. Even for a building this large, the panels were shipped with the glass in the windows and louvers installed.
An AP Thermoforming Wire-Cut Utility Brick form liner was used on the wall panels to simulate a brick finish, and then Sherwin-Williams H&C Concrete Stain in Tile Red was applied to accentuate the effect. The roof is finished with Sherwin-Williams H&C Concrete Stain in Patio Green. The roof slabs have a slight taper from the center ridge. The interior has a smooth steel trowel finish, painted with Sherwin-William White Tred-Plex paint.
At the jobsite, the foundation was prepared with cast-in-place 12" x 12" steel embeds, and the foundation wall is 24" wide to support both the building and columns for the 5-ton interior bridge crane.
When the team was ready, an impressive 10-day delivery and install began. First, the site had to be prepped with crane timber matting because of unstable soil conditions. Four 6" thick wall panels were shipped flat on each trailer and one 50,000-pound roof panel was shipped per trailer. To lift the panels in place, two cranes were needed. A 120-ton hydraulic crane was onsite for three days to set the 22 wall panels, and a 250-ton hydraulic crane was onsite for two days to set the eight roof panels.
The 10-day installation schedule went like this:
Day 1: The wall panels were loaded on five trailers and the 120-ton crane was mobilized.
Day 2: Two trailers with eight wall panels were delivered, an additional three trailers were loaded and the panels were tack welded together.
Day 3: Three trailers with 11 wall panels were delivered, and additional wall panels were tack welded together.
Day 4: A trailer with three wall panels was delivered, full welded connections began and touch-up of the interior wall paint was started.
Day 5: Full welded connections continued and touch up of the exterior wall stain began.
Day 6: A 250-ton crane was mobilized, and six roof panels were delivered. The welded connections on the walls were patched with Speed-Crete.
Day 7: The final two roof panels were installed, the 250-ton crane was broken down and removed from the site, the interior roof paint was touched up and the roof panel connections were fully welded.
Day 8: All the welds were finished, and the connections were patched and painted.
Day 9: The interior joints were caulked and painting continued.
Day 10: The exterior joints were caulked, and the windows were cleaned.
On day 11, the building was turned over to PSE&G. “I can only begin to tell you how impressed I am with Oldcastle Precast,” says Moffette Tharpe, managing director of Easi-Set Worldwide. “Their craftsmanship and attention to detail—from initial meetings through install—ensured PSE&G’s requirements were met with a quality precast concrete building unlike any other.”
The Oldcastle Precast crew came back in September to install man-doors and a coiling insulated door after the PSE&G contractors installed large diameter gas piping and meter/regulating equipment (some of the piping was installed in the foundation prior to the building install). The station was fully operational and serving its customers by late 2017.
Discover more about Easi-Set Buildings and its network of licensed producers at http://www.easisetbuildings.com or by calling 800-547-4045.
Oldcastle Precast Inc. has more than 80 locations nationwide with 3,000 employees. Products range from utility vaults, reinforced concrete pipe, catch basins, drainage and septic tanks to retaining walls, storm shelters, wall panels, concrete barriers and more. Employees are committed to upholding core values of reliability, quality and service in cutting edge ways. Visit http://www.oldcastleprecast.com or call 888-965-3227.
Easi-Set Worldwide, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smith Midland Corporation, a public company, licenses the production and sale of Easi-Set products and provides diversification opportunities to the precast industry worldwide. Easi-Set’s pre-engineered buildings are designed to provide durability, convenience and long-lasting security under a variety of applications. These maintenance-free structures are available through licensed precast concrete manufacturers across North America. Each producer manufactures Easi-Set’s Buildings with the patented post-tensioned roof and floor system to guarantee a weatherproof structure. For more information about Easi-Set Worldwide or licensing opportunities, contact Easi-Set by calling 800-547-4045, visiting www.easiset.com or emailing info@easiset.com.