Building in winter can cost a mint. Steed Construction Superintendent David Anderson said the cost of the biggest slab of concrete ever poured in Ketchum was about $100,000.
The Olympic Terrace condominium project, on Fifth Street west of Lefty's Grill, when completed will have 20 "mid-range" condominiums, including three community-housing units, Anderson said.
The building will have one underground parking spot for each unit and an adjacent bike and ski locker. Although residents will not have to worry about shoveling snow since even the sidewalks will be heated, Anderson and his employees have been doing a great deal of shoveling in preparation for the pour that was completed Friday, Jan. 13.
On Thursday evening a kind of circus tent was assembled above the steel support for the new slab to keep the metal warm.
"It speeds the cure by being warm," Anderson said. Mixing the concrete with hot water and an ingredient to speed the process is all part of the necessary technique for pouring concrete in the winter.
It took 10 cement trucks to deliver 440 yards of concrete, about $40,000 worth of material. To orchestrate the pour in one eight-hour day, Steed contracted with two concrete companies, paying out about $60,000 for the services of about 50 people it took to complete the job.
Anderson said the contractor for the project is looking at Olympic Terrace as a model for future projects in Ketchum. Next, the company is working on a project called Red Hawk in Ketchum between First and Second streets that will have retail businesses on the first floor.
"We are trying to design to conform with what the city wants in projects of this size," Anderson said. After a one-week setback due to the snow, Anderson said the delay was not bad considering the size of the job and the weather. But, when temperatures dropped to 6 degrees, he was more concerned about his heating problems for a space that has no walls to keep winter out yet.
"That scared the heck out of me," Anderson said, adding that he is used to managing big jobs, having commuted to Boise to work on a $65 million project, among others. "I am always trying to get to the next level. I've been there, now I'm back."
The last task for the pour on Friday was to pull insulating blankets over the curing surface.
Concrete companies joined forces Friday, Jan. 13, to pour a 440-yard slab for the Olympic Terrace project next door to Lefty's Bar and Grill in Ketchum. Some 50 people and 10 concrete mixers were orchestrated to complete the massive slab, the largest in the city. Photo by Willy Cook
