Tag Archives: cement

Contract Scheduling and Terms

Disclaimer – this and subsequent articles on this subject are not intended to be legal advice, merely an example for discussions between you and your legal advisor.

Please keep in mind, many of these terms are applicable towards post frame building kits and would require edits for cases where a builder is providing erection services or materials and labor.

SCHEDULING: Upon completion of all required documents by Purchaser (including, but not limited to, Instant Invoice, Door locations and Jobsite Delivery Information), Purchaser’s online approval of Seller’s plans, and appropriate payment, shipment(s) will be expedited to be as soon as is practical, however no guaranteed time frame is promised. Purchaser will receive multiple deliveries over a span of a week or more. Seller has little or no control over the exact date of arrival, nor can Purchaser specify any exact date and/or time for deliveries.

Some vendors will require Purchaser or Purchaser’s adult agent to be present at time of delivery. Materials may be delivered via any combination of USPS, UPS, FedEx or freight carrier, the choice of which is strictly determined only by Seller and/or Seller’s vendors. In the event tracking information is furnished to Purchaser, the responsibility to monitor tracking is upon Purchaser.

EXCLUSIONS: Seller is not a contractor, architect or engineer in any state, and both parties agree no such representation has been made. Seller does not and cannot endorse, nor take responsibility for the performance of any contractor or laborer hired by Purchaser, even if the name was provided by Seller. Purchaser waives any and all right of claim against Seller for non-performance of any materials improperly installed by any contractor. 

Seller cannot predict nor guarantee any permit, construction or labor costs. Any and all construction labor and equipment, as well as nails 16d or smaller, staples or tacks which can be commonly driven by pneumatic powered equipment are to be provided by Purchaser or Purchaser’s agents. The need for butyl tape sealants, water seals, closures for wall steel or polycarbonate panels, caulking or any other sealants is to be determined and furnished by Purchaser. 

While great effort is made to include web bracing material Seller does not see final engineered truss drawings prior to shipment so cannot verify, in advance, all web bracing requirements. As such, any materials for web bracing required beyond what is originally shipped with building kit, shall be furnished by Purchaser. Seller also does not furnish, nor pay for, any cement, concrete, pre-mix, rebar, wire mesh or any other materials which would be used to backfill Purchaser’s building columns or to construct any concrete floor, foundation or curb.

Concrete floors and/or continuous footings and/or foundations, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, drywall, site or grading plans, non-structural interior walls or partitions, provision for flooding, firewalls, sprinklers or other fire separations, gutters and downspouts, energy/heat loss calculations, meeting requirements of any energy code, meeting requirements of The International Wildlife-Urban Interface Code, or materials not provided by Seller, as well as the design of or specifications for any concrete work (including but not limited to driveways, porches, approaches, slabs, retaining walls, footings for walls, continuous foundations or stem walls) are specifically excluded from this Agreement and provided plans and/or calculations to be provided by Seller or third party engineer(s). 

Seller’s plans include a foundation designed as an isolated, shallow foundation with embedded columns. In the event any other foundation type be desired, or required, Purchaser will need to hire an appropriate engineer, at Purchaser’s expense. Any “plot” plans, floor plans or site tests/reports/engineering, or other “special” reports requested by any agency for Purchaser’s building are to be provided by Purchaser. Stairs, lofts, decks, mezzanines, second or higher floors, if included, will have handrails provided by Purchaser, unless otherwise specified. 

Purchaser further agrees to not enter into any other agreement, either verbal or written, with any of Seller’s suppliers, manufacturers, agents, employees or subcontractors, without the express written consent of Seller.

Cement Versus Concrete

Cement versus Concrete

Scraping a chalkboard (also known as a blackboard) with fingernails produces a sound and feeling most people find extremely irritating. Basis of this innate reaction to sound has been studied in the field of psychoacoustics (branch of psychology concerned with perception of sound and its physiological effects).

mr owl tootsie roll popIn response to audio stimuli, a human mind’s way of interpreting sound can be translated through a regulatory process called Reticular Activating System. Located in the brain stem, the Reticular Activating System continually listens, even throughout delta-wave sleep, to determine importance of sounds in relation to waking cortex or rest of body from sleep. Chalkboard scraping, or noises illiciting an emotional response, have been known to trigger tendencies from the fight or flight response acting as the bodys primary self-defense mechanism.

Superman has his Kryptonite, mine happens to be misused construction terms. Here, in Middle America, I have gradually adapted to term “rafters” being used for roof trusses. My favorite chalkboard scrape happens to be with use of “cement” when the correct term would be “concrete”.

Although terms cement and concrete often are used interchangeably, cement is actually an ingredient of concrete. Concrete is a mixture of aggregates and paste. Aggregates are sand and gravel or crushed stone; paste is water and portland cement.

Cement comprises from 10 to 15 percent of concrete mix, by volume. Through a process called hydration, cement and water harden and bind aggregates into a rocklike mass. This hardening process continues for years meaning concrete gets stronger as it gets older.

Portland cement isn’t a brand name, but a generic term for a cement type used in virtually all concrete, just as stainless is a type of steel and sterling a type of silver. Therefore, there is no such thing as a cement sidewalk, or a cement mixer; proper terms are concrete sidewalk and concrete mixer. I rest my case.

 

CLSM: Cost Effective Alternative to Soil Backfill

Backfilled HoleIn typical pole building construction, holes are augured into the earth, columns are placed in the hole so concrete can be placed below the column to act as a footing for vertical support, as well as to encase the lower portion of the column. Above this “bottom collar” compacted soil backfill is used to fill the void between the column and the edges of the holes.

Controlled low-strength material (CLSM) is self-compacted, cementitious material primarily used as a structural fill or backfill alternative to compacted soil backfill. It is often referred to by different names including flowable fill, controlled density fill, soil-cement slurry, unshrinkable fill, plastic soil cement and flowable mortar. It is self-leveling, having the approximate consistency of pancake batter, and can be placed in one lift with minimal labor and no vibration or tamping. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) defines CLSM as having a compressive strength less than 1200 psi (pounds per square inch), however most current CLSM applications require unconfined compressive strengths of less than 300 psi. This lower strength is more than comparable with strength of compacted soil backfill.

Since CLSM is designed to be fluid, it can be easily placed as backfill in a hole. Soil backfill, even if compacted properly in the required layer thicknesses, cannot achieve the uniformity and density of CLSM.

CLSM mixtures typically consist of water, portland cement, fly ash, and fine or course aggregates, or both. Some mixtures contain only water, portland cement, and fly ash. Although the materials used in CLSM may meet ASTM or other standard specifications, it is often not necessary to use standardized materials. The selection of materials for use in CLSM is based on cost, specific CLSM application and the required mixture characteristics including flowability, strength, excavatability and density. The use of fly ash improves the CLSM flowability, and can also increase strength and reduce the mixture’s bleeding, shrinkage and permeability. Air-entraining admixtures are also often used to help improve workability, reduce bleeding, help minimize segregation, reduce the unit weight, and control strength development.

Aggregates are usually the major component in CLSM, and their type, grading and shape can affect physical properties. Unlike conventional concrete aggregate, which is usually required to meet standardized specifications, CLSM aggregate need not necessarily meet these same standards to be effective. As an example, manufactured sands containing up to 20% non-deleterious dust of fracture have proven to be very satisfactory