The office complexes at 16845 Von Karman Ave, Irvine California received an emergency vehicle access area that uses the Bomanite Grasscrete System. Bomanite Licensed contractor, T.B. Penick & Sons, Inc. worked with Wolcott Architecture to select the sustainable pervious concrete system that would work best with the intended use.
The Partially Concealed Grasscrete System is engineered to provide long-term durability, low maintenance and structural strength. Access around or to buildings for fire trucks or other emergency vehicles are typically concealed with grass and defined with curbs, bollards or landscaping to complement the design of the structures and walkways.
The combination of concrete, steel and aggregate interlock ensures that Grasscrete can bear isolated loads; such as downriggers placed in an emergency situation with no support blocks. The robustness of the system minimizes the potential for failure during critical use.
Grasscrete, pervious concrete, constructed with one time use formers is time proven. Because of its structural integrity and continuous reinforcing, Grasscrete is not subject to the differential settlement that can occur with precast blocks and thin plastic products. The sustainable Grasscrete Molded Pulp Former System, used for the office complex project, has been engineered and field proven to bear the continuous weight of up to 114,000 pound vehicles along with such customized applications as military tank use or light speed rail track access– even when the sub-base becomes saturated making this ideal for this Emergency Access area.
The owners of this grand estate in Essex County, Massachusetts installed several decorative concrete systems throughout their property. The estate contains an indoor swimming pool, BBQ house, several patios and courtyards, a Barn and two garages, plus a full indoor basketball court that doubles as a Hockey Rink.
After working with Premier Concrete Construction, LLC on their garage project and reviewing additional needs, the homeowner acquired their services for a Pervious Concrete System. The homeowner wanted a pervious cobblestone driveway for the tradesmen estate entrance. The driveway needed to reflect the exterior design of the home and be able to handle storm water runoff while supporting the weight and use of delivery vehicles.
Bomanite Grasscrete is the green alternative to standard concrete surfaces providing a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable green product design used for emergency access lanes, delivery access routes, overflow parking areas, and for intermittent drainage channels that help prevent erosion.
Grasscrete has been used as an exposed utilitarian product for functional applications and as a concealed system with vegetation such as grass or native ground cover installed over the concrete allowing consumers to mitigate drainage issues while maintaining strong structural integrity for some of the heaviest vehicles to operate unencumbered. The Partially Concealed Grasscrete System provides the differential spacing you see with cobblestones giving the homeowner the look desired.
The Grasscrete single-use molded pulp formers were shaped and laid on the sub grade at approx. 1,300 sq. ft. to create the access for the service vehicles. Concrete was poured and placed over the formers and then voids were opened after the concrete hardened, allowing for grass to be planted. Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping.
AWARDS: Best Bomanite Grasscrete Project – Silver Award
Goody Goody Liquor is located in a flood plain below White Rock Lake, making Grasscrete an ideal pervious product to help with storm water management. Their need for an emergency vehicle access area as well as parking stalls was solved with the Grasscrete Stone Filled System. Bomanite Licensee, Texas Bomanite, worked with Goody Goody to implement a city regulation that a percent of the site paving was required to be pervious due to the nature of the flood zones.
Grasscrete Stone Filled applications offer maximum percolation rates and a low maintenance option that is both functional and environmentally friendly. Stone filled systems are capable of draining at rates of up to 480 inches per hour with 100% retention of water possible with correct design.
In designing the parking area, some of the stalls were concreted and some of them done with the pervious Grasscrete system. The Grasscrete molded pulp former was used to form the lot, concrete was poured, voids were removed and stone aggregate was filled in the voids to allow for additional drainage. Parking stall lines were added to delineate spaces. Goody Goody wanted the solid walkway added for ADA to be able to push a shopping cart across the parking lot easily if needed. The solid walkway also allows for ease of a smooth transportation of people from the store to an emergency ambulance vehicle.
Bomanite Grasscrete Systems provide a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable, “Green” product design. As a cast-in-place, monolithic, pervious concrete pavement that is continuously reinforced to provide superior structural integrity, Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access to a variety of applications without compromising surrounding aesthetics or environment.
Bomanite Licensed Contractor, Green Pervious Systems was contacted to provide a solution to an existing entry courtyard that was landscaped with gravel and plants. Due to heavy foot traffic across the landscaped areas it was impossible for the school to maintain the upkeep of the landscaping. Bomanite Grasscrete Systems was selected to replace the gravel courtyard for several reasons, first, it would allow for foot traffic across the courtyard without destroying the planted grass. Second, the courtyard receives storm water runoff from the surrounding buildings and Grasscrete allows the water to be absorbed rapidly in the confined courtyards and provides a porous surface to stockpile snow that is removed from the walks in the winter months.
The Grasscrete System consisted of a lose ¾” gravel aproximately 6” thick for the drain bed which was covered with a filter fabric / weed barrier. The filter fabric then was covered with a 2” sand leveling course for the Molded Pulp Formers. The formers are placed to grade and concrete is placed on the formers and screeded level with the tops. The concrete was given a broom finish and after the concrete had set the tops of the formers are removed and clean topsoil was used to fill the forms. The soil was left approximately ½” low to prevent compaction of the planting material from foot traffic. The forms were then filled with grass seed to complete the system.
Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping. Grasscrete is a very sustainable product that can employ a large recycled material content both in the form of aggregate and binder such as fly ash or slag—its lifespan is indefinite and can be recycled itself to form the aggregates for future Grasscrete applications; providing Specifiers with a truly sustainable, eco-friendly system to accommodate a variety of needs.
Bomanite Grasscrete Systems provide a variety of landscape solutions while maintaining a sustainable, “Green” product design. As a cast-in-place, monolithic, pervious concrete pavement that is continuously reinforced to provide superior structural integrity, Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access to a variety of applications without compromising surrounding aesthetics or environment.
The Bomanite Licensed Contractor, provided a much needed storm water drainage solution to the newly installed parking lot of the Los Alamos National Bank. The Bomanite Grasscrete System was chosen for selected areas and installed around the perimeter to allow for a central drainage channel. The installation consisted of a lose ¾” crushed concrete base approximately 6” thick for the drain bed which was covered with a filter fabric / weed barrier. The filter fabric was then covered with a 2” crusher fines leveling course for the Molded Pulp Formers. The formers were placed to grade and concrete was placed on the formers and screeded level with the tops. The concrete was given a broom finish. After the concrete had set the tops of the formers were opened up and clean ¾’ minus stone was used to fill the forms and allow for drainage of storm water.
Grasscrete offers the ability to provide year-round access for a variety of applications requiring structural paving surfaces without compromising the aesthetics of the exterior landscaping. Grasscrete is a very sustainable product that can employ a large recycled material content both in the form of aggregate and binder such as fly ash or slag—its lifespan is indefinite and can be recycled itself to form the aggregates for future Grasscrete applications; providing Specifiers with a truly sustainable, eco-friendly system to accommodate a variety of needs.
Colorado College located in Colorado Springs wanted to maintain the grassed areas adjacent to large trees while providing access to a fire hydrant set back from the roadway. Grasscrete was chosen and installed by certified Bomanite Contractor, Premier Concrete Services. Grasscrete Molded Pulp Formers were utilized for this project providing sustainability with their 100% recycled content and ability to degrade over time into the sub-soils. The combination of concrete, steel and aggregate interlock ensures that Grasscrete can bear isolated loads such as downriggers placed in an emergency situation with no support blocks, The robustness of the system minimizes the potential for failure during critical use.
Approximately 10,000 square feet of Grasscrete was installed in NREL’s Central Arroyo Detention Pond by Bomanite Licensee, Colorado Hardscapes. NREL (Natioanl Renewable Energy Labatory) has had great success with the application of on-site pervious pavement systems to reduce site runoff and maintain predevelopment hydrologic conditions.
Over 59,000 square feet of pervious paving materials have been implemented on the STM campus in support of their living laboratory environment. Grasscrete allows the native planting in the pond to grow, protecting the root systems within the voids, and provides easy cleaning and scraping of the pond as needed without disrupting the pond’s shape and root system. The concrete was integrally colored an earthy brown tone to blend in with the natural surroundings. Grasscrete provided an excellent, continuously reinforced, cast-in-place pervious concrete solution for NREL.
The Design-Build team for the memorial to commemorate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. consisted of McKissack and McKissack, Turner Construction, Tompkins Builders and Gilford Corporation known as (MTTG). The site is adjacent to the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on the Tidal Basin and in a direct line between the Lincoln Memorial, where Dr. King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and the Jefferson Memorial, symbol of liberty and democracy.
The memorial honors Dr. King’s contributions to world peace through non-violent social change. Natural elements such as water, stone, and trees underscore the themes of justice, democracy, and hope. Quotes from Dr. King’s sermons and speeches capture the essence of his message in the commanding tenants of the American Dream – Freedom, Democracy, and Opportunity for All. The centerpiece of the Memorial, the “Stone of Hope”, features a 30-foot likeness of Dr. King.
Grasscrete was installed and is used for access to the back of the auxiliary building which houses the Martin Luther King Jr. bookstore, restrooms and a ranger station. The area is approx 2,000 square feet with the voids being planted with grass. The Grasscrete pour used a Buff Integral Color to provide a cohesiveness to the surroundings. The Grasscrete installation minimizes the non-pervious surfaces and includes a letdown between the sidewalk and street to allow daily access for the Park Ranger and maintenance vehicles.
The Lake Carmel, NY, project is an example of an end-user desiring to develop a piece of property in a riparian zone. In order to proceed with construction, the local building department required that there be no runoff and that all storm water be contained on the site. This would have required the use of retaining areas with the capacity such that they would restrict access to the building required by large commercial vehicles weighing up to 40,000 pounds, as well as conventional access for staff and visitors.
The community of Lake Carmel proposed the use of Grasscrete, a pervious concrete system designed to allow water to pass freely through while maintaining a structural integrity adequate to support the required vehicles. A design was tabled and received approval from all parties. The local Bomanite Franchise Partner, Rok-Built Construction, Inc., performed all the site work, constructed the building and installed the Grasscrete System.
A 12” deep bed of clear, crushed stone was installed under the 38,000 square-foot Grasscrete System to act as a reservoir, providing capacity to retain storm water and allow it to percolate to the sub-base over time. Additionally, three small retaining ponds were incorporated into the design to handle any runoff water in the event that catastrophic rainfall would not reach the sensitive habitat area. The retaining ponds were designed as landscaped feature areas to add greenery at the perimeter of the site and improve the project aesthetics. These ponds were connected with three traditional inlet points that would function only after the Grasscrete System reached capacity. In this way the retaining ponds are kept artificially low at all times.
The concrete was a 4,000 psi mix design developed and provided by Brewster Transit Mix which was reinforced by 8×8 w8.0x8.0 epoxy-coated welded wire mesh. The Grasscrete was cast 5 1/2” thick and due to the finish requirements had to be hand floated and broomed . Once the former tops were removed, the voids were filled with locally sourced decomposed granite. The entry, walkways, handicap parking and visitor parking were finished traditionally as hard surfaces that drained to the Grasscrete System.
Goals Achieved/Added Benefits
• All storm water was contained, eliminating warmed first flush and contaminants entering habitat.
• No fears of clogging or freeze thaw degradation of the aggregate interface.
• Portion of cement content was replaced with fly ash, thus consuming a by-product and lessening CO2 emissions.
• Load bearing capacity to handle loaded trucks with trailers met by system.
• More robust than precast or plastic ring pervious products and therefore more
sustainable.
• Once through its service life, the product can be reclaimed and utilized as base material for future Grasscrete applications.
The Grasscrete System was selected for the project due to it’s LEED characteristics. Grasscrete Molded Pulp Formers were utilized for this project providing sustainability with their 100% recycled content and ability to degrade over time into the sub-soils. The selection of a Grasscrete System is one of the easiest ways to achieve LEED points due to the reduction in heat island effect, management of storm water runoff, recycled content used in the application process as well as the concrete and sub-base, the long lifespan and the low maintenance required. Grasscrete Systems are highly sustainable with a very low life-cycle cost and the ability to be completely recycled and used in a future project.
