CTS Cement Manufacturing Corp. sent us a story about an enormous waterscape at Cypress Breeze Plantation, a private gated development in north Florida. The job was done by Muud Concrete Design (Multiple Use Unlimited Design), a Los Angeles outfit formed by artisans Adrian Gascon and Neil Hughes.
Here’s the CTS article, which also touts the company’s Rapid Set cement and cementitious mixes.
“The project involved a recreation center with a pool and a waterfall, 40 feet high with 45,000 to 50,000 square feet of rock work. The pool is 200 feet long with 14-foot rock walls.
“The contractor could not find skilled labor with the experience needed to work on the waterfall and rockwork. At that point the contractor had one lead man and five workers doing five bags of concrete a day, which was slow progress.”
Adrian Gascon of Muud Concrete Design and his crew were hired to fly in and take over the construction of the waterfall and rock work.
The project used 15,000 square feet of GFRC (glass-fiber reinforced concrete) and hand-carved cementitious material, including close to six pallets of Rapid Set Cement All, a blend of specialty sand and Rapid Set cement. Cement All was used to secure the dolphins to a base, to create the waterfall weirs, to lock GFRC panels in place, and to secure fiber-optic lighting and misters.
“Gascon sent ahead a list of tools and materials his crew required. Their first move was to immediately switch the material to Rapid Set Cement All. On a Tuesday they picked up all the necessary materials and on Wednesday they did 56 bags of Rapid Set — 10 times the amount of the old crew.
“The difference in productivity was a result of using a material that was more appropriate for vertical work, in addition to using a crew that was trained to use the material and was given the correct tools. The old crew didn’t know how to use the material and was wasting a considerable amount as it was drying in the buckets.”
The weather was miserable throughout the project, but the Rapid Set Cement All cured in 15 minutes anyway, allowing construction to proceed quickly. Gascon and his crew were able to finish the job in approximately three months.
The whole project was inspired by the Grand Waielea Resort in Hawaii. It includes a 100-foot lazy river, which floats you under a bridge with fiber optics and misters. The pool also has a regulation size volleyball court and a 50-foot prefab slide. The job lasted 18 months and cost $2.5 million.
