 |
VERSA-LOK Bronco is an attractive heavyweight time-saver for
contractor
December 6, 2006
For contractor Arvid Jereczek, building a segmental retaining wall
using traditional 82-pound VERSA-LOK units is child’s play. Building
a wall with VERSA-LOK’s new 4,500-pound Bronco SRW system, however,
presented a whole different challenge. But after completing his
first Bronco wall, the Eau Claire, WI, contractor can’t wait to get
started on his next one.
“I wish we would have had them about four years ago,” Jereczek
enthused.
Jereczek’s company, American Express Transport, has installed a lot
of segmental retaining walls. But they had never worked with blocks
as large as Bronco until this project at a commercial office
building parking lot came along.
“We probably would have gone with a regular segmental retaining wall
like VERSA-LOK Standard or Mosaic,” says Jereczek. “There wasn’t a
whole lot of (total installed) cost difference between the two
products. The time savings was the biggest factor in going with
Bronco.”
Bronco is installed much like any other SRW. Each unit weighs about
4,500 pounds and displays 14 square feet of face area with a
four-panel, natural-stone relief appearance. Bronco units are made
in four different face patterns. By alternating the four patterns, a
random pattern can be achieved throughout the wall.
Bronco units are wet-cast using approximately 1.25 cubic yards of
concrete per unit. Steel-cable pick rings are cast into the top and
back of the unit for easy placement using appropriate lifting
equipment. Alignment knobs molded into the top of units and channels
molded into the bottom ensure correct near-vertical positioning and
allow for tight, variable-bond construction. Cap units are designed
to allow for landscaping to the face of the wall at the top.
Although Bronco units can be set on an 8-inch granular road-base
leveling pad, Jereczek’s crew installed their wall on a “lean”
concrete footing.
“The very first course is the hardest because you’re trying to get
them exactly level. By using a concrete leveling pad, you put them
down and you’re done,” says Jereczek. Once the base-course is in
place, each one is leveled front to back and side to side with
adjacent blocks and shimmed up if necessary.
Bronco units are placed using a backhoe and chain to hoist them.
Once placed, they can easily be nudged into position with the
backhoe bucket.
“We were figuring it would take us five minutes per block,” says
Jereczek. “But it was even faster than that. We had one placed about
every three minutes.”
Because Bronco can be built up to 10 feet tall without geogrid, it’s
ideal for installations with site constraints. However, Jereczek
says that wasn’t an issue on this project and had no bearing on
choosing Bronco.
“It was the time savings. We saved at least a week-and-a-half” by
using Bronco over a conventional SRW, he notes. The project was
installed in October, so it was imperative that they have time on
their side before the Wisconsin winter set in. “Plus, we wanted the
random-pattern look that Bronco has.”
Two walls were built to create parking areas adjacent to the office
building: one 135-foot wall and one 80-foot wall. The walls used 97
full Bronco units, six half units and 37 caps for a total wall
surface of just over 2,000 square feet.
Jereczek was impressed with the quality of the Bronco units.
“They were totally uniform,” he remarked. That made installation all
the more quicker. Once the wall was in place, he added, “We ran a
’dozer right up next to it and they didn’t move.”
Jereczek says they’ll stain the wall faces next spring. And he’s
anxious to start on the next Bronco job.
“I hope to start a long relationship with these blocks,” Jereczek
concludes. |
