Location: Clippert Street, Lansing MI Concrete Contractor: Kent Companies, Inc. Concrete Supplier: High Grade Materials Engineer: Hobbs & Black Architects Owner: Continental/Ferguson Lansing, LLC
The craftsmanship and planning of the Red Cedar’s retaining walls are remarkable. These decorative retaining walls were incredibly complex, requiring strong attention to detail over the 850 lineal feet of 14-foot-tall wall. The crew had to ensure the form liner alignment matched up and the reveal strips stayed at the same heights. The stone pattern wrapped around a 90-degree corner, which took creative cutting and detailing to ensure a proper aesthetic appeal.
With the various panel liners and patterns, numerous challenges presented themselves where all of the different materials needed to interact with each other. The solution? A significant amount of time planning prior to any of the 1,850 cubic yards of concrete showing up on site.
The wall is divided into modules, with each module measuring roughly 30-feet long. The panels were built on the ground and then flipped over. The team confirmed the layout and fastened the panels to the form systems. When all was ready, they stood it up and set it into place.
Kent Companies’ crew had to ensure the details were installed correctly with as little impact on the schedule as possible. They worked collaboratively to solve problems like control joint issues and chamfer details. All things considered, the carefully crafted form liner and striking retaining wall resulted in zero accidents and injuries on the project throughout construction during the winter of 2020/2021.
Overcoming obstacles, the craftmanship onsite led to minimal rework and touch-up. The Kent Companies field leadership and crews displayed a true reflection of concrete professionals, with a beautiful end result that exceeded customer expectations while keeping each teammate safe.
