Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/423872
says Dave Nicholson, international technical manager at Maxxon. "Level- Right Maxx has several advantages. It's less likely to crack, can be used as a wear surface with the appropriate sealer, and can be poured thin. If it has to be thicker than 1.25 inches, it can be poured in multiple lifts. Also, it's com- patible with all types of radiant f loor heating, hydronic or electric," Nichol- son says. He adds that most types of floor covering can be placed on the new underlayment within 24 to 48 hours. The failure of finished f loor goods due to moisture vapour emissions is becoming a major issue. Nicholson notes that Maxxon offers Maxxon DPM and Maxxon MVP, surface applied mois- ture vapour barriers that prevent the passage of water vapour and moisture through slabs on, below or above grade. Euclid Chemical has recently intro- duced a new water reducer called Eucon WRX. Also a set-retarding admix- ture, it is formulated for air stability. Eucon WR X shows improved setting and finishing characteristics when compared to other commonly used ASTM C 494 Type A water reducers. It may be used at a wide range of dosage rates. Eucon WRX does not contain cal- cium chloride and/or other potential corrosion-enhancing ingredients. Tri-Con Concrete Finishing special- izes in pouring new floors to specs as well as restoring existing concrete sur- faces. With over 25 years' experience, the firm's main areas of business is in retail, industrial and commercial floors. One particular focus is providing clients who want them with floors that are joint-free, with no saw-cut control. Frank Guida, president at Tri-Con, says f loors without joints are desirable in several types of applications, with ware- houses being one. Smoother floors with fewer saw-cut joints can allow equip- ment like forklifts travelling over them to last longer. "Tri-Con has done projects with a 17,000-square-foot single pour with no saw-cuts," Guida says. The impact of climate change is a growing concern for building insurers as well as others either within or involved with the design, planning and construction sectors. In 2011, the National Round Table on the Environ- ment and the Economy ( NRTEE) forecast that by 2020 climate change impacts could cost the Canadian economy up to one per cent of its gross domestic (GDP) – or $5-billion per year – climbing to $43-billion per year by 2050. If 2013 is any indication, the predic- tions appear to be right on track. The Alberta flood alone is expected to cost upward of $6 billion, and, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, 2013 was the most expensive year on record for insurable losses in Canada, with $3.2 billion in weather-related claims, notes an article in the May/June edition of ReNew Canada, a periodical about infrastructure published by the Cement Association of Canada. The article makes the point that many infrastructure investments are of the once-in-a-lifetime variety and that the money spent on them should address the realities of extreme weather and its impact on buildings, storm drain systems and other assets. It advocates a shift away from the lowest-initial- cost model. "The priority going for- ward must be to establish and promote a return on investment for climate resilience," the article says. Perhaps a more welcome change for the country's concrete sector in recent years was the introduction a few years ago of Portland Limestone Cement, also known as GUL. The new cement involves about 10 per cent fewer CO2 emissions in its production. The product is receiving a good overall level of acceptance, says Rob Asquith, a B.C.-based sales man- ager for Lehigh Cement. The company's GUL is known as EcoCem. "Around 70 per cent of all bulk sales in the Lower Mainland is EcoCem," Asquith says. He adds that testing is continuing to assess GUL's suitability for use in a sulphate environment. "Once this is completed and adopted by CSA we would expect that number to exceed 95 per cent in all of B.C.," says Asquith. n december 2014 /31 concrete