Wisconsin Producer Member Describes Concrete Overlay Success Story

When Appleton, WI-based Carew Concrete & Supply's Vice President of Sales Mike Tews received a phone call a few months ago from the owner of a parking lot looking for a curb and gutter contractor, he set in motion a concrete overlay success story.

"I received a call from the owner of the parking lot in May looking for a curb and gutter contractor," Tews recently related to NRMCA Senior Director, Local Paving, Ken Justice. "He asked if I had any recommendations on someone to come in and replace the old curb and gutter. He wanted to put in new blacktop. I asked him if he would ever consider a concrete overlay. He asked me what I meant by that. I said you don't have to remove the blacktop you already have; you just pour right over the top. I asked if I could come down and meet with him. He said he is very interested."

Justice said Tews then met with the owner and contractor at the parking lot, which serves a dental office, and explained the overlay process, with the owner expressing surprise that concrete could be placed over the existing blacktop.

"We told him he would have his parking lot back in a week. We would do half first, then the other half. He said that he doesn't have to do a new impact study for the city. He also didn't need to hire an engineer to redesign the parking lot. This will save him a lot of money," Tews said. "We gave him a price and it came in less than if he replaced it with blacktop. He didn't need to haul all the old blacktop off the site, which was a big expense. The blacktop makes a great base."

The concrete was placed at 4 -5 inches thick. Carew also removed an old concrete sidewalk in front of the building which was put in in 1980, giving the project a flesh new look. The mix was 4,500 psi with 3 lbs. Forta Ferro Fiber. The contractor placed the concrete at 4- 5 inch slump in two pours. The concrete slab is markedly brighter at night and gives the appearance of a white or a snow covered lot.

"This project (seen here) was converted to concrete by just talking to the owner and letting him know there are other options out there," added Tews. "This project is a great success story for our industry. By us meeting with the owner and pointing out there are other options rather than just blacktop, we changed a 460 yard parking lot to concrete. The owner said that his customers keep coming in and saying how nice the new parking lot looks. He never thought that they would be getting so many compliments on a new parking lot. This will serve these business for many years to come."

For more information, contact Ken Justice at kjustice@nrmca.org.