Whether the predictable turning of the seasons or a freak snowstorm, winter weather presents additional challenges for construction workers, superintendents, and project managers. Thankfully, a little forethought and preparation can keep these disruptions to a minimum and allow work to progress more or less normally.
Priorities
Of course, your first concern is keeping your workers and passersby safe from the hazards presented by cold, wind, moisture, darkness, and snow. Clear icy surfaces, set up warming stations, install auxiliary lighting, issue insulated, highly visible personal protective equipment. You also will want to make arrangements to store equipment and materials where they will stay dry.
Finally, you will want to take action to ensure the weather cannot unduly delay your crews’ work or cause processes to fail. Hard, frozen ground is one winter condition that can wreak havoc with logistics and scheduling if you are not prepared.
Frozen Ground – The Cold, Hard Facts
Assuming giving your workers the winter off and vacationing in Miami for four months is not an option, New England construction sites must deal with ground freeze. The ground must be thawed and prepared to avoid a variety of problems:
- Costly Delays – Rock-hard earth can bring excavation equipment to a standstill, pushing projects back by weeks. Equipment downtime also pushes back other aspects of the projects, adding labor costs to machine rental and operator overtime charges.
- Equipment Damage – If you do move ahead with excavation of frozen ground, you risk damaging your expensive machinery. Attempting to piledrive, gouge, or cut into hard ground can break or crack booms, extension arms, and attachments
- Concrete Cracks – Pouring concrete on frozen ground is asking for trouble. When the ground thaws it will settle, shifting and tilting the concrete on top, inviting cracks. Cold ground harbors additional challenges to concrete curing and sealing. Don’t do it.
Thawing and Freeze Prevention
Pro Group offers several construction heater solutions for thawing frozen ground and keeping it at a temperature you can work with. Depending on your application needs, ground thaw heater blankets or pads may be your best choice. In other circumstances, a hydronic surface heater is the best choice. Here’s how to decide:
Ground Thaw Heater Blankets
These ground thaw heater blankets are most commonly used to prepare the ground for pouring concrete. As mentioned above, winter concrete pours offer challenges because concrete must remain at 50 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours to properly settle and cure. The blankets ensure the water in concrete does not freeze before it can be absorbed. The proper temperature also speeds the curing process.
Ground Thaw Heater Pads
Ground thaw heater pads can be used to prevent soon-to-be-landscaped areas from freezing before crews can dig in. They are used to melt frost and snow. And when draped over and around materials and equipment, they keep materials ready to use, engines ready to start, and liquids ready to flow.
Pro Group supplies Thermatech pads in sizes ranging from 4½ feet by 15 feet to 9×15. These 110-volt pads feature reinforced waterproofing, microform insulation, and 6-foot power cords.
Hydronic Surface Heaters
Heavy-duty, towable hydronic surface heaters heat water in boilers to heat fluid and pump it through serpentine hoses or tubing that acts as a heat exchanger. As the hot water flows through the tubes, the ground absorbs much of the heat and the water takes on the cold from the ground. The water flows back to the boiler, where propane or oil fires reheat it for another heat-exchanging circuit.
Hydronic surface heaters can thaw the ground before a concrete pour, working in conjunction with construction heater pads and blankets used after the pour to aid in curing.
As an added benefit, hydronic surface heaters’ boilers throw off excess heat, keeping the ambient air in the vicinity warm. Crews can warm themselves by huddling nearby and can keep materials ready to use by staging it in the area.
Snake the tubing around the surface area to be thawed. Fill the water boiler. Set the desired temperature. And let the machine run. A full boiler can operate overnight, making the ground manageable when crews arrive in the morning.
The Pro Group Has All Your Winter Needs Covered
Now is the time to prepare for the coming winter to ensure the cold and snow does not delay your project. Check out Pro Group’s full line of winter site-preparation equipment. Contact our knowledgeable and helpful sales team to determine which ground thawing and heating equipment is right for your job site.
