The scope of work at the Consumers’ Co-operative Refinery Complex included 2,400 cu. yd. of concrete foundations and slabs on grade and over 125 tons of reinforcing steel. Most of the work was inside active units, so special safety precautions had to be taken to ensure the safety of all workers involved.

Bird constructed the new firewater sump foundation. The sump tank was a 85 foot long precast culvert from the new firewater pond leading into a 21 foot deep by 500 square feet concrete sump chamber. On top of the chamber sits a 2.6 foot thick concrete slab on grade that houses various pumps and control panels.

After the original compressor building was demolished, Bird completed the foundations for the new compressor building. The new foundations had to be erected in the same footprint as the original because of the area constraints. Bird also had to arrange a special concrete mix to be designed to withstand the high cyclical vibrations of the compressors and to control thermal cracking. To expedite the schedule, a large concrete pump tower was erected inside an active unit in order to pour inside the unit. This helped other trades continue working while we poured concrete.