Concrete Finishing Speed Screed® Job Site Applications

The design features just reviewed allows the Speed Screed® to handle a wide variety of concrete finishing and paving projects. The following job site applications highlight the great versatility of the three Speed Screed® models.

Construction of concrete floors is a popular use for the Speed Screed®. On this project, over one million square feet of concrete was finished by this speed screed light. The 28-foot wide concrete screed with hand winches accurately placed and consolidated bays that were 8' thick by 25' wide. On another flatwork project, a Speed Screed® was used to place warehouse floors. The machine was equipped with hydraulic winches, which permits forward travel to be infinitely variable from 0 to 12 feet per minute. Hydraulic winches allowed this Speed Screed® to virtually run by itself. This was also the case on another project which involved finishing floors for a UPS building. An underground floor for a building expansion was placed by this speed screed ultra-light. The ultra-light model was preferred for this job since easy handling and movement of the concrete screed was of critical importance. The Speed Screed® Heavy Duty™ concrete screed is specifically designed for low slump, high production pours. Airport paving is an excellent example of this type of application and here the heavy-duty model is shown placing a 16' thick by 25' wide taxi way. The contractor performing this work purchased two concrete screeds for their paving projects and both units were equipped with self-advancing hydraulic power winches. Metal Forms Corporation is proud of the fact that its Heavy Duty™ model has been approved for use on numerous federal, state, military, and international paving projects.

This contractor purchased a Heavy Duty™ concrete screed for several applications including subdivisions streets, lane widening, and alley paving. On this application, their speed screed is paving a 16' wide alley having a 4 1/2' inverted crown. Although primarily used as a paving screed, the Speed Screed® Heavy Duty™ easily adjusts to other applications. For example, here the machine is working on a 60' wide slab for a tilt up building. High early strength patching is playing an important part in the rehabilitation of our nation's roads and highways. Here the speed screed light is shown on a state highway patch job which specified a super-high, early mix. Despite the very sticky consistency of this concrete, the Speed Screed® produced an excellent finish in only one pass.

After the pour, Tom Miller of Metal Forms Corporation asked Jim Secard of Quality Concrete about the special patch mix and the results achieved with the Speed Screed®.

Tom: Traffic is going to be on it within eight hours?

Jim: In eight hours this road is going to be open to traffic.

Tom: So do you just make one pass with the machine?

Jim: We've just been making one pass with the machine. With the other brand we had to make two or sometimes three passes in order to get the same finish.

The Speed Screed® is adaptable to all types of concrete paving projects. Here a Speed Screed® equipped with hydraulic winches is placing a 30' wide, 10' thick street pavement with 4' of crown. In a different paving application a concrete screed was used for lane widening. An adjustable, offset plate allowed this speed screed to finish 6' beneath the top of the form. Replacement of several bridge deck approaches was accomplished by this Speed Screed® ultra-light. The pavements required a 3' parabolic crown and under tight inspection the concrete screed produced consistent and accurate results. This machine similar to most ultra-lights was supplied with front baffle blades to help reduce the amount of raking and leveling required ahead of the machine. Concrete screeds used for bridge deck paving often require modifications to properly perform the job. In this situation, a special end frame was designed to straddle reinforcing steel that was already in place. The adaptation combined with the hydraulic winch option allowed this speed screed light to accurately place a 10' thick by 24' wide bridge deck.

You have just viewed Speed Screed® successfully operating on a variety of concrete finishing and paving projects. This is just a small sampling of the superior results that have led to the popular acceptance of these machines in the market place. The Speed Screed® has lived up to the fine reputation of reliability and excellence developed by Metal Form products since 1909. Rely on the products of Metal Forms Corporation for all your concrete forming and finishing requirements. Our service is fast, dependable, and complete. For more information on any of our products, please contact Metal Forms Corporation at 414-964-4550 or visit our website at www.metalforms.com