The GREENEST mix - Pervious Concrete can get GREENER

The Greenest Mix we have ever devised!
Guest post, written by David Liguori

I wanted to give you a quick update on one of the more significant developments we’ve achieved lately.
 
In our continuing quest to further improve the performance of pervious concrete we have developed an “ultra-green” mix design for which we have recently received test data. The mix contains only 245 lbs. of cement, vs. 5-600 lbs. for regular concrete, and 245 lbs. of  supplementary cementitious materials (scm). The scm consists of a combination of fly ash and slag, both industrial waste products.
 
We used this mix this past January on a 2,000 ft. long (by 10’ wide) driveway in Palo Alto(photo above) and 3 months ago on a 5,000 sqft. driveway in Los Altos Hills (photo below). They are both performing quite impressively. Absolutely no surface raveling, all of which typically takes place in the first month or two if it’s going to happen, water infiltration rates of 700-1,200” per hour and compressive strengths above 3,000 psi.
 
As I am sure you know the addition of the scm’s slows down the rate of early strength gains but ultimately results in higher overall strength. In the case of the ultra-green mix our 28 day numbers are in the  2,600 – 2,900 psi range and to our delight the recent 90 day test came in at an outstanding 3,520psi. These type of results and data continue to increase our confidence in pervious concrete as viable long term stormwater management solution.

If you would like more details, contact us here and we will get in touch!

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This is the video from the longest (and greenest) pervious concrete driveway in the world!

This residential driveway is the world's longest pervious concrete driveway measuring half a mile long! It was designed and installed by Bay Area Pervious Concrete. If you would like to know more about pervious concrete and how it can absorb the puddles in your driveway, visit us at http://www.bayareaperviousconcrete.com.

RC Ready Mix - Sample Slab with Decorative Pervious

We teamed up with RC Ready Mix to do a sample pour over in their yard, with their aggregate. They wanted to see how it went down, and we wanted to see how our mix design would work with their rocks.  Not only did the installation turn out REALLY WELL, but Rob Estrada was able to really show us all a few MORE possibilities for decorative pervious concrete!

The first question is always ‘how well does it drain?’ Check out the video below to watch the front end loader dump a bucketful of water on the slab!

We agree with the driver, thumbs up! A few days later, Rob went over there to try some designs to see how they could look.  We are well known for our Polished Pervious™, which you can see below, next to the Classic Pervious Concrete.

To get a closer look at the great texture, we took a close up. You can see the Polished Pervious Concrete ™, and then set into the pervious a pattern that was added well after the plastic was pulled up.

And here is where Rob really let loose!  As Rob added these layers of color and texture to the Pervious Concrete, you can see the window that RC Ready Mix installed when they were framing. That allows one to see the water going through the layers of the Pervious Concrete System.

Here is most of the slab - you can see the suns and the moon and the gorgeous colors that were used!

If you would like to see this in person, it will only be in the yard for a limited time. Contact us for more information.

Did You Say Decorative Pervious Concrete?

We have just compiled an entire gallery of Bay Area Pervious Concrete’s own decorative concrete innovations!   Featuring everything from a metallic fleck, to our exposed smooth aggregate finish, and custom aggregates and borders. Pervious concrete no longer has to look like rice crispy treats.  Visit our Bay Area Pervious Concrete’s Decorative gallery for all the hot looks!  

Polished pervious concrete featuring integral color and metallic fleck finish

Give us a call or email us if you would like more information, a driveway or parking lot in the below finish, or an in-office presentation with samples!

Let us know what you think on Twitter.

Pervious Concrete has an industry magazine!

Check out the most recent thinking about pervious concrete across the United States with great photos, articles and advertisements from local pervious experts in your area. PerviousPro is the brainchild of Dale Fisher and the people over at the NPCPA - the National Pervious Concrete Pavement Association. We even have an article written by Bay Area Pervious Concrete.

Check out this issue here:

http://viewer.epaperflip.com/Viewer.aspx?docid=85d951d5-33b1-47c8-b174-a05200d37fc9

Let us know what you think!

4 Layers for Stormwater Management

We at Bay Area Pervious Concrete have come  a long way towards developing the Pervious Concrete as a viable Stormwater Management System. Going through this diagram, you can see where the water goes -- one of our most frequently asked questions.

Starting at the bottom-SOIL
We do soil infiltration tests before our jobs so we can understand how fast the water will soak in, underneath the pervious concrete. Once we understand the infiltration rates and soil composition, we can engineer the appropriate depths to excavate for the next layer, the drain rock.

Before we lay the drain rock we sometimes will lay a layer of GEOTECH Fabric, which adds a helpful barrier against some less porous soil types. We determine the need for this during the soil composition and infiltration tests.

Now for the DRAIN ROCK!
Drain rock is laid several to many inches thick, depending on the rain event to be captured, the soil type below, and how much impervious surface is draining into this slab. It is a very specific type of drain rock, not the typical base used under concrete which is impervious - we want to maintain about  40% air space to both allow water to pass through and give it place to "hang out" if the soil has a slow infiltration rate.

Finally the PERVIOUS CONCRETE
The pervious concrete is then laid on top of the drain rock, screeded and rolled into place and covered in plastic, where it will cure for at least a week.

Redwood Avenue - Residential Installation

The Situation:
The client had flooding in the back and front of the house due to an uneven grade of the lot and excessive roof runoff.

Driveway before- 'pervious pavers' that had settled and were not performing the way the homeowner had hoped.

Sideyard before- muddy, and not very useful.

Why Pervious Concrete?
He initially wanted a pervious concrete driveway because of impervious ground cover limitations in his city.

The Solution:
We designed a pervious concrete driveway and side yard that is also the retention pond for all of the roof and yard runoff.The pervious concrete water retention system captures 100% of their runoff from the roof AND the lot. They now have a dry front yard, back yard and they can grill just off the kitchen without puddles!

Sideyard after- Now this space can be used for laundry and garbage bin storage.