Located in Columbia, S.C., Fort Jackson is the U.S. Army’s largest Initial Training Center, training approximately half of all soldiers entering the Army each year. Recently, Fort Jackson initiated renovations of its dining hall, including a complete overhaul of the existing flooring system. Contractor Balfour Beatty called on Randall Concrete Division and Level Tech Systems of Florida to rehabilitate the concrete subsurface so new flooring could be installed.

The concrete subsurface was in dismal condition, with extensive craters and divots throughout. Contractors had to bring these numerous voids level to the adjacent concrete surface. Rapid Set® Concrete Mix and Cement All® were used to fill in the deeper areas. Because the floor had so many height elevations, Randall’s crews found it best to prep the substrate mechanically.

Primer was then applied to prepare the surface for accepting Rapid Set® LevelFlor®, and Level Tech’s crews began placing LevelFlor. The extensive cratering required two lifts. The first lift brought the floor to within 3/8-inch of the surrounding elevation, and the second lift brought it to final elevation for a total 1 ½-inch-thick floor topping.

“The building was not yet closed to the weather,” said Scott Heylock of Level Tech Systems, Jacksonville, Fla. “So it was cold and the roof wasn’t sealed. There were times when it was raining. We had to install a product that wasn’t susceptible to water. It had to hold up to elements, and LevelFlor met those requirements.”

Crews placed a total of 1,215 bags of LevelFlor. They mixed 10 bags at a time in a batch pump. The surface was finished with a 54-inch redwood rake float, and the subsurface was finally level and ready for the installation of VCT tile and carpet.

“Our results with LevelFlor at Fort Jackson were great,” said Heylock. “We’ve always found it to be an excellent product to work with and very predictable. We’ve had fantastic results with it.”