Com-Crete, LLC

What a fantastic day we had yesterday at the Elkins High School career fair! We were thrilled to meet so many talented students and future leaders right in the heart of the gymnasium our C.R. Crawford Construction team had the privilege to build. It’s always rewarding to see our work come full circle and to share insights about careers in construction with the next generation. I also enjoyed sharing a booth with one of our family companies, specialty contractor Com-Crete, LLC! Thank you to Elkins High School for hosting, and to everyone who stopped by our booth – we can’t wait to see where your paths take you! ??

Last week, we were able to gather a trailer load of donations from our vendors and trade partners to send to those effected by Hurricane Helene in Asheville, NC. Donations included non-perishable foods, toiletries, and bottled waters. Our team drove from Arkansas to North Carolina to hand deliver these donations to their local non-profit. We would like to thank everyone involved for contributing in helping those in need. To those who have been effected, you are not alone in this fight for recovery.

We are thankful to share that all our people at C.R. Crawford Construction are safe following the recent tornado in Northwest Arkansas. While a few of our job sites incurred some damage, we consider ourselves very fortunate, knowing that many in our community were not as lucky. A special shoutout to the incredible linemen who have been tirelessly working to restore power across the region. Their dedication is inspiring! Our team at C.R. Crawford Construction, along with family companies Prime Electric and Com-Crete, LLC, had the privilege of grilling and serving meals to about 150 linemen in Rogers yesterday. We are so grateful for these hardworking crews and have immense respect for what they do. It's heartening to witness the outpouring of support and initiative within our community.?We are proud to be part of a company that not only values community involvement but also actively encourages and supports it. Moments like these remind us of the strength and resilience of our community. #NWAStrong?

Our Com-Crete team was fortunate enough to be apart of Build My Future NWA Career and Construction Industry Showcase again this year! Getting to demonstrate just some of the aspects of commercial concrete construction to the youth of Northwest Arkansas was truly a privilege. We had stations set up for bending rebar with our rebar bender, tying rebar in place with our tie wire gun, and operating our Somero laser screed. We hope these students had as much fun learning as our team did teaching! #ComCrete #ConcreteConstruction #BuildMyFutureNWA

Our company would not be able to thrive the way that it does without the women we have apart of our team. Our hard hats are off to these wonderful women that contribute to the success of Com-Crete. Your efforts are not taken for granted! Happy Women In Construction Week. #womeninconstructionweek #wicweek2024

While you were sleeping — or at the gym, or however you spent your early a.m. hours — concrete crews were working! Last week, I had the opportunity to be part of the action and attend a concrete placement by Com-Crete, LLC at a C.R. Crawford Construction job site. ?? The crews arrived at 3:30 a.m. (Full disclosure, I didn’t show up until 5 a.m.) It was such an interesting and educational experience! Three cool things I learned: ?? 1) The level of precision required in mixing and?placing concrete is astounding! From the exact ratio of ingredients (which is cement, water, sand, rock, and admixtures)?to the meticulous timing of the work to the skilled placement of it within its form, everything must be perfect to ensure the strength and longevity of the structure. It’s a bit like baking a cake that needs to last a hundred years! 2) Concrete's role goes beyond foundational strength – it is also engineered to anchor the building against uplift forces, so it remains grounded against the forces of the NWA winds! 3)?The pour (technically called a "placement") requires many skilled tradesmen and there were three companies on-site: Tune Concrete provided and?mixed the concrete materials, Brothers Concrete Pumping provided and operated the truck-mounted concrete pump, and Com-Crete did the placing and finishing?of the concrete utilizing a Somero laser screed, riding concrete trowels, and early entry concrete saws.?The coordination between the crew members is like watching a well-rehearsed dance (so appropriate as this foundation is for a new dance studio!). Hats off to these hard-working crews!

Weekends and distance don’t stop the progress with our Com-Crete guys! Our crew worked diligently to make this 16,000 square foot elevated slab placement happen at the Cargill Meat Solutions plant in Dodge City, KS on this beautiful Saturday! Aside from commercial concrete, we offer industrial concrete services as well. Whether that may be in-state or beyond, no job is too big or far. Whatever the challenge may be, we give our clients the best possible finished product.

Several of our guys got certified in crane signaling and rigging yesterday! Just another step in making our jobsites as safe as possible and ensuring everyone gets to go home to their families. Great job crew!

Our team laid down another 15,000 square foot warehouse slab yesterday. We thought it would be the perfect opportunity to capture some of the process and share it with everyone! - It all starts at the pump. Concrete trucks are checked to ensure sufficient slump. Meanwhile, guys are installing reinforcement support for clearance. - From there the pump places concrete ahead of the laserscreed and the crew spreads it to approximately 1” above our finished floor elevation. - The laser screed begins making passes working from left to right as if we are writing a book. While passing, there is guys dragging concrete to make sure the concrete does not flow over the plow and always someone with a grade rod ensuring elevation is correct and communicates with the screed operator if adjustments need to be made. - Right after the screed makes its pass, a bull float is used to take away the line between passes to ensure a smooth finish. - On the edges, guys are hand finishing what the screed could not reach, around plumbing and electrical and blending it evenly.

Video of our SRS-4 in action from yesterdays slab pour. #ComCrete #Somero