Chesapeake Beach, MD
Award: Architectural
Project Team
Owner: Chesapeake Beach Resort & Spa
Contractor: Tobar Construction
Architect: Little Diversified Architectural Consulting
Engineer: Walker Consultants
Concrete: Chaney Enterprises
Slag Cement: Lehigh Hanson
The Chesapeake Beach Resort and Spa is expanding its hotel, dining facilities, and meeting spaces to accommodate more guests at a higher level of service. As part of the expansion plan, a new parking garage was constructed to allow an additional 700 vehicles to park on the resort’s premises. The four-story parking facility is made with precast concrete beams and structures. Resort guests will be able to access the complimentary parking garage at any time during their stay, even if just stopping in for a few hours to enjoy the restaurants and marina. The garage is within walking distance to 90% of the town of Chesapeake Beach, helping to support foot-traffic at local businesses.
Slag cement was used for a cast-in-place application of this parking garage project. The concrete was produced at a National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA) certified batch plant with 5S coarse aggregate. The mixture was 25% max fly ash and 50% max slag cement. High-range water reducers were used in all pumped concrete and concrete with a 0.45 water/cementitious materials ratio (w/cm) or less. These superplasticizers helped to reduce water content, making the material more environmentally friendly.
ASTM C457/C457M was completed on all submitted air mixtures and ASTM C1218/C1218M was completed on all mixtures. (C1567 = < 0.1% at 14-Days)
Using a mixture with 50% slag cement increased the compressive and flexural strength of the concrete. In addition, using slag cement reduced the permeability of the product and led to lower heat generation. It was observed that using slag cement improved the workability and pumpability of the concrete mixtures.
Using slag cement always has environmental benefits. Greenhouse gas emissions were decreased by using slag cement as an alternative to cement. One ton of slag cement takes 90% less energy to produce than a ton of portland cement.* (*Please note this is not verified by the SCA. This information was provided by a project team member and is not a SCA reviewed statement.)
For the appearance of the final product using slag cement in the mixture design lightened the color of the cured concrete, creating a more visually appealing and “bright white” parking garage. The bright white appearance of the garage increased concrete’s reflective properties, requiring less lighting and creating brighter conditions at night.
The new parking garage represents an environmentally friendly structure. By tearing down the oldest structure on the property and replacing it with a brand-new parking garage, the project now complies with new federal flood plain regulations. In addition, the construction of bioretention facilities ensures any run-off is deemed environmentally clean.
Application Type | Cast-in-place |
% Slag Cement Replacement | 50% max slag cement |
% Portland Cement | |
% Other SCM (if applicable) | 25% max fly ash |
Aggregate | 5S course aggregate |
Water/cementitious ratio | |
7-day strengths | |
28-day strengths | |
Parking Garage Cast-In-Place Concrete (Structural)
Footings and caps | 4000 psi | NA at 0.45 w/cm = 2402342 |
Grade beams, SOG, column piers, and walls | 4000 psi | AE at 0.45 w/cm = 2402343 |
All other concrete | 4000 psi | AE at 0.45 w/cm = 2402343 |
Tee topping, pour strips, and landing lobbies | 5000 psi | AE at 0.40 w/cm = 2502943A |