Hotel guests never see the footings, but they notice the porte-cochere slab, the pool deck and the entry walk within the first minute. A lodging project in Casper is concrete in three layers: the hidden structure that carries rooms and a kitchen, the wet and heavy areas such as the pool and laundry, and the exterior surfaces guests drive and walk on. Each layer has a different owner worry and a different tolerance.
The structure is the quietest part. Four or five stories of wood-framed rooms over a podium, or a steel and plank frame, bear on spread footings and thickened slabs that we set to frost depth. The elevator pit, the mechanical room slab and the generator pad get formed and poured on a schedule that lets the framers start on time.
