Ryan Dickerson

At Cretelogic this was my first introduction into concrete and our main focus was on residential concrete like driveways, pools, patios, sidewalk and stairs but also a lot of decorative concrete and especially stamped concrete I also was involved and a major part in our commercial concrete cutting subcontracting we would do in warehouses, data centers and all kinds of new commercial construction projects

• I would prep job sites around extremely particular home owners who were paying a lot of money for their concrete and were expecting the highest level of final product
• I’ve helped pour and stamp concrete with all kinds of colors and looks like radius stairs in blue with a rock finish rubber form attached to the face of the stair, to clover leaf shaped patios in brown, from pool decks in grey and black with a slate stone stamping print to false pavers in tan
• At Cretelogic was where I perfected my concrete cutting skills and I would consistently cut 50,000 sq. Foot of concrete everyday but I’ve cut up to 100,000 sq. Foot from complicated data center cuts to simple sidewalks and broom finish warehouse pours I’ve almost done it all
• I know how to ensure a proper drop in and a straight line when I cut and know how to fix most unfortunately extremely common issues with concrete saws (they’re the most unreliable machines on the face of the earth I think they make them like that on purpose because of how many problems they have)
• I would consistently run a saw and also pull my own pulse vacuum for massive warehouse pours and I’ve worked so many late nights and early mornings rain, snow, night or day summer winter all day everyday I know how concrete cutting and concrete cutting in general is and I’ve been there and done that

My roles responsibilities and experiences at CK included

• Demolition and remodel
• Site preparation of many kinds of
• Equipment Operation
• Many different kinds of carpentry and form work
• Pouring and finishing concrete
• Cutting concrete with different saws, and specifications

1. At CK a lot of our work is remodel and that comes with a lot of demolition from tearing out 100 year old concrete in a chapel around a $150000 limestone alter that’s almost irreplaceable and having to hand placing every stone in a wheel barrow it 500 feet to a skid steer bucket to also having to place hundreds of handcut plywood pieces to cover old conduit, electrical and hvac holes in a 4 story also 100 year old building some 30 feet in the air and 6x4 foot wide and adding bracing to be able for the hole to handle sometimes 4-5 yards of concrete and others no larger than 3 inches and able to get with an extension ladder

Another notable demolition project I’ve worked on is tearing out 5 stories of pan steps and having to carry down every single bit of it in 5 gallon buckets

2. Site preparation

I am experienced in almost every kind of site preparation for example

• Understanding of how to set up, read, use a laser level and communicate with an operator what proper subgrade level Is
• I’m certified with CK to operate a skid steer safe and effectively avoiding utilities and also understanding blind spots and making sure everyone around me is safe via careful and calculated movement and communication with spotters
• Reading blue prints for different kinds of preparation work, like rebar prints from structural to wire mesh, to thickened edge slab requirements, to doweling, to also even vapor barrier, styrofoam/ insulation and expansion foam or the minor details like what kind of epoxy or gravel type and subgrade compaction is needed

3. I’m certified through CK to operate any skid steer or telescoping forklift and I’m confident in my ability to not only operate effectively and efficiently but also safely and have never had an incident

4.Form work and Carpentry was something I really took a lot of pride in at CK because I understood and was able to always understand and put into a finished product almost every kind of form work from the most complicated to the most simple

• I have experience with footer, pier, and wall form work and building using prefabricated forms to also having to build our own wall forms out of 2x4s and plywood
• I am proficient with a circular saw and also always operate safely, can read a tape measure like the back of my hand, and I’ve used all kinds of fasteners to place forms into all kinds of materials from metal to concrete
• Used all kinds of bracing techniques from turnbuckles, to shoring poles, to building my own with 2x4 to ensure a plum and straight form that is secure and exactly what is called for on the blueprint

5. Pouring and finishing concrete

• At CK we’ve used line pumps, crane pumps, we buggy concrete, we mix it by hand and sometimes we have to carry it in 5 gallon buckets, I’ve seen all kinds of concrete mixes, from lightweight to structural or concrete with metal or fiberglass added to the mix and also pretty much every kind of slump, aggregate, and additive
• I’m proficient at raking concrete whether it’s behind a straight edge, a magic skreed or laser skreed I’m consistent in my ability to keep whatever skreed we’re using on grade and the most important thing moving
• Setting edges flat with a magnesium float for proper skreeding and also easier finishing
• Setting a skreed benchmark with a laser level to be pulled off of
• Using a straight edge either with another person or by myself
• I am proficient at crawling and setting edges of concrete flat and to the highest standard from the first time it crawl it with a mag float and ensuring level and properly built up edges to also troweling and burning in but importantly working with my coworkers on their power trowels to ensure proper blending and also easier finishing
• From walls to conduit and iron columns i can crawl it and always take pride in the final product I leave behind

6. Concrete cutting

• At CK I was the primary and only concrete cutter who had the experience to run every kind of saw from a husqvarna 4200 self propelled saw, to a push saw, or even a partner saw, but I’ve ran almost every kind of saw and have 5 years of experience in concrete cutting
• From laying out the pad with a tape measure and chalk line to the exact specifications of the architects saw cut plan, the first drop in and every single cut I left was to the highest standard