The Ashtabula County Port Authority was in the midst of an almost $11 million project at the former FirstEnergy Plant C site in Ashtabula Township that closed in 2012. One of the plant’s two 8 foot-wide water intake pipes needed to be converted to an output and extended 1,500 feet farther out into Lake Erie, where its diameter would be decreased.

R.W. Sidley provided the special concrete mix to fuse the smaller pipe to the existing larger pipe.

Originating from our North Kingsville plant, three ready-mix trucks carrying 27-1/2 yards on concrete traveled by barge to reach the job site located 3,000-feet away from the shore. Each of the loads contained a high-power retarder admixture to prevent the concrete from setting too fast and another admixture for underwater placement that prevents cement and fines from washing out of the mix in water. Using a Hydracrete boom pump on the barge, our operators pumped the concrete down 40 feet to the underwater pipe.
The original project specifications required that the concrete would achieve 4,000 psi in 28 days. Our three-day cylinder broke at 4,500 psi, and our seven-day cylinder broke a little over 6,000 psi, fully meeting the requirements within the expected time frame.

Concrete Contractor: Heller Brothers Concrete, LLC

Located in the heart of Thompson, Ohio, Hemly Hardware recently expanded into a new 24,000 square foot building that’s helping to rejuvenate the village. The hardware store has everything shoppers could need, from power and hand tools to footwear and more. R.W. Sidley supplied 430 yards of concrete for the store’s polished concrete floors and another 30 yards of concrete for its stamped concrete walkway at the store’s entrance.

Masonry Contractor: Valentine Contractors, Inc.
Architect: Then Design Architecture

When the Willoughby-Eastlake City School District began building three new schools in 2017, R.W. Sidley supplied the concrete and masonry products for their construction. We worked closely with the architect, Then Design Architecture in Willoughby, and the masonry contractor, Valentine Contractors in North Canton, to provide gray masonry blocks and custom architectural split face blocks in different colors that met the architect’s design specifications.

Willoughby-East North High School features R.W. Sidley’s 4x8x16 maroon split face blocks, Willoughby-East Longfellow Elementary features two colors of our 4x8x16 blocks, and Willoughby-East South High School features our gray masonry blocks. Two of the buildings were erected on sites with existing operating schools, which created some logistical challenges with on-site storage capacity and delivery hours. Still, it was nothing we couldn’t handle. Construction for all three schools was completed on schedule in 2019.

Construction Manager at Risk: ICON, LLC
Masonry Contractor: Lencyk Masonry
Architect: Fanning Howey

R.W. Sidley was proud to be part of the construction of Riverside Local School District’s new Riverview Elementary School and Parkside Elementary School in Painesville, Ohio.
They were built at the same time to replace four older schools in the district. The almost identically designed buildings each measure approximately 73,270 feet and can house roughly 325 students.

R.W. Sidley supplied ready-mix concrete and thousands of individual concrete masonry units (CMUs) in various shapes and sizes. Working together with the construction manager at risk, ICON, LLC, and the masonry contractor, Lencyk Masonry, we completed both projects in time for the 2019-2020 school year.

Contractor: Declan Construction
Masonry/Concrete Contractor: Declan Construction

Greenville Metals, Inc. recently built two 16,000 square foot buildings in the Reynolds Industrial Park in Greenville, Pennsylvania with spaces currently available for rent. Declan Construction was responsible for the footers and piers while Brown's Masonry & Concrete installed the floors and blockwork. R.W. Sidley supplied the concrete block as well as concrete for the footers, piers, and floors. The concrete for this project was produced in our West Middlesex, Pennsylvania plant.

Concrete Contractor: Concrete Engraving Co.

The concrete dock was built at a private residence without roadside access close to the project, the concrete provided by Sidley had to be pumped 400 feet to reach the job site. The dock’s 50’ long walkway with a 30’ in diameter circular end is all supported by concrete piers. The entire dock is stamped decorative concrete with the 9’ wide walkway designed to resemble railroad tracks. Back on land a 20’ x 30’ pavilion was built that carries through the decorative concrete stamping. The entire project is a work of art.

Concrete Contractor: The VMI Group, Inc.
Finisher: Heller Brothers, LLC

The Austinburg Truck Center in Austinburg, Ohio is a new full-service facility expected to open in December of 2021. Sidley supplied all the interior concrete floors (1,795 yards) and exterior concrete for the walkways and parking lot (3,235 yards).

With an overall footprint of 292’ x 182’, once complete, the Austinburg Truck Center will have a 35,000-square-feet shop area (28 service bays), a 10,000 square feet parts department, and a truck showroom that can accommodate six to seven Class 8 heavy-duty tractors or five full-size dump trucks.

Contractor: Third Sun Solar

Third Sun Solar of Athens, OH is a Design/Build specialty solar installer. The owners, Michelle and Geoff Greenfield got their start in 2000, when they developed their own solar power system for their new rural home that did not have access to utility power. They saw there was need in the residential and commercial markets that was not being met. Today they are a leading solar installer in Ohio and a top 100 installer in the US. With over 1250 clean energy projects generating more than 25MW of electricity throughout the country.

R.W. Sidley works with Third Sun Solar by producing and delivering concrete ballast blocks that are used on their commercial flat roof solar installations for many client types including Fortune 50 global corporations. The ballast blocks are designed for a 30-year life and must meet ASTM 1491 specifications for this roof top application. The blocks were tested for 100 freeze thaw cycles.

The ballast blocks function to provide the needed additional weight to hold the aluminum and steel racking system in place, avoiding or minimizing the need to drill holes into the roof’s protective membrane. When the blocks are moved up to the roof, too much concentrated weight is also an issue, so Sidley palletizes the blocks in smaller quantities to meet their specific weight requirements. On-time delivery is vital when you are paying for a crane by the hour, we understand time is money, and our logistics team ensures our trucks are on schedule no matter where the jobsite is located.

Offering custom construction solutions and going the extra mile for our customers is what we take pride in at Sidley, and we appreciate our customers putting their trust in us to be one of their valued team members. As the economics of on-site electricity production continue to improve, this use of Sidley products is expected to grow.

Masonry Contractor: Coljohn Masonry

The Rothenbuhler Cheesemakers Arena is the home of Ambassadors Football USA. The arena includes a 60 x 30-yard artificial turf field for training and a multi-functional conference/training area. The exterior of the building features R.W. Sidley’s red and ivory split face block.

Masonry Contractor: Lencyk Masonry

The newly constructed Mahoning County Animal Shelter is a 14,212-square-foot facility built on a seven-acre lot in Youngstown, Ohio. The $3.8 million project provides room for 80-90 animals, a significant improvement compared to the old facility that could only hold 50-60 animals.

R.W. Sidley manufactured the split face and gray block for the project.  The split face colors for the shelter were custom manufactured to meet the architectural specification.  Due to the cramped and tight job site, deliveries had to made daily to ensure there was always enough material for the next morning.

Masonry Contractor: LMR Masonry

After years of planning, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Schools Department of Transportation now has a new Bus Garage located on Mayfield Road close to the Brush High School campus. The brick masonry garage measures over 6,000 square feet and features 28-feet high service bays. It was built with R.W. Sidley’s casement and ivory split face block.

Masonry Contractor: Tervo Masonry

Trumbull County invested $1.6 million in a new fully automated truck wash built on the same property as their Engineer’s Office. The project is expected to save the county money and help extend the life of its vehicles. The truck wash is available to all government agencies and school districts in the county to help maintain their fleets. R.W. Sidley’s charcoal and ivory split face block were used to construct the facility.

Masonry Contractor: Joseph T. Bayer & Son, Inc.

Solar Atmospheres, a leader in metal vacuum heat treating services, expanded their Keystone facility with the addition of office space in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. The exterior façade was constructed with custom-colored split face block manufactured by R.W. Sidley.

Masonry Contractor: Rocco Masonry

Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy recently built a new athletic fieldhouse on their campus. The middle school and high school use the fieldhouse’s three multi-use courts and indoor track. The space is also used for school sports and community events. This project required R.W. Sidley to manufacture a customer color split face block to meet the architectural specification.