Wilhelm does level best on Louisville Arena floor

Posted : 10/12/2010

Picture a basketball player driving to the hoop: it’s tough enough to penetrate the defense, but at least he’s not running uphill.

Arena floors require exacting standards for levelness and smoothness.  A marble placed at center court should not roll.

This summer, Wilhelm Construction poured and leveled the concrete floor of the new arena in downtown Louisville, the KFC Yum! Center.  Superintendent Larry Hunter reports that the FF/FL (flatness/levelness) were 77/55 on the north pour and 99/53 on the south pour, and that required specifications were 50/50.

Flatness readings are checked within the length of a 10-foot straight edge.  Levelness is measured over the whole floor.  A tiny fraction’s difference is all that is allowed for the entire surface.

“The higher the number, the flatter the floor.  50/50 are pretty tight tolerances,” Hunter says.  “These are great numbers considering we had 140 total inserts to install and work in with the pours.”

Wilhelm’s other work on the arena is easy to see while crossing the Ohio River bridges into Louisville.  It’s the concrete superstructure that defines the KFC Yum! Center’s profile among the other downtown buildings.

The Louisville Cardinals and Butler Bulldogs play in the Center’s first college basketball contest.  The regional rivals will meet on what is definitely a level playing floor.

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