Moore & Sons has just completed a massive industrial concrete foundation for six new grain storage silos at Otter Co-Op in Aldergrove.

Measuring 30 feet by 40 feet and four feet thick, the new concrete base will support six modern grain silos, replacing six aging silos that have stood at the Aldergrove site for more than 60 years.

Incorporated in 1922, Otter Co-Op is one of British Columbia's longest-established organizations. Being able to contribute our expertise to the next 100+ years of its operations is a real honour for the Moore & Sons team.

Each of the new silos will hold approximately 100 metric tonnes, meaning the new foundation has been engineered to support a combined load of at least 600 metric tonnes.

Built Tough from the Ground Up

This is far from an ordinary concrete slab.

The 25 MPa foundation features two heavily reinforced rebar mats. The bottom mat uses 1¼-inch rebar arranged on an 8-inch grid, while the top mat uses 1-inch rebar arranged on a 12-inch grid.

"We are pouring more than 150 cubic metres of concrete into this foundation," says Don Moore, owner of Moore & Sons. "That's roughly the amount of concrete that could be used for about 15 average residential driveways. This is a very substantial slab, and precision is extremely important. We surveyed every anchor plate to make sure its location was exactly where it needed to be so the new grain silos can be installed properly and sit precisely where they are supposed to."

The anchor plates are particularly important because they will provide the connection points between the concrete foundation and the new silos. Even small discrepancies in their positioning could create problems during the silo installation, making careful surveying and quality control essential.

"We really enjoy this type of large-scale industrial work," says Moore. "Because we handle the excavation, forming, rebar installation, concrete supply, placing and finishing ourselves, we can control virtually every aspect of the job. That gives us much better control over quality and coordination and reduces the potential for issues that can arise when several different subcontractors are involved."

Working Together to Keep the Project Moving

Structural steel components for the project, including columns and bracing, are being fabricated by Mainland Machinery.

According to Sergio Moskvin, site foreman with Mainland Machinery, the coordination between the two companies has been smooth.

"Don's team has been excellent to work with," says Moskvin. "They keep a strict schedule, and completing each phase on time is very important to us because our work follows theirs. Moore & Sons has done a great job of staying on schedule, so we don't have to micro-manage them. The amount of supervision and coordination required from our side has been minimal."

Three Levels of Inspection

Before the concrete pour could proceed, the project went through three separate inspections: geotechnical, structural and municipal.

All three inspections passed successfully, giving the Moore & Sons crew the green light to complete the concrete pour.

And there is more work ahead.

Once the new silos are in place, the six existing silos will be demolished. After more than six decades of service, the old structures have reached the end of their useful life, with holes and other vulnerabilities developing over the years. These openings allow weather elements to penetrate the silos, creating the potential for contamination of the stored grain.

The next phase of the project is already planned for early 2027, when Moore & Sons will return to construct another nine-bin concrete foundation.

For Moore & Sons, it's another opportunity to put our excavation, forming, reinforcing and concrete expertise to work on a project that will help a long-standing Fraser Valley organization modernize its facilities for many years to come.