An equipment pad is a footing for something that runs every day, often with vibration, often with significant weight. Gatineau Concrete pours engineered equipment pads for HVAC units, generators, transformers, tanks, and any commercial site equipment that needs a permanent base. Sized to the equipment's loaded weight, isolated from vibration where required, anchor-bolt embeds set to the equipment's footprint. Every project starts with a free written estimate.
An equipment pad is simple-looking and easy to underbuild. The pad has to support the loaded weight of the equipment (not the dry weight; HVAC units full of water and refrigerant weigh more than their spec sheet), resist the vibration the equipment generates, position anchor bolts so they bolt into the right place on the equipment's mounting frame, and last as long as the equipment cycles do.
We get the equipment spec from you or the equipment supplier, size the pad to the loaded weight (including a margin for service loads), tie the reinforcement to the loads, set the anchor bolts in the form before the pour so they end up in the exact positions the equipment frame expects, and add vibration isolation pads where the equipment's spec calls for them.
We get the equipment cut sheet (footprint, loaded weight, vibration class, anchor pattern, any isolation requirements) from you or the supplier, and design the pad to those specs rather than to a generic equipment-pad template.
Excavate below frost for the pad
The pad footprint is excavated below frost line where the equipment is exterior, compacted, and a gravel base placed to the engineered depth so the pad does not heave with our winters.
Form, reinforce, set anchors
Pad forms are built to the engineered dimensions, rebar tied to spec, anchor bolts positioned with a template that matches the equipment's mounting frame so the bolts land in the right place, and any vibration isolation embeds are placed.
Pour, cure, hand off to install
Concrete is placed, finished smooth to the elevation the equipment expects, and protected through cure. The pad is handed off to the equipment installer with as-built dimensions verified and the anchor bolt projection at the right height.
Where pads go wrong
Anchor Position Is What Equipment Installers Care About
An equipment installer arriving on site with a unit that needs to bolt into anchor bolts that are out of position has a bad day. Most equipment-pad disputes are over anchor bolt position, the pad was poured but the bolts ended up half an inch off the equipment frame. We template every anchor pattern from the equipment cut sheet and verify position during the pour, not after.
Coordinate with the equipment supplier on every project so the cut sheet drives the pad design. Equipment pads also often pair with parking lot or loading dock work where the pad is part of a larger site project, and we sequence the work accordingly.
Anchor patterns, vibration isolation, sizing to loaded weight and equipment-installer coordination.
The pad has to support the loaded weight of the equipment (full of fluids, under service load) with a margin, and provide enough footprint for the anchor pattern plus access for maintenance. We size from the equipment cut sheet, not from generic tables.
We template the anchor pattern from the equipment cut sheet, build a wood or steel template that holds the bolts in exact position, and place that template in the form so the bolts are anchored during the pour at the right spacing and projection.
Some equipment requires it (especially generators, compressors). We use vibration isolation pads or specialized embedded systems per the equipment's spec sheet. Not every pad needs it; we follow what the equipment requires.
Exterior equipment pads need footings below the frost line in Gatineau, which is typically several feet. Interior pads on existing slabs can be much shallower or even tied into the existing floor depending on load. The engineering drives the depth.
Equipment installers typically wait for the pad to reach a specific cure strength before mounting the unit; for most pads that is within a few days of the pour. We give the installer the cure timeline so installation schedules without delay.
Client reviews
What Gatineau Operations Say About Their Equipment Pads
HVAC pad with anchor bolts that lined up exactly with the unit frame. The HVAC installer commented that it was the easiest install he had done that month. Templating is everything.
X. A.
Facility Manager, Gatineau
★★★★★
Generator pad engineered for the unit's vibration and weight. Three years of regular generator runs, zero crack development, zero shift. The engineering held.
Y. Y.
Industrial Operations Director, Ottawa
★★★★★
Transformer pad replacement during a planned outage. Coordinated the schedule tightly with the utility, pad cured and ready in the window. Power back on as scheduled. Real timing discipline.
Z. P2
Property Manager, Barrhaven
★★★★★
Multiple equipment pads across a plant expansion. Every cut sheet honored, every anchor template right, every pad finished to the elevation the equipment expected. No improvisation, no surprises.
Y. N2
Plant Engineer, Nepean
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