CHC/CFA Members Participate in WOC Megademo
The Concrete Homes Council and the CFA were well represented in the World of Concrete Housing Megademo this year. In case you missed it, the Megademo covered two days of activity. The first day demonstrated the set-up and concrete placement for many of the technologies available in concrete housing. Day two focused on finishes showing the forms stripped away with concrete or special finishes exposed. In addition to RCF’s (Removable Concrete Forms), ICF’s, post-tensioning, tilt-up, and precast were also demonstrated.
How did they do that you ask, cast walls (and a deck) one day and strip the next? By using a special concrete mix called 4×4. The goal of this mix was 4000 psi in 4 hours. I don’t know if they got to 4000 psi (the temperature dropped to freezing overnight) but they easily had enough strength (over 3000 psi) to strip the forms. In fact, the interior of the Wall Ties and Forms setup, a 10’x 10’ room with deck above, was at a temperature of over 140 degrees F the following morning.
Two Concrete Homes Council alliance members were represented in the RCF demonstration. Wall Ties and Forms constructed their room and pumped it from the bottom using a special SCC design mix. Their project was finished with a sprayed-on finish. The other member of the CHC participating was Durand Forms. The Durand wall was an insulated sandwich wall using the T-mass System and a vertical thin brick system by Scott System to show how you can get a brick finish in one pouring operation.
Ed Sauter, Executive Director, CFA esauter@cfawalls.orgThe Next Step in Code Development
The approval and printing of the First Edition of the ACI 332 Residential Concrete Standard and the subsequent reference of the chapter on wall construction in the ICC (International Code Council) is just the beginning of what will be a long-term, ongoing effort to clarify codes as they relate to residential concrete construction.
The next effort will be a submittal to the ICC to reference the entire ACI 332 document, not just the walls section. The document (ACI 332) includes chapters on footings, slabs, materials, concrete placement and production – all of which go beyond what is currently stipulated in the IRC.
The provisions included in the ACI document are common practice for most wall contractors and will hopefully eliminate many of the arbitrary interpretations of the code by local building officials.
A stated goal of the ACI is to remove all residential concrete construction requirements (for one and two family dwellings) from its flagship 318 document once the 332 Standard has been expanded to include all aspects of residential construction. When this occurs, it will make life much easier for most wall contractors.
Before this happens, however, the existing 332 document much be dramatically expanded in its scope. Items that were excluded from the initial draft which must be addressed include seismic design, above grade wall construction, and construction with ICF’s (the latter are already in the IRC).
A design section for is also needed for determining wall configurations that fall outside the scope of the empirical tables included in the current draft. All of this will take time, and when you consider that the codes are only updated on a three year cycle you begin to grasp the magnitude and time required to affect these changes.
PROBLEM ON THE HORIZON
Constant vigilance is required as codes are developed. Engineers, academics, and special interests (like sprinkler manufacturers) are forever proposing code changes that promote their companies, products, or pet concerns.
An example that I refer to as change S89 happened during the 2006 code development cycle. A small engineering company ran calculations which “proved” that the connection of the top of the wall to the sill plate and deck were not adequate. To solve this problem, he proposed a modifications that will dramatically increase the spacing and other connections required at the wall/deck juncture. It was submitted during the normal approval process and defeated as unnecessary.
The same proposal was submitted by the same people during the public input process and was approved (no one thought it had a chance).
While most people agree that this is the weakest point in the foundation system, this is a classic case of creating a solution to a problem that does not exist.
In our survey of foundation contractors, the instances of failure in tens of thousands of foundations once the deck has been attached can be counted on one hand – and the circumstances that lead to most of those failures wouldn’t have been handled.
Now we will all have to live with, or fight this provision in the 2006 version of the IRC.
If you have the opportunity to propose amendments to the code in your jurisdiction as it is adopted make sure you argue against this requirement. It will needlessly increase the cost of residential construction.
The CFA will be developing a position paper in response to this proposed code modification in the near future. Please notify us regarding this or any other code problem you may be having. Sometimes the input of a national trade association can help.
Ed Sauter, Executive Director, CFA esauter@cfawalls.orgProviding Improved Product Availability and First Class Services
With over 90 years of experience in the steel industry, Armtec can attribute it’s success to a team of valued employees who provide innovative solutions through a diverse line of quality products, exceptional customer service and effective communication.
Armtec is a manufacturer and distributor of steel and high density polyethylene (HDPE) construction products for use in infrastructure, mining, forestry, industrial, residential, agricultural and municipal applications. Its products include corrugated pipe in steel, aluminum and polyethylene, structural plate corrugated steel pipe, bin-type retaining walls, sheet piling, tunnel liner systems, water control gates, erosion control blankets and geosynthetics. These products are designed to provide solutions in Canada and other countries for roads, sewers, bridges, land development, mining and forestry.
Armtec also manufactures Platon, the uniquely dimpled HDPE air-gap membrane that is used to prevent foundation leaks and doubles as underlayment for flooring. Platon is manufactured in Armtec’s plant from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), the same material used in corrugated plastic drain pipe, one of the toughest and longest lasting plastics. Platon provides a permanent water and moisture barrier.
Their goal is to continually provide customers with improved product availability and first class service. With manufacturing plants and sales offices in every province in Canada they are Canada’s only national multi-material manufacturer specializing in corrugated high-density polyethylene pipe, corrugated steel pipe and related products.
A member of the CFA since 1995, Armtec has actively participated in advertisements in this magazine, as well as sponsoring programs and events such as last year’s coupon book give away and the Winter Meeting. As the CFA works harder to gain interest in Canada, Armtec is a valued member in this effort.
Please visit www.armtec.com for more information about Armtec, or www.systemplaton.com to learn more about “Platon” foundation and flooring protector.
Information was reprinted from CBG’s article “All Concrete Passive Solar Home Stores Energy in Walls,” September 2005
A One-Stop Shop
Griffin Masonry truly is a one-stop shop for homebuilders. Customers can consolidate five calls into one. Griffin Masonry provides masonry (brick and block), concrete basement walls, concrete finishing, brick cleaning, and stone masonry. They also have other divisions that provide concrete pumping (Griffin Concrete Placement), concrete mixer trucks (Blue Dot readi-mix) and commercial masonry (Old North State).
With basement foundations not as common in Charlotte, North Carolina, it is not surprising Griffin Masonry began as a brick masonry company in 1990. But owners Scott and Tony Griffin have worked hard to “make the right decisions, and do right by their employees”. As a result, their company has grown to approximately 411 employees. In 1996 they bought their first set of form panels and by 2004 they purchased their fifth set, pouring 7-8 basements a week.
Griffin Masonry has found that education and experience are invaluable in the foundation business. “Estimates on basements are the most common to fluctuate,” states Rob Merrell, Foundation Division Manager of Griffin Masonry. “We make sure there is someone on site for the initial contact who will submit a complete estimate along with setting clear expectations.
Most of their employees in the Foundations Division have a background in masonry, so if there are changes they know how it will affect the brick mason, the framer, and the slab crew, Merrell explains. A trained crewmember is always available in the field to provide a clear line of communication. This is beneficial throughout the project. “When the customer gets the invoice, there are no-surprises”.
Educating employees on safety is just as important as field experience. Griffin Masonry has worked hard to establish a safety program. A former OSHA inspector oversees the program, which includes training sessions for new hires and also foreman. On rainy days, their employees often watch safety videos along with hands on demonstrations.
“Our core objectives are production and quality,” explains Merrell. “A safe jobsite ensures both”
Griffin Masonry uses CFA to provide educational literature for their employees, as well as concrete facts to present to other professionals in the industry. Members since 1999, Griffin Masonry uses the Association’s publication to help achieve their core objectives and thus provide their customers with the best product possible, while “setting them at ease”.
Rebuilding the Gulf Coast Region Starts With Education
The Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC) and the Home Builders Institute (HBI) met for a post Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita Strategy Summit on Oct. 12 at the NAHB’s National Housing Center in Washington to define how they can work together to educate builders, displaced skilled workers, displaced un-skilled workers and communicate with other industry and governmental entities about plans to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Together, the organizations strive to instruct the region on the benefits and processes of concrete-home construction.
The transference of cementbased systems and product building technologies to the Gulf region is proactive in nature and they hope the approach will create stronger building codes and “In the last year, there have been two hurricanes that have hit Florida,” says Michael Weber, president of the CHBC and director of residential for Portland Cement Association. “You look at the damage and it isn’t even comparable to the Gulf region because so many structures in Florida have been built to withstand these types of natural disasters. As members of the Concrete Homes Council, it’s our responsibility to provide the necessary education and resources to rebuild.”
Currently, the CHBC association members have programs that are available or can easily be put into a common format that the HBI will embrace and channel through their educational system at state and local levels. The HBI will facilitate the delivery for all education programs at the state and local level utilizing grants from the Department of Labor, HUD and FEMA. Katrina relief efforts continue to focus on immediate recovery activities and funding for training remains an interest, but not an immediate goal. The HBI plans to pursue training programs wherever feasible and have its existing construction programs complement the CHBC courses for developing the necessary workforce in this massive rebuilding effort.
For builders and the workforce, the HBI plans to deliver the CHBC programs with professional instructors and the help of the CHBC members as potential instructors and facilitators of the effort. The HBI’s goal is to incorporate these programs in the permanent coursework, not simply the temporary because of the issues at hand.
Program organizers hope to utilize locations throughout the affected regions that have not been destroyed to house the instructional seminars. Eight-hour education programs are set to be developed for builders on the CHBC member’s wall systems including a four-hour education program for concrete roof tiles. Builders will receive the existing five NAHB education programs (includes three under review) as soon as possible.
Other existing programs in the marketplace for workforce training that focus on ICFs, masonry, removable forms, precast, roof tiles, pavers, and segmental retaining walls will be streamlined through the HBI network of state and local education facilities. The groups also plan to incorporate additional programs as they are introduced.
In order to fund the development of these industry programs, the organizations will utilize the CHBC membership. Their decision to do so stems from the fact that federal grants can’t be used for developing industry training programs. The CHBC also plans to work with the NAHB’s Marketing and Sales Department to reach out to large corporations for additional funding. The HBI will financially support the delivery of the courses throughout the Gulf region through state grants, appropriations or otherwise. This will be on a state-by-state basis, since funding has been committed to each state individually.
In addition to financial commitments, the HBI has also been in contact with the participating community colleges intending to hold education programs. The HBI has a proven record of success with Department of Labor workforce development grants, graduating over 5,000 journeymen through its programs.
The HBI will look to the CHBC and the NAHB members to help facilitate placement of the trained labor force and they will also appoint these members as subject-matter experts for course development and as possible course instructors.
For more information about the planned education programs or to find out other ways the cement industry is impacting the Gulf region contact Dawn Faull at 202- 266-8362 or e-mail dfaull@nahb.com.
by Rachel Zwerneman, Op5 Creative, Inc. Rachel Zwerneman is a project coordinator for Op5 Creative, Inc. in Atlanta, Ga. She is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in magazine journalism.
ASA Defeats Attempted Expansion Against Subcontractors in Ohio of Tort Claims
Alexandria, Va – Traditional limits on tort claims protect construction subcontractors from negligence leading to damages for delay, “lost profits” and other “economic losses” experienced by construction owners or others not in privity of contract with a subcontractor. In 2004, the American Subcontractors Association (ASA) asked the Ohio Supreme Court to strike down an appeals court decision that allowed a construction owner to challenge these limits. In an October 25, 2005, decision, the high court (in a 5-2 opinion) handed subcontractors a major victory, saving the state’s construction industry from a potential tidal wave of litigation.
Historically, subcontractors are considered legally liable for purely “economic” losses (e.g., back charges, overhead, additional financing expenses, and lost profits) to their prime contractors only, since the subcontract documents outline how losses such as lost profits are to be handled, and the prime contractors have privity of contract with the subcontractors. Similarly, prime contractors are held liable for such losses only per their contractual agreements with owners. Prior to the appeals court decision challenged by ASA, Ohio had not been an exception to this rule, known as the “economic loss rule.”
In the case decided by the Ohio Supreme Court on October 26, Dublin Suites v. Shook, a construction owner sued for additional expenses and lost profits for delays allegedly incurred because of deficiencies in a subcontractor’s work. However, the subcontractor had deleted the existed between the subcontractor and the owner. An Ohio trial court ruled that an owner could not sue a subcontractor for tort claims based on economic losses, but the 10th Appellate District Court of Appeals in Ohio Reversed the trial court’s decision. Shook, the subcontractor, asked the Ohio Supreme Court to review the appeals court decision, and ASA filed a legal memorandum supporting Shook’s request on May 7, 2004.
After the court agreed to review the case, ASA filed another brief asserting that the right of clients to make claims for economic losses should fall within the four corners of the contract: “The subcontract is the embodiment of the subcontractor’s obligations and risks and provides subcontractors with certainty to what is expected of them on a project. The requirement of contractual privity as a prerequisite to a claim seeking purely economic damages ensures that the parties’ own agreement and the respective benefits of the bargain they struck are upheld.”
In a 5-2 majority opinion, the Ohio Supreme Court Agreed: When a duty in tort exists, a party may recover in tort. When a duty is premised entirely upon the terms of a contract, a party may recover based upon breach of contract. “ ‘Protection against economic losses caused by another’s failure properly to perform is but one provision other contractors may require in striking his bargain. Any duty *** in this regard is purely a creature of contract’” and can only be enforced by a party to that contract. [Citation omitted.]
ASA’s involvement in the case was made possible by the Subcontractors Legal Defense Fund. For more information, contact ASA Construction Law & Contracts Counsel Brian Cubbage at bcubbage@asa-hq.com or 703-684-3450, ext. 1311.
Founded in 1966, ASA serves 5,000 member companies and is dedicated to improving general business conditions for all subcontractors through unified and cooperative actions. ASA’s vision is to be the united voice dedicated to improving the business environment in the construction industry. ASA provides its members with advocacy, leadership, education, and networking.
It’s All in the Footings
Doug Reid began as a foundation contractor, so frustrated with traditional stake-and-wood footing forms that it drove him to develop and patent a new aluminum, panel-based footing system and form the company Fine Line Footing Forms.
This forward thinking system eliminates the endless stream of wood, rebar, and nail purchases. Aluminum forms won’t bow or break, and they last a long time. Because the forms don’t require staking, jobs close a lot faster. There is no sawing or nailing of wood planks on the job. The forms are much lighter and easier to deal with.
Unlike many other concrete innovations, which tend to improve quality but also increase price, Fine Line Footings Forms’ customers still bid competitively against footings contractors using traditional methods.
This new system has gathered attention across the nation, and contractors are using it in Utah, Arizona, Michigan, and West Virginia. Moreover, the system’s usage has been enlarged as contractors have found other uses for it.
As more contractors start using this type of form, the industry may see more companies that specialize in footings. One of Reid’s customers, Darrell Cottle, owner of TC Concrete & Construction in Lindon UT, does just that. Although he considered becoming a full-service foundation contractor, he says the footings business is so easy to manage and profitable that it doesn’t make sense.
Footings are great because you can pour them in bad weather – enabling crews to stay busy year round. Cottle has found most Utah foundation contractors don’t want to mess with footings and prefer to have TC Concrete handle them.
It is uncertain what is to become of the footing industry, but it seems Reid’s stakeless forms may change the footing industry in the future. In the end, it would mean better margins for the contractor, less trouble for the builder, and better foundations for the homeowner.
Fine Line Footings has been an active National Associate member of the CFA since 2002. A regular exhibitor at the Summer Meeting tradeshows, Doug and his company continue to show their support to the foundation industry and to the Association. Consider stopping by his booth at the Summer Meeting’s tradeshow at the Kalahari Waterpark Resort and Convention Center in the Wisconsin Dells, July 18-22, 2006.
Source: Majority of the information for this article was reprinted from “Seeing Green in the Footing Business” in Permanent Buildings And Foundations, January 2005
LAFARGE INTRODUCES ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY NEWCEM® BRAND SLAG Cement to Atlanta Market
ATLANTA, GA– Lafarge North America announced at the 2005 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo the launch of NewCem® brand slag cement to the Atlanta construction market for the 2006 construction season. NewCem is a finely ground, hydraulic cement produced from blast furnace slag, a by-product of the iron-making process. NewCem’s unique properties offer environmental benefits and enhanced concrete performance.
“Lafarge will have its latest NewCem facility on-line in time for the 2006 construction season in Atlanta,” said Joe Goss, Lafarge Cement Southeast Region President. “The Atlanta facility will reduce CO2 emissions by replacing more than 100,000 tons of portland cement in concrete production with NewCem.”
NewCem provides a significant contribution to sustainable construction. The use of NewCem in concrete production consumes less energy and offers improved efficiency in building performance. NewCem can be used to achieve points in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program.
NewCem helps achieve low permeability, resistance to chlorides, high sulfate resistance, resistance to alkali silica reaction, greater strength potential, lower temperatures for mass concrete, and improved workability. Concrete containing NewCem can be expected to be lighter in color, offering improved aesthetics and visibility at night.
Lafarge is one of the Platinum Sponsors of the Sustainable Condo. The Sustainable Condo is an EcoSmart project designed by Busby & Associates Architects, to address the challenges of urban sustainability. The Sustainable Condo is on display at Greenbuild, occurring November 9-10 in Atlanta. Greenbuild is the annual meeting place for the green building industry. For two days in Atlanta, thousands of green building industry professionals meet to learn about the latest advancements in green building design, construction, project financing and building management.
Lafarge North America (TSX & NYSE: LAF) is the U.S. and Canada’s largest diversified supplier of construction materials such as cement, ready-mixed concrete, gypsum wallboard, aggregates, asphalt and concrete products. The company’s materials are used in residential, commercial, institutional and public works construction across the U.S. and Canada. In 2004, net sales exceeded $3.7 billion.
Jim Baty, Technical Director jbaty@cfawalls.orgMaking the Case for Poured Walls
When I began construction on my home in 1988, I couldn’t find a poured wall contractor in the Pittsburgh area to do my foundation. I reluctantly had to settle for block. In my first year of living in the home, the builder was called back several times because of moisture and cracks in the foundation.
In my mind, there was a definite need for a poured wall contractor in the area.
In my position as regional manager for the country’s largest concrete pump manufacturer, I was intimately familiar with the various forming systems used in residential foundations. I was convinced block was an inferior product. After all, there were more than ten pages of phone directory advertising block repair companies in Pittsburgh alone, so something wasn’t working. I was convinced that residential builders would embrace this new and superior technology. I eventually decided to leave the concrete pumping industry and pioneer the use of aluminum forms for residential foundations in the Pittsburgh area market. My company, Fastrac Foundations, In., poured its first wall in November 1996.
The Western Pennsylvania market has its own unique circumstances and because homebuilders are so dollar driven, the more expensive concrete walls were not readily accepted by the builders. A few progressive builders like Jim Thomas Construction and First City Companies kept Fastrac in business during the early years.
Through advertising heavily and participating in many home shows, I was able to sell the concept to many homebuyers. When given information on the benefits of poured walls, combined with a shortage of competent block layers, more and more builders started to recognize the advantages of poured wall foundations. Finally, Ryan Homes, the largest homebuilder in Western Pennsylvania started using Fastrac Foundations, Inc. and poured wall technology. Since Ryan used poured walls in every other market in which they built, the company was aware of the advantages of poured walls for their customers in the Pittsburgh area. This helped to attract additional wall contractors into the market.
Today there are at least twelve concrete foundation contractors pouring walls in the Western Pennsylvania market and close to ten percent of area foundations are poured walls. The future for the poured wall industry looks bright.
As more builders embrace the concept of poured walls an more companies enter the market or expand current markets, the ready mix industry should be excited at the prospect of a new and growing sales base. In many cases, poured walls are the easiest work for the ready mix producer. Wall pours usually take place in the afternoon (when most producers have completed their busiest hours), use a pump and get their trucks on the road to the next job quickly.
Of course, their will be increased pressure on the producers to sharpen their pencils, provide consistent quality mix and keep their trucks available for good service. Because margins are so slim while competing with block, time lost waiting to finish a pour is critical. As the use of poured walls continues to grow, these issues will straighten themselves out and the poured wall industry should be rewarding for the whole team – supplier, contractor and customer.
Nationwide, 85 percent of all below grade foundations are poured concrete. Western Pennsylvania’s potential market is more than 300,000 cubic yards of concrete per year.
Jim Rowe, Fastrac Foundations President of WPCFAEducate Your Builders — CFA Can Help
CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS COURSE
How would you like the opportunity to spend a half-day with your builders instructing them on the best way to build foundation walls? The introduction of Cast-In-Place Foundations, a course developed by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) with the help of CFA, makes this a real possibility.
Partnering with your local Homebuilders Association and the state Ready-Mix Association will increase your chances of capturing this audience.
The Cast-In-Place Concrete Foundations Course is a half-day seminar that provides homebuilders with the information they need to evaluate site conditions, work with concrete, provide construction support and maintain foundation walls. It discusses proper excavation techniques, safety considerations, and water management procedures. The course also covers the logistics of cast-in-place foundation construction with references to design standards and code requirements. Included are construction details and discussion of common field practices.
Cast-In-Place Concrete Foundations Course is available to all local Home Builders Associations so make sure your local HBA is aware. In order to instruct this course, presenters must attend a daylong training program, “Train the Trainer,” and successfully complete the Cast-In-Place course themselves.
The NAHB-sponsored “Train the Trainer” course covers basic principals of learning and presenting, includes interactive exercises and concludes with students making a five-minute presentation.
The end result will help the student present his/her ideas in a clear and concise manner to his/her class.
EDUCATION PROVIDED AN EXTENDED OPPORTUNITY
Tim Parrish of Cornerstone Foundations in Harrisonburg, VA initially decided to participate in CFA’s speaker training opportunities as a way to promote concrete housing. An active member of the CFA, and a board member since 1999, Parrish continually turns to the Association for education, but it wasn’t until he took National Association of Home Builders’ Cast-In-Place course he realized the benefits of presenting education to builders and design professionals about the benefits of poured foundations.
“The text and PowerPoint presentation made it easy to teach,” states Parrish. “It was a no brainer.”
In Virginia, the state ready mixed association backed the course and worked with the local Home Builders Associations in three cities to sponsor the class. The course gave Parrish an extended opportunity to speak with an audience he would otherwise only see in the field.
“In any other setting, I would have gotten only a few minutes of their attention,” Parrish explains. Parrish was surprised, “and thrilled,” to have attendees come up to him after each course and say how helpful the time had been. And he received inquiries in each session about providing a similar course in the future for building inspectors.
“After presenting the material three times, I feel very comfortable with it. “ Parrish explains.” I can easily modify the material and length of the presentation to best suit my builders.”
Since Parrish presented to builders in three different cities, there were traveling and lodging costs involved. Parrish offset the cost with a generous donation from Bill Marshal of Certainteed Form-A-Drain. Certainteed covered the traveling costs for one of Parrish’s presentations, and then provided a table-top display at that location.
“[Marshal] was a big help as we worked through the footer portion, “ said Parrish. “This could easily be repeated in any locality with a local supplier.”
BRINGING EDUCATION CLOSER TO HOME
When Advanced Concrete Foundations, Inc in Troy, VA attended a Foundation Fundamentals in Richmond, they realized immediately that they wanted to provide bilingual education closer to home. Tom Lanahan, a builder at the time, formed Advance Concrete in 1989 when he saw a set of forms and was certain he could sell the product to the builders in the area. He started out with two crews for footings and foundation walls. Now he has 100 employees, 12 crews, working in 20 counties.
He has even employed a night crew, consisting of a retired gentleman and three high school students, who clean up and prepare the trucks for the next workday.
A family run business, Tom and his wife, Kay, are actively involved in the daily operations. Their daughter is in charge of operations, one son runs the sales department and the other is responsible for getting the company up to speed with the Cad System while he attends college. The Lanahan’s realized that they wanted to provide services so “the builders would only have to think from the plate up.”
“They would save money without having to think about anything below ground,” states Kay Lanahan.
The Lanahans understand the importance of education, and providing those in the industry with the most up-to-date information. While they work hard to educate their employees, going so far as to provide their leadmen with six to eight weeks of job shadowing with their experienced foremen, they continue to seek other educational opportunities for their crews, as well as professionals.
“We want to make the builders and other professionals in our area knowledgeable about the poured wall system,” Kay explains. “So they know how to design for the poured wall industry.”
The Lanahans also want to give contractors the opportunity to educate their employees by providing a presentation similar to CFA’s Foundation Fundamentals. This seminar will be provided in both English and Spanish.
USE THE CFA
Although a new member of the CFA, only joining in March of 2005, Procon, Inc of Rocky Mountain, VA, has already realized what many CFA veteran members have not – the CFA is here to provide you with the education needed to better the poured wall industry. Aaron Long, owner of Procon, started the business in 2002 when he realized he could provide the diversification needed to create a niche in his market. There weren’t many contractors in the area and he was going to provide turnkey service. Three years later, he has 40 employees; two wall, three footer and two slab crews.
With cold weather coming on, Long decided it was time to educate the local homebuilders, design professionals, and building inspectors about poured wall foundations. They plan to host the Cast-In-Place Foundation course in February.
“We’d like to educate our builders to point out there are improvements in shrinkage cracks, and the use of higher PSI and lower slump,” explains Matthew Rutrough, the scheduler and human resource personnel for Procon, Inc. “ Many builders don’t understand the quality advantages of using a boom truck in our area.”
Hosting the Cast-In-Place Foundations course also gives Procon, Inc. the opportunity to work on better, more open communication with building inspectors.“ We can let them know what’s out there and what we’re doing,” states Rutrough.
Long, and his wife …, have worked hard to market their services, and within the last year, added a full-time salesperson to their personnel who provides initial contact with the customer. They also have used the CFA marketing materials such as the Lower Level Living brochure to inform new customers about cracks, cold weather, and below ground living options.
“We’d eventually like to send a monthly to our builders to inform them of safety issues, cold weather concrete, and other topics that pertain to the industry,” states Rutrough.
Procon, Inc. is a younger, smaller company but realizes with the help of the national CFA, they can provide better education to their market. You can too. If you are interested in having a seminar in your area; or better yet, becoming an instructor, then contact CFA headquarters at toll free 866-CFA-WALL. Whether you want to promote foundations yourself, or provide the opportunity to homebuilders and design professionals, CFA is here to help.
