2003 Contractor of the Year Award
Talia J. Nelson, Marketing & Member Services
The Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) presented the 2003 Contractor of the Year Award to Randy and Deb Friemoth of Walls Are Us, Inc at the Annual Meeting Dinner on February 17, in conjunction with the World of Concrete in Orlando.
Members of the CFA since 1996, The Friemoths’ selection recognizes their outstanding achievements and dedication to the poured wall industry. They are known throughout the industry for their hard work and their commitment to build great relationships with everyone they work with. Brian Kuhs of Kuhs Quality Homes, states, ” We don’t solicit business with any other contractors because service is important to [Walls Are Us] and [they] are so great to work with. They take care of everything.”
Established in 1993, Walls Are Us, Inc. currently has 74 years of combined employee experience. With 34 employees they are able to perform such services as excavating, foundations (currently pouring six basements a week), waterproofing, flatwork, concrete swimming pools, and above grade concrete homes in the Southeast Wisconsin area.
Over the years, Walls Are Us was able to expand from a used set of 7′-8″ forms and an old grain truck to new forms, two Boom Trucks, Backhoes, and Dozers. They also incorporated a computerized estimated billing and job costing laser system for layout into their process of conducting business. This has increased the efficiency of estimating, as Randy states, “It is quicker and more accurate along with the billing. Extra charges on jobs aren’t missed.”
Through these changes Randy has stayed true to the three pieces of advice his prior employer, Buck Sweet of Perma Struct Inc., gave him. He never takes short cuts, but gives the customer a quality job. Walls Are Us, Inc. provides “a turnkey foundation, from digging the hole to having the foundation ready for carpenters.” He always charges a fair price, but never works for free. Thirdly, and “Most importantly, become a member of the CFA. It will be the best investment you can make in your company.”
With those values, it is obvious why the Association awarded the Friemoths Contractor of the Year. Future goals of Walls Are Us include increasing their market share of work in Southeast Wisconsin, as well as concrete housing.
The Importance of Crisis Management in Your Company
Doug Staebler, Custom Concrete – Westfield, Indiana
Most of our businesses were built on a series of business relationships that have developed over many years. They include customers, suppliers, subcontractors, bankers, insurance professionals, CPA’s, and attorneys. In addition to providing important guidance for our business, some of the relationships represent strategic relationships, that if disrupted could cause serious problems for our business.
We often focus on our customers because of their obvious importance in generating future business. However, in the process, we often fail to give adequate attention to other key relationships. We are busy dealing with more immediate problems, and often develop a false sense of security about the depth or strength of key relationships. We may not realize the value or importance of a relationship until it changes abruptly.
It is easy to take insurance or banking relationships for granted. Many have been in place for years. However, sudden changes can occur without warning. Banks merge on a regular basis. Lending officers are reassigned or leave the bank. Insurers withdraw from entire classes of business. A major loss suddenly makes your business unattractive to your current insurer. Conflicts of interest can develop when your supplier begins serving a competitor, and a choice must be made about which customer to do business with.
Unfortunately, any of these occurrences can leave us vulnerable, and create a serious problem if we cannot find a suitable alternative quickly. In many cases, the strength of our relationship may actually depend on one individual. Things change in a hurry if that person leaves for any reason. Failure to make adequate provisions could leave you scrambling to find insurance coverage, borrowing arrangements, or satisfy other critical business needs.
The key to preventing such a crisis is to dedicate a modest amount of time and effort to review the quality and effectiveness of key business relationships. These include key suppliers and subcontractors, bankers, insurance agents (property as well as group medical), attorneys, and CPAs. Begin by identifying those individuals or businesses that provide critical products or services to your business. Pay special attention where the need is single sourced, and where no alternative is identified. Consider how difficult it would be to find a suitable replacement for those products or services.
Consider the quality of services provided, and the degree to which they meet the needs of your business. Is the supplier keeping abreast of your business and its current and future needs, as well as the issues and trends that affect your business? Consider the stability of the supplier, and its ability to provide critical products and services to your business in the future. Is the supplier proactive in finding ways to make your business better, or coasting on past accomplishments?
A good example is the major changes we have seen in the business insurance marketplace. Not long ago, insurance carriers were cutting premiums to get business, and were not very selective in who they insured. We looked forward to renewals to see how much our premiums were reduced. That is now a distant memory. The past several years have seen annual increase of 25-30% or more, and many insurance companies have stopped insuring contractors altogether. Contractors with solid safety records were cancelled or seen insurers decline to renew their coverage. In this environment, the skill, experience, and connections of our insurance agents are more crucial than ever.
It is easy to take these relationships for granted. Over time, the quality can deteriorate. It is important for us to seek feedback from our suppliers. Is our business profitable for them? How can we be a better customer? Are there things we can do to make our suppliers more successful? What can we do to purchase goods or services more cost effectively? It is in our best interests to make our business as attractive to deal with as possible. The only way to achieve this is to meet with our key suppliers on a regular basis to ask for and offer honest feedback about the relationship. Examples include the way we pay our suppliers, fairness in dealing with disputed charges, and even our ability to create additional business opportunities for suppliers.
Consider developing a list suppliers, subcontractors, or professionals who provide important products or services to your business. Evaluate the effectiveness of each relationship. Is it better or worse than a year ago? Is the supplier meeting the needs of your business, and is the quality of its service, or products high? Is the supplier taking steps to meet your needs in the future? Be sure to seek input from the operational people who are most closely involved with the suppliers.
Additionally, develop relationships with potential alternative suppliers. They can provide an excellent source of information and second opinions about events and trends that affect your business. Potential suppliers frequently do business with our competitors and other similar businesses, and can often give us valuable assessments about our market. If a replacement must be found quickly, its much easier to work with someone you have known for several years, than to start a search from scratch.
Even if you are never faced with the need to find an immediate replacement for a key supplier, the time and effort can benefit your business by improving the performance of your suppliers, subcontractors, and others. Then, if a critical need arises unexpectedly, you will have a capable source to fill that role. Your commitment to meet a supplier or subcontractor once a week will allow you to meet with 10-15 of your key suppliers three or four times a year. It is far easier than scrambling to find a replacement under the pressure of a deadline, or in the midst a difficult business conditions.
Concrete Homes Council Joins Builders to Promote Concrete Industry
Wendy Shannon, Marketing Director of CHC
January marked the third-year anniversary of the Concrete Homes Council (CHC), an alliance of concrete system providers, contractors and industry partners, under the auspices of the Concrete Foundations Association(tm) of North America, established to promote cast-in-place, removable form concrete housing. The CHC celebrated its anniversary and stepped up its commitment to the industry by joining the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) newly formed Concrete Home Building Council (CHBC). The CHBC will provide builders invaluable access to a network of technical, education and training experts in concrete building systems and concrete product applications.
The CHBC, an initiative of NAHB’s Building Systems Council, receives funding from leaders in the concrete industry, including the Portland Cement Association, the Concrete Foundation Association’s Concrete Homes Council, the Insulating Concrete Form Association, and the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. The new council held its first meeting during the International Builders Show in Las Vegas, Nevada in January, laying the groundwork for an exciting year.
“Joining the Concrete Home Building Council is a natural extension of the work we already do in the CHC,” states Ed Sauter, executive director of the Concrete Homes Council. Sauter points to Dave Pfanmiller of Security Building Group in Raleigh, North Carolina, and current chair of the CHC, as an example of an experienced concrete home builder who has worked on projects from town homes to 12,000 sq. foot custom homes in the Carolinas. Pfanmiller and other CHC members are available to share their expertise with builders or developers interested in building concrete homes.
“The CHBC will be a positive docket for educational programs and for supporting collaborative efforts between builders and seasoned concrete contractors,” says Sauter. “Together these experienced professionals can easily move forward in building safer, disaster-resistant and energy-efficient concrete housing especially for markets hit hardest by natural disasters.”
Establishing alliances like the CHBC and CHC signals the determination of industry leaders to support one another and to strengthen and promote the entire residential concrete construction industry. “This will be an opportunity for all of us to work more closely with builders throughout the country and to expand the concrete home building industry at the local, regional and national levels,” says Michael Weber, director of residential for the Portland Cement Association. In essence, with the creation of the CHBC, the industry is partnering with the NAHB as its resource for all cement-based building materials, including removable form, cast-in-place concrete homes.
The CHC was established in 2001 to promote cast-in-place, removable form concrete housing and enjoys the sponsorship of leaders in the concrete industry. Platinum sponsors include: Durand Forms, Inc., of Durand, MI; Outinord Universal of Miami, FL; Wall-Ties & Forms, Inc., and Western Forms both in the Kansas City, MO area; Schwing America, Inc. of St. Paul, MN; and the Portland Cement Association, of Skokie, IL. For more information, please contact the Concrete Homes Council at 319-895-0761 or info@concretehomescouncil.org.
From the Executive Director
Organizations and businesses must step back and take a hard look at themselves from time-to-time. Such an occasion has come for the Concrete Foundations Association. The last self-evaluation was done in 1998. Many of the goals and plans set forth in that meeting were accomplished, but times have changed. The world is different today and we must continually evaluate to be current and responsive to industry and member needs.
Many positive things are happening for the CFA. The newsletter has grown and improved to the point it can be considered a magazine. The summer and winter meetings regularly set attendance records with each event. The codes and standards arena would be vastly different without the vigilance and input of the CFA and its members. We have published our own standard, and the CFA just introduced an on-line engineering program. Still, we think things could be better. The CFA will spend a day in strategic planning this spring at its quarterly meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Traditionally, these meetings involve only the board of directors but the CFA would like to invite any member who has visions or ideas that can improve the CFA. Since one day is a short time period for this type of planning, the session will be focused on addressing membership growth – should the CFA be larger and more representative of the industry; should we focus on our core group of premier contractors; should we reach out to smaller firms who cannot attend CFA events – and if so how do we do it; should we have state, local or regional branches of the CFA? The topics and questions are numerous and the only way to address the issues is to lock (not literally) yourselves in a room and turn out a plan.
Constructive Communication, Inc, a consulting firm experienced in strategic planning, was hired to lead the effort. The session includes an evaluation of our strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities, which can provide guidance for future boards. Goals, timelines, and plans for membership, regardless of the direction selected, will be developed for the staff and board to implement. We welcome your participation. The meeting is on Friday, April 16, 2004 at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, 5311 South Howell Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Make sure you contact the CFA at 866-232-9255 if you plan to attend, so we can plan accordingly.
J. Edward Sauter
The Importance of Crisis Management in Your Company
There are many possible crises that can affect your organization or the manner in which you conduct your business. Such crises include union organization, wage and hour violations, key business alliance interruptions, computer and IT systems crashes, lawsuits and litigations, succession issues, and loss of a major customer. This issue begins a series of articles based from Doug Staebler’s summer meeting educational lecture in which he presented a system for identifying and dealing with threats and crises.
Crisis management is essentially the process of identifying events or series of events that could threaten the survival of your business, and taking steps to reduce the likelihood or severity of the event. Its an important function in every business, but one that is often neglected. There are always more pressing issues to deal with, or you just assume that “it will always happen to the other guy.” You may realize that it could happen to your business, but still have a hard time with crisis planning because it presents difficult questions and issues that no one wants to discuss.
However, the benefits of crisis management far exceed the obstacles. Planning for a crisis begins with identifying areas where your business is vulnerable, and gives you the opportunity to address those weaknesses in the organization’s infrastructure. Developing the proper plan reduces the chance of an event occurring in your business, or if it does, reduces the severity of the event.
Topic One: Union Organization Efforts
Most foundation contractors are open shop or non-union businesses. The thought of a union organizing effort strikes fear in the heart of most business owners. A union contract often results in higher labor costs, more restrictive work rules, and permanently alters the relationship between management and employees because of the insertion of a union steward into the communication equation. When a union is involved, management is severely restricted in disciplining or terminating employees.
There are also financial implications, such as higher employee wages and benefits costs, which are determined by negotiations with the union. Union mandated benefit plans are an expensive addition because they include the costs of union-performed audits, the potential of lawsuits for premiums, and related litigation costs.
Although pay is usually considered first, most organizing attempts begin because employees do not feel they have adequate communication with management. Accordingly, there are several things that a company can do to prevent a union- organizing attempt. First, an effective human resources person can provide employees with assistance in dealing with company fringe benefit plans and other payroll matters, as well as answer questions or resolve problems that routinely occur. Secondly, competitive pay and benefits is an effective weapon against organizing efforts. Pay and benefits that are well below union levels provide a foothold to a union with your employees. Thirdly, your organization should avoid partiality or favoritism with employees. Inconsistent handling of employees-such as promotions, pay raises, or discipline- can lead to unhappy employees who are more receptive to organizing efforts. Lastly, management should know employees by first name. It is amazing the positive impact created when leaders speak to their employees by first name. Employees gain a sense of belonging and of being valued by the organization. Plus, it can eliminate any communication barriers between leadership and employees.
Once a union-organizing attempt begins, there will be severe restrictions on management. Even routine events, such as awarding a pay increase or promotion to an employee, may be prohibited. In the event of a unionization effort, seek expert legal counsel. It is unlikely that your corporate attorney has the expertise or experience to adequately represent you in this area. The proper legal counsel is experienced in the process of negotiating union contracts, and can advise you on the best actions your company can take. Waging a campaign to defeat the organizing attempt, as well as negotiating the first union contract can be expensive, and will most likely cost your company $50 – 100,000.
The best chance to prevent the unionization of your workforce is effective management and leadership. Competitive pay, good communications, and the fair treatment of employees are the best defense against labor unions. Effective planning can help identify specific things you can do to make your business less vulnerable to the organizing efforts of a labor union. In the end, the cost of providing competitive pay or benefits will be far less expensive than the restrictive work rules and attorney fees typically encountered with a union contract.
CFA Plans Web-Based Structural Engineering Program
Attendees at the CFA summer meeting received their first look at the web-based foundation and retaining wall structural engineering program the CFA is developing for its members. The program consists of two different designs – the first is for residential foundation walls, the second covers retaining walls.
The programs will allow users to stipulate and vary a wide variety of design inputs including wall height and thickness, reinforced vs. unreinforced designs, strength of concrete and reinforcement, height of backfill, soil pressure, and a host of other design variables. Viewable and printable output includes a dimensioned cross section of the wall, loading diagrams, and an output sheet with design assumptions.
Consulting Engineers Corporation, an engineering firm from Reston, VA, developed the program and is working with the CFA to introduce it on the CFA website. A key feature will be the ability of users to contact CEC and purchase engineer stamped drawings to use for approvals with building officials, owners, and others requiring an engineered design.
Basic use of the program will be a no-cost benefit to CFA members. Non-CFA members eventually will be able to use the program but will pay a usage fee. CFA members will also receive a substantial discount on the cost of engineer-stamped drawings. The board has yet to set the final pricing of the service.
The initial program will be based on one-way action and ACI-318 design provisions. Future versions will take into account two-way action or the impact of corners, counterforts, and other design features as well as future updates to building codes.
The foundation/basement wall program will be introduced first. The retaining wall program will be added in the near future.
Anderson Awarded for his Contributions to the Industry
Dennis “Hap” Anderson was awarded the Robert D. Sawyer Distinguished Service Award at the CFA annual awards luncheon Saturday, August 9, 2003, at the Kingston Plantation Resort in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Hap, president of Anderson Construction Inc, is recognized for his contributions to the industry over the past four decades. A founding member of the Concrete Foundations Association, Hap Anderson has been an active member and supporter since 1975. Hap attended the first poured wall contractor conference in Chicago, IL. He helped define what a poured wall contractor was, outline the reasons a poured wall association was necessary, chose the original name for the association (Poured Concrete Wall Contractors of America), and recruit members. Hap served as president of the Association in 1978-79, and also volunteered his time on the board. “Hap’s leadership qualities include inner strength, resolve, focus, confidence and integrity,” states David Isaacson of Isaacson Construction Inc., who presented the award. “These things he passes on to others not knowing the impact they have on all who come into contact with him.”
The Robert D. Sawyer Award is named on behalf of Bob Sawyer, the first Executive Director of the CFA. The award is presented to a CFA member whose contributions to the concrete foundation industry merit recognition. It honors individuals who selflessly give their time and resources to serve the industry, as Bob Sawyer did for the CFA through its formative years.
“Older members know how important this award is.” Isaacson states, “[This year’s recipient] is a man that I hold in the highest esteem. He has been a mentor to many. I am thankful to know him and honored to call him my friend.”
Anderson Construction Inc., founded in 1963, currently provides excavating concrete walls, flatwork, and waterproofing services for the Springfield, MO area. Hap is presently semiretired with three employees in his company.
Other presentations at the luncheon include recognition of long-standing CFA members and acceptance of the coveted Basement of the Year award plaque by Gary and Dan Bromley of ABI Corporation, Lee’s Summit, MO. The Basement of the Year is determined annually by member votes at the CFA booth during the World of Concrete.
BEP Big Panels – Saving Time and Manpower for Martinson Construction
“They pour nice walls – straight and square,” said Dave Martinson of Martinson Construction in Waterloo, Iowa of B.E.P. Forming System Inc.’s new Big Panels. They also allow Martinson to do work in less time with fewer workers.
Martinson Construction used the Big iPanels and power ties to construct a data center for Team Technologies, an organization that provides system and network integration services and internet solutions in the upper Midwest.
There were a total of three buildings constructed for Team technologies in Cedar Falls Iowa. A nearby building, constructed by Martinson Construction and similar in structure to the Team Technologies data center, averaged 14-foot walls and was completed by 12-15 workers in approximately eight weeks using the traditional aluminum forms. The data center was constructed by seven workers, using the larger forms, and was on schedule for completion two weeks earlier than the nearby building.
The B.E.P. panels are different from the traditional forming systems in that they are completely crane-set with the use of a lightweight crane, all-terrain forklift, bobcat crane attachment or track-style backhoe. The crane-set system is highly adaptable to below-and-above-grade, cast-in-place residential and commercial concrete projects, and features a one-man lifting hook device. Lightweight but strong, these panels hook to any conventional aluminum system, steel frame or locking plywood system. Heavy-rail systems with corner guests are high-penetration welded to standard .125 inch thick face-sheet or optional heavy-gauge .160 inch face-sheet to create the strongest big panel in the industry engineered to handle up to 1,450 lbs. per sq. ft. loads, based on ACI pour ratings.
The forms use power ties, similar to large bolts, rather than traditional taper ties to secure the forms together, which facilitate faster set-up and stripping time. There are no loose parts and the tie spaces itself with unique bearing spacer plate to pour different widths of wall. The power ties are placed on the interior so that no holes are seen on the exterior. The holes are then filled. Ties are available in nominal and full width dimension and support up to 40,000 lbs SWL (Safe Working Level).
For this project Martinson constructed 60-70 ft walls using 9′ x 24′ Big Panels. To move the forms, Martinson’s crew moved the panel by taking it down and rotating it. Martinson pointed out the section is by no means a maximum. “If you had a good crane, you could move more forms at once,” he stated.
Ideally, every other day was scheduled to pour with the remaining days to set-up forms. Martinson finds commercial work, such as this data center, is often more complicated than residential because every project is different. He states, “Everything has been a challenge all the way around. There wasn’t one panel that didn’t have a lot of stuff go into it.”
For commercial building, workers are often on the sight longer. However, B.E.P. Forming System Inc.’s new forms saved a lot of time and manpower that would otherwise be needed to complete this project. Martinson was able to cut his manpower in half and shave of a few weeks for completion.
For more information about B.E.P. Forming Systems or the Big Panel System, visit www.bepformingsystems.com or call 1-866-BEP-FORM (1-866-237-3676). B.E.P. Forming Systems is a family-owned aluminum forming company committed to providing residential and commercial contractors with technological innovations in form design and accessories. The company’s goal is to help contractors maximize profits by saving time and reducing labor and equipment costs.
Martinson Construction, the largest concrete contractor in the Waterloo/Cedar Falls area, complete 275 to 300 foundations per year in addition to their commercial business.
Association Marketing and Branding Efforts Focus Largely on Public Relations
For the past two years, the CFA has put tremendous focus on public relations efforts. Lacking the vast resources and dollars needed to embark on a national advertising campaign, your Association Board opted to build the awareness of cast-in-place concrete foundations through the PR vehicle and take advantage of the third-party credibility achieved with this marketing tactic. CFA Initiatives have resulted in feature articles ranging from concrete cracking and the Basement of the Year competition to safe basement space and codes; a partnership with Concrete Homes magazine for a year-long series on the basics of foundation construction; as well as a variety of press releases and online postings. We believe the efforts have been successful in building a solid awareness of the benefits of poured wall construction, yet there is still much to do. Our 2004 program includes the completion of the Concrete Home series, which will increase the expert position of CFA, as well as educate homeowners on the benefits of cast-in-place foundations.
A PR program hinges largely on membership participation, and since it also serves to benefit you, we wanted to take the time to explain our goals and objectives. Having managed the PR effort or CFA for the last two years, I would like to share answers to some of the most common questions we receive regarding the awareness campaign.
WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations, or PR, is the formal way in which organizations communicate with their publics. It is planned or managed communication – a means to communicate, influence and sometimes even sell. The medium provides the necessary third-party credibility you cannot achieve with advertising and is a cost-effective means to build a brand. However, it should be noted that public relations requires a consistent and concerted effort – it is not as simple as sending one release. True public relations success is achieved by developing a program that carefully delivers a key message to target audiences.
WANT TO SEE YOUR PROJECTS IN PICTURES?
A picture really does tell a thousand words, and in case of public relations, good photography can make or break securing a story. With ever-changing technology and a variety of new products, the CFA is always in need of good job-site photographs. The advent and subsequent explosion of digital photography had a large impact on our photo archives. Obviously, digital technology provides for quick and easy manipulation and development of photographs for website and email purposes. However, most of these images are not suitable for print publications since most magazines require digital photos to be at least 300 dpi (dots per inc) and 4 x 6 in size – usually in TIF format. For cover photographs, a slide, transparency or 8.5 x 11 inch photograph is necessary. With only small digital files to choose from in our archives, the CFA is losing valuable opportunities in the media. For example, we lost an opportunity with Concrete Construction magazine early this year because high-resolution images were not available for the CFA project of interest to the editor. The lesson learned is to make sure your digital camera is set to take high resolution photographs before snapping a shot or simply use a 35mm camera so photos can be scanned at the proper resolution. If you have photos you are willing to share, please send them to CFA today. Your company will benefit from exposure since the photo caption and cutline (caption) highlights your company and project.
HOW CAN YOU BENEFIT FROM THE CFA PR PROGRAM?
In addition to building awareness of cast in place foundations – a phenomena from which we all benefit – CFA’s PR program is a resource for you and helpful in your marketing efforts. Published articles and press releases are posted on the CFA website and many are available in pdf format for you to download and share with prospective clients or other team members. Include the articles in your proposals, send them as a mailing to clients, or even repackage them as a column in your local business publication. If you cannot find an article on a particular topic, let us know. Chances are we have the piece you need, or it is something we could create for all members to use.
Further, CFA needs a list of technical experts to review articles, create white papers for the more technically-oriented publications or serve as interviews. If you have expertise and can spare time for this worth endeavor, please contact CFA today. Also, active involvement in the Association prompts us to call you next time we need an expert. Explore opportunities to serve on committees that interest you.
HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE ARE SUCCESSFUL?
Without a goal, how will you measure success? There are a variety of methods to measure the effectiveness of PR efforts – ranging from comparing space receive with the cost of buying equal advertising space to expensive market research of those reading target publications. CFA measures its results by establishing goals in terms of key audiences we reach and topics covered. Your participation in our program – either as a participation in a feature article or distributing published articles throughout the marketplace, simply aids and helps us build a stronger program.
CAN YOU HELP?
If you have any suggestions or topics you want covered in the Concrete Homes column or ideas for future feature articles, please contact Wendy Ward at wward@constructivecommunication.com.
Concrete Above-Grade Wall Systems: What are Homebuilders Thinking?
A summary of the PCA market research’s The 2003 Homebuilder Report
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) Market Research surveyed homebuilders across the United States in 2003 to assess the awareness and use of concrete above-grade wall systems and competing systems, as well as to measure the attitudes and perceptions of homebuilders toward these systems. In addition, homebuilders’ perceptions of homeowners were measured. Homebuilders were asked what is important to homeowners, how much more homeowners would be willing to spend for benefits such as energy efficiency and noise reduction, and how much they thought homeowners would be willing to spend for a concrete home. The survey focused on ICF construction, but most of the conclusions can be applied to all forms of concrete homes.
The research was conducted to measure the effectiveness of promotions by tracking market share, promotional successes, and the attitudes and perceptions of decision-makers. The survey was a follow-up to a survey of homebuilders completed in 1997 and two follow-up surveys completed in 1999 and 2001. Powerful comparisons are made among the three surveys of homebuilders and with four surveys of homeowners conducted between 1995 and 2002.
The two above-grade wall construction discussed in the report were wood framing and steel studs. Wood framing construction is the tradition form, and is the main competitor for concrete homebuilding, but steel studs and structural insulated panels (SIPs) are also serious contenders for market share. Steel studs are a system similar to traditional wood framing using light-gauge formed steel. SIPs are a system that has a structural composite wall panel consisting of rigid insulation sandwiched between two sheets of plywood, oriented strandboard (OSB), or waferboard sheathing.
Concrete homebuilding includes a variety of traditional and innovative systems. The most heavily promoted of these are traditional concrete block, insulating concrete forms (ICFs), and poured concrete/removable forms (PC/RF). ICFs are a system in which two parallel sheets of polystyrene are filled with concrete and left in place, acting as the insulation for the wall. Other concrete systems including autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) and precast concrete are also included in the analysis. AAC is a system of lightweight concrete blocks made with extremely fine aggregate and an expanding agent.
The survey was completed by 1,111 single-family detached homebuilders in the following states: Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon, and Texas. The average homebuilder who completed the survey has been building homes for 22 years, has built 17 homes in the past year, sells homes priced between $200.00 and $350.00 and builds homes with 1,800 to 3,000 square-feet. The result showed a drop in concrete products’ share, from 10.3% in 2001 to 8.5% in 2003. Most of the concrete products’ share consists of concrete block which fell from 6.8% to 5.1%. ICFs’ share dropped slightly from 2.4% in 2001 to 2.0% in 2003.
The results also found that awareness of concrete homebuilding remained unchanged. Awareness of the systems appears to have leveled off in 2003 after experiencing dramatic increases between 1997 and 1999. In 2003, 96% of builders were aware of concrete block and 83% of builders were award of ICFs. Awareness of most of the systems did not vary significantly between 2001 and 2003.
Homebuilders’ perception about the construction systems showed that poured concrete/removable forms (PC/RF) were rated the highest for durability, insect resistance, indoor air quality, disaster resistance, and environmental safety, while ICFs were rated the highest for energy efficiency and noise reduction.
Wood was the only system that builders were very likely to use all three years the survey was given. Concrete block was rated at the neutral level, while the other systems were rated at the unlikely to use or very unlikely to use levels. Builders were more likely to use all of the systems in 2003 than in 2001.
The results found that the five most important characteristics were low initial cost, design flexibility, energy efficiency, durability, and construction time. In 2003, 39% of the builders were likely to build a concrete home with a comparable cost to wood, which remained steady with the 2001 rate of 40%. Unfortunately, the percent of builders who thought their homebuyers would be likely to build a concrete home if it cost 2% to 5% more than a wood home fell from 27% in 2001 to 18%. However, 90% of the builders thought homebuyers would be willing to spend at least 1% more for an ICF home and 16% thought homebuyers would be willing to spend at least 5% more.
Over 75% of homebuilders thought homebuyers would spend more for energy efficiency (98%). indoor air quality (98%), noise reduction (87%), disaster resistance (96%), and environmental safety (84%).
Future surveys include an update of the homeowner survey in 2004 and an update of the homebuilder survey in 2005.
The contents of this article consist of excerpts from The PCA’s The 2003 Homebuilder Report.
