New Control Joint System Available
MAR-FLEX® has announced the introduction of a new system to reduce random cracks in concrete foundations. This is accomplished by creating vertical control joints on both sides of the foundation wall. Shrinkage cracking is confined to the control joint area and the outside control joint is sealed to make it waterproof and watertight. MAR-FLEX offers this economical and easy to use system with an additional cost estimated to be $100 to $200 per foundation.
The joint forming material is a reusable plastic extrusion which easily attaches to the edge of any concrete forming system. The joint comes in either +” or 1-1/4” depths and produces a “V” for crack inducement and is available in 8’, 9’ and 10’ lengths. The control joint system should be installed at pre-determined locations where cracks are most likely to occur.
For more information contact MAR-FLEX waterproofing systems at 800-498-1411 or visit their web site at www.marflex.com.
2002-2003 Residential Construction Market Outlook
Condensed from FMI Annual Construction Outlook Publication
The U.S. single family residential construction sector of the construction market increased from $235.9 billion in 2000 to $246.5 billion in 2001. This 4% growth is the lowest annual increase in single-family construction since 1997. The value of construction put in place was expected to decrease 1% in 2002 and increase 3% in 2003. Forecasts are more optimistic for 2004 with a 6% increase projected.
Although this was a small increase, it was surprisingly strong considering the rough economic climate. When the economy was in recession in early 1990, the industry was not prepared. This time, however, due to tightened standards by bank regulators, increased financial sophistication by executives, and more favorable economic conditions the single-family market has remained strong through the recession and stock market decline.
The single-family residential market is usually hardest hit when the economy is in a recession. Normally, interest rates would be climbing, causing a decrease in home affordability. Favorable interest rates, higher incomes, and appreciation in house values allowed demand in this market to not only be sustained, but increase.
The poor performance in the stock market has also contributed to the surprising strength of the single-family residential market. Many investors are pulling their money out of the stock market and investing in real estate.
All that being said, the single- family residential market is volatile at best. 2001 started very strong and tapered off in the second half of the year. Every small change in inflation and interest rates has a large effect on this market. The outlook for the rest of the decade remains optimistic. Homeowner rates are higher for older groups, so as the population ages, there will continue to be high demand for homes. There will also be a higher percentage of homeownership among immigrants, minorities, and lower income groups causing the homeownership rate likely to exceed 70% by the end of the decade. FMI forecasters expect 18 million new homes to be built between 2001 and 2010.
The regional outlook will continue to shift away from the Northeast and Midwest towards the South and West. Most homebuyers will move to the suburbs, but lack of land availability will cause increased development in the cities and extend further from the cities.
Homebuilders will continue to face labor shortages. This lack of manpower will continue until the later part of the decade. Like the rest of the industry, homebuilders will need to concentrate on hiring, training, retaining, and compensating key employees. Key demographic groups in overcoming labor problems include immigrants, especially Hispanics, and women. Another key issue will be constraints on the use of raw materials.
FMI is a construction management firm delivering innovative, customized solutions to contractors, engineers, architects, and others in the construction industry. FMI’s consultants assist businesses with strategic planning, leadership and organizational development, marketing and sales, and a host of other business services. They have offices in Raleigh, NC, Denver, CO, and Tampa, FL.
Foundation Contractor Wall Survey
The CFA Questionnaire received an excellent return with 53 of our contractor members responding. It will take quite some time to sort through all of the results but some of the easier to-tabulate summaries are listed below. These are based on the 53 returned questionnaires – not on the full membership.
- Number of basements poured in 2002: 12,467
- Number of basements in past 10 years: 112,624
- Strength of concrete (walls): 2500 psi – 1; 3000 psi – 29; 3500 psi – 18; 4000 psi – 10 (note: some respondents use more than one strength, depending on the project).
- Use horizontal steel: 47 – yes; 5 – no (note: the number and location of reinforcement bars varied)
- Number of wall problems from lateral loading: Approx 120
- Number of above problems where top bracing or deck was not in place: approx 114
- Most frequent cause of failure: (1) Heavy machinery next to foundation; (2) Excessive soil pressure from soil/water
- Number of above listed problems that occurred after two weeks of pouring: 11
A full report of this information plus the cold weather portion of the survey will be published in a future edition of the newsletter.
Saldana Concrete Profile
As the first poured wall contractor in the St. Cloud, Minn. area, Mark Saldana quickly realized the battle his company would face in changing perceptions and battling the region’s traditional construction methods. But, through ingenuity and persistence – as well as assistance from fellow CFA members – Saldana has quickly built a market for poured walls in Minnesota.
Originally a block foundation company with roots dating back to 1987, Saldana Concrete, located in Rice, Minn., switched to poured wall foundations in 1996.
“We were having difficulty finding blocklayers, especially in the winter months,” said Saldana. “We realized the tremendous benefit associated with poured wall foundations and decided to make the switch.”
The change was not easy. With poured wall foundations virtually non-existent in the area, Saldana found it difficult to get homebuilders to try poured wall foundations. So he regrouped and tried a different approach. Since homebuilders were reluctant, he tried selling directly to homeowners through the Builders Association Home Shows.
“During the first year in business, 90 percent of foundations we completed were directly for homeowners,” said Saldana.
Saldana believes that by selling the homeowners on poured foundations, they put pressure on the builders to use poured foundations. The next year, the builders began calling. “When we would get the same blueprint from two different builders for the same homeowner, we knew that the homeowner wanted a poured foundation,” explained Saldana. “Some builders told the homeowners that they did not do poured foundations and the builders lost the job because they would not change.”
The sales materials CFA provided also helped sell the concept to an area builder. Reker Construction was searching for an alternative to block foundations for a 60 to 70 single-family home development. After learning about the benefits of poured wall foundation construction from Saldana Concrete, Reker hired the Saldana team and the project was a success. Extremely satisfied with the results, Reker also hired Saldana in 2002 for the construction of a 278-unit apartment complex — the first apartment building with a poured wall foundation in the St. Cloud area. The walls for this project were 12-feet and 13-feet high with hollow core decking on the first floor. When completed the building will have used about 5,000 yards of concrete, which was provided by fellow CFA member, Granite City Ready Mix.
With 20 employees, Saldana has experienced growing pains within the last year but is committed to trying new things and offering new services. For example, at the advice of a CFA member, Saldana recently launched a pumping company and conveying company.
“We purchased our first pump truck in November 2000, and by the end of 2001, we needed another machine,” said Saldana. “With three crews pouring walls and footings at the same time, one truck could not manage.”
In June 2002, Saldana purchased a 105-foot Telebelt‚ Conveyor from fellow CFA member, V and H, Inc. Before the conveyor was delivered, Saldana decided to change the name of his pumping company from Saldana Concrete Pumping to Great River Pumping and Conveying.
“Other members explained to me the importance of having a different name for my pumping company,” said Saldana. “Within two days of having the new conveyor and name, I had competitors calling me. Our pumping and conveying business continues to grow and our work for outside companies has now surpassed our own pours.”
Quick to credit CFA for also keeping their company abreast of the constantly changing technology within the foundation industry, Saldana’s advice to other members is to regularly attend meetings.
“I would never miss a CFA meeting, because of the valuable information I gain,” said Saldana. “The ability to network with other contractors from around the country has been a tremendous help to my company. Joining the CFA is the best thing a contractor can do.”
Saldana says that the Associate Members of CFA who supply products and equipment for the poured wall industry provide a wealth of knowledge and experience. He encourages members to utilize their expertise and services.
Looking toward the future, Saldana hopes to position his company as a full-service contractor. He would like to expand into areas of abovegrade construction, to include concrete insulated homes. Saldana also predicts an increase in the acceptance of poured wall foundations in the St. Cloud area. With block foundations accounting for nearly 70 percent of foundation construction, there is immense opportunity for poured wall foundations.
For more information, contact Mark Saldana at (320) 393-4485.
Sign-Up for Spring Foundation Fundamentals
The Foundation Fundamentals seminar will return to the Midwest for the Spring of 2003. The Holiday Inn Select in Strongsville, Ohio (near Cleveland) will host the seminar on Saturday, April 12, 2003. A seminar for building officials will be held on Friday, April 11, concurrent with the CFA committee and board meeting. If you have a building official you would like to attend, let us know and we will send you a registration form – better yet, offer to pay his way there. The seminars run from 8:00 am until 4:30 and include lunch.
The seminar will be conducted by Brent Anderson. Brent has been presenting the seminar for nearly 20 years and he brings new information, slides, and perspectives to each seminar.
You now have three ways of registering for the event. You can sign up for the seminar using the form in this newsletter, you can wait for the mailer to arrive, or you can visit the events registration page on the CFA website at www.cfawalls.org. For more information on the seminars contact the CFA at 1-866-232-9255.
CFA Unveils Web Site Improvements
A visit to the Internet today doesn’t take very long before you see a myriad of ways companies are reaching out to their visitors to make their websites more user friendly and efficient. The Concrete Foundations Association has initiated steps to make significant improvements to the CFA web site, www.cfawalls.org, over this past year. If you haven’t visited in a while, I encourage you to do so. Over the coming months, additional changes will be taking place to make the site more informational for both the general public as well as you, our members.
The CFA demonstrated many of the new site features to booth visitors at the World of Concrete. You will have to investigate them on your own if you missed this opportunity. To assist you, I will have a standing feature in the newsletter called “The Web Page” to help you navigate your way through our site and utilize its features. After all, the purpose of the website should be to bring you information at your fingertips and to allow you to communicate with the rest of the Association in a network of potential.
Accessing Information
There are many key locations for information on our site. Most of these are accessed by the diamond-shaped navigation buttons you will find along the left side of your screen. I would like to direct your attention to three of these items that have changed significantly and will continue to change.
CFA Calendar of Events – The first is the button labeled “Calendar.” One of the easiest ways to keep track of important dates and information for our events is by frequenting this page. The Calendar of Events provides a snapshot look at CFA events roughly six months in advance. By visiting this page, you can keep your PDAs updated; your tickets purchased well in advance; notices and reviews of recently completed important CFA documents; and be assured that those crucial hotel rooms are reserved.
Membership Distribution – The second site feature that has seen dramatic changes is the searchable CFA membership map. You may recall that this map has been an integral part of our website. However, with the broad changes we have made to our database system and membership access portal that will be described below, I felt that updating this map was essential. This map is directly linked to the real-time database that we now use. Any change to membership whether new or expiring is directly reflected in the information that this map conveys. For instance, we currently do not have a CFA member in the great state of Idaho, even though we know that basements are constructed there and that Idaho has many quality contractors. The moment one is added to the CFA roster, the state of Idaho on the map will turn yellow. Selecting this state will bring up the membership roster for Idaho. Another example would be the state of Pennsylvania. A search for membership in this state results in 22 members. Should one of these members allow their membership to expire, a new search would immediately result in a listing of only 21 members. The net result is real time, accurate information portrayed to both our membership and to the general public.
CFA eNewsletter – Most of you are aware that we mail a significant amount of literature to you each year. If you have an email address, you can also gain valuable information from us in the form of our monthly eNewsletter and periodic eFlash. These are electronic pieces aimed at keeping you abreast of critical timelines, special offers and breaking news here at CFA Headquarters. To add your name to the list, you only need to send an email to eNewssub1@cfawalls.org and type “subscribe CFA eNewsletter” into the subject box for your email, then send. You do not need to type anything in the body of the message. With a minimal effort you are automatically added to the broadcast list and will begin receiving information electronically.
NEWEST FEATURE
The growth of this Association combined with your interest in having more information available to Member’s Only has resulted in a year-long effort to create a real-time database management system that is coupled with a new password protected membership site. The rest of this article will take you step by step through some of the interesting pages and services that are now available to you.
This new set of pages is available to both members and non-members. However, depending on your specific member I.D., you are restricted in the type of information that is visible as well as the prices that are listed. Each page will be custom configured to your I.D.
Entering this new site addition is very simple. You only need to click on the navigation diamond that says “Resources.” This button formerly provided access to the publications available to members and non-members. It now re-directs you to entirely new pages with expanded features for members including our forum, registration, membership maintenance, publications and other resources. Depending on your security level, additional pieces of information are available for CFA committee and Board members. Non-members are taken to a location where they can identify themselves with the CFA and order materials or register for events as Nonmembers while at the same time becoming a part of our prospective member list. Fig. 1 shows an example of what the logon screen looks like. Incidentally, your I.D. and initial password will be emailed to you on request if you haven’t already received one. You can request a new password and/or have your information emailed to you at anytime in the event that you have become forgetful. Once you have entered your Membership I.D. and password, you will be taken to the welcome screen like the one in Fig. 2.
From this welcome screen, you now can begin selecting options from the menu bar shown that represent functions you want to perform. Let’s walk through the different selections. Before we do, however, one thing to note is that to close a feature at any point in time and go back to the main menu, you must use the “Close” button at the bottom of the screen. The arrow buttons of your browser do not work through this series of pages.
Membership – Figure 3 shows the expanded membership menu with four available selection items. From here you can choose to “Renew” your membership online (see Fig. 4); “Edit” your entry in the database whether you are a member or non-member (see Fig. 5); “View” and search the entire CFA Membership database for a particular person (see Fig. 6); and finally, close your session on our real-time site. Some of the key points of interest include:
- Renew Screen – has details of each membership category and their rate so that you can easily and quickly determine where you should be in membership.
- Edit Screen – has a button where you can enter family members so that it is easier to remind others of a spouse’s or child’s name following a summer meeting, etc.
- Edit Screen – has an area to define your shipping address so that information can be automatically filled in during your ordering process.
- View Screen – has three methods of looking up a given member. These are By Company, By State or By Expiration Date of their membership. These are pull-down menus that show the options available for selection.
Once you have made changes or selections to any of these screens, you should then select the “Save” button and then “Close” button to return to the main menu. It should be noted that this information is only viewable by CFA members.
Events – As you move over the menu item for “Events”, you will see a list drop down that includes all of the current events that are open for registration. Figure 7 shows an example of what a screen looks like for the event registration. You will notice that the first box is a pull-down listing of names from the database from your company that can be used to select a registrant; or a first and last name can be typed directly into the boxes to the right of this box. Registrant Type is where you select the rate at which this person is registered (this may be adjusted by CFA headquarters if an error or an incorrect selection is made). Some of the additional features of this screen are:
- Activity Registration – a button allowing you to select how many of the individual activities for an event the person is registered. See Fig. 8 for an example listing of what these activities might look like.
- Save – a button that compiles all the registrations into your shopping cart before leaving this page.
- Close – the button you use to return to the main menu whether you have made registrations or not.
Resources and Apparel – Menu items have been added that allow the user to browse through the literature and recently, the “logo” clothing that is available through the CFA. Literature pricing is based on whether the individual logged on is a member or non-member and clothing or apparel is available only to CFA members. Fig. 9 shows the expansion of the “Resources” menu item for available options and Fig. 10 provides a view of how the order screen looks. You simply enter the number of each item that you desire and the total for your order is updated. Once again, selecting the “Save” button will update your shopping cart and the “Close” button returns you to the main menu.
Publications – The final menu item that we will provide guidance for in this issue is the “Publications” menu item. It is through this item that members will be able to download copies of both the CFA Newsletter and The Business Owner, the two publications that are sent to you approximately bi-monthly throughout the year. This is a great addition to the information available through our website. Figure 11 shows the tables that allow you to scroll through to find a particular publication, view the Table of Contents of these publications and then open the files. Selecting “View” for a given publication will open the compressed file on your computer for viewing. From here, you can save and print it on your own. One item to note is that you must have Adobe Reader installed on your computer to view these publications. Adobe Reader should be on your computer already from a larger number of software programs that you may have installed. However, if you are not able to view these, a link to the Adobe download site for the latest version of Reader is available at the bottom of the screen next to the “Close” button. The “Save” button simply begins the download process of one of these documents to your computer without viewing them first.
Checking Out – Once you have completed a registration, resource order, or an apparel order, you will be prompted or reminded to proceed to checkout before leaving the site. You do not have to check out until you registered or saved all of the items that you intend to purchase. We have teamed up with VeriSign to provide you with a secure ordering process. All transactions with the CFA will proceed with complete privacy. Fig. 12 shows a sample of what this checkout screen looks like. Should you be missing something you intended to purchase, it is likely due to not selecting the “Save” button before closing a screen. You can select “Close” to return to the Main Menu and complete the order process for any additional or omitted materials or events. Finally, return to this Checkout screen, select the method of payment, the number and expiration date if applicable, and select the “Complete Payment” button. You will be taken to a screen confirming your purchase or advising you of any related problems followed by a return to the Main Menu. You will then receive confirmation of any orders you have made. Our office will receive an immediate notification for processing as well. It is perhaps this feature of the new site that we are most excited about as we have experienced very mixed results with our past non-secure online ordering process.
Well, take a breath, sit back and sip your coffee and prepare to become involved in the great transition of the CFA to a more efficient network of contractors, suppliers and design professionals. In the next issue I will present information on the online forum versus the Q&A section of our public site as well as some of the more intricate features of our changing site. Please contact me at jbaty@cfawalls.org or 866-232-9255 if you have any questions regarding the content of this article or discoveries you have made with your own investigation. Until next time, see you online.
CFA Loses a Founding Father
Erwin “Buck” Sweet, a founder, long-time member, and past president of the Concrete Foundations Association passed away Sunday, November 10, 2002 at his residence in Sturtevant, Wisconsin. He was 75 years of age.
Buck owned and operated Perma-Structo Inc. from 1965 until his retirement earlier this year. He gave of his time to his community as well as to his trade serving as past president of the Racine Kenosha Builders Association and as past president of the Village of Sturtevant. Buck was also a Boy Scout leader for numerous years.
Buck, like most members of the CFA, was always willing to share his knowledge and ideas with others. Perma-Structo Inc. won the “Basement of the Year” competition in 2001 and was recipient of the CFA Lifetime Achievement Award earlier this year.
Buck Bartley of The Bartley Corporation said, “Buck Sweet was one of the important contributors in creating the PCWCA (Poured Concrete Wall Contractors Association), now the CFA. Buck Sweet was always an innovator, opening up the eyes of other members with his early adoption of shotcreting, cranes, waterproofing, lifetime basement guarantee’s, and a host of other ideas. No one was more important than Buck Sweet for creating a sustainable organization.” These thoughts were echoed by Bob Sawyer, the first Executive Director of the organization.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, three daughters, four stepchildren, and 18 grandchildren. He will be missed by those who knew him in the CFA as well as his friends and family. Memorials to the American Cancer Society have been suggested.
Buck’s son-in-law Mark Beaudin put it best, “What you saw was what you got with Buck.” The CFA and all of his friends will miss him.
PCA 2002 Homeowner Survey
Impressive Increase in Consumer Awareness for Concrete Homes Awareness of concrete homebuilding returned to its high of 68% in 2002 after dipping in 1998 (52%) and in 2000 (55%). It also increased in all nine regions of the country and in all eight target states.
Awareness increased of all above-grade systems between 2000 and 2002. ICF awareness increased from 41% to 45% during that period and also increased in most of the regions and eight targeted states.
PCA Market Research surveyed homeowners across the United States in 2002 to assess the awareness and use of concrete above-grade wall systems and competing materials, as well as to measure the attitudes and perceptions of homeowners toward these systems. In addition, PCA hoped to learn where homeowners seek and receive information on the building materials in their homes.
The research was conducted as part of the measurement criteria research program, which strives to measure the effectiveness of promotions by tracking market share, promotional successes, and the attitudes and perceptions of decision makers. This survey is a follow-up to an original benchmark survey conducted in 1995 and two subsequent studies conducted in 1998 and 2000. Powerful comparisons are made among these four homeowner surveys and three homebuilder surveys conducted in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Future surveys planned include an update of the homebuilder survey in 2003 and an update of the homeowner survey in 2004.
Wood framing 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 studs. SIPs are a system that has a structural composite wall panel consisting of rigid insulation sandwiched between two sheets of plywood, oriented strand board (OSB), or wafer-board sheathing.
Concrete homebuilding includes a variety of traditional and innovative systems. The most heavily promoted systems are concrete block, insulating concrete forms (ICFs), and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC). 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. AAC is a system of lightweight concrete blocks made with extremely fine aggregates and an expanding agent. Other concrete systems mentioned in this report include conventional poured-in-place concrete, precast concrete, shotcrete, and solid brick.
The three most important variables for homeowners when selecting a new home were energy efficiency, durability, and insect resistance. Indoor air quality, low initial cost, and material availability, rounded out the top six. The three most common sources of information on concrete homebuilding were newspapers, magazines, and TV commercials. It was also found that 85% of homeowners would be willing to spend at least 1% more for an ICF home, and 23% would spend at least 5% more.
Perceptions
When comparing concrete and wood, the strongest preferences for concrete were for durability, insect resistance, disaster resistance, and noise reduction, while preferences for wood were for design flexibility, ease of construction, construction time, and low initial cost.
When comparing concrete and steel, the strongest preferences for concrete were for energy efficiency, low initial cost, and noise reduction, while preferences for steel were for design flexibility and construction time.
Likelihood to Build a Concrete Home
The majority of homeowners were likely to build a concrete home if it had a comparable cost to wood in 2002 (52%)—up slightly from 2000 (50%). In 2002, 31% of homeowners were likely to build a concrete home if it cost 2% to 5% more—almost the same as 2000 (30%). More homeowners were likely to use wood and steel in 2002 than in 2000, while likelihood of building with other systems was either slightly less or unchanged. Homeowners likely to use ICFs decreased from 30% to 25% between 2000 and 2002.
In addition to measuring the general awareness of concrete homebuilding, data was collected on the awareness and use of specific systems. In 2002, wood (96%), concrete block (79%) and steel (69%) had the highest awareness among homeowners. Awareness for all concrete systems increased between 2000 and 2002. Wood and steel were included for the first time in the 2000 survey.
The three most important variables for homeowners when selecting a new home were energy efficiency (4.47), durability (4.46), and insect resistance (4.12). Results of the 2001 Homebuilder Report are also included in this graph.
Homeowners indicated the importance of various features of ICF homes with a willingness to spend at least 1% more for each feature.
CFA Cold Weather Testing
A Progress report
At the Summer Board meeting in Mt. Hood, the Board of Directors allocated funds from the Education and Research Fund for an in-depth study of cold weather and how it affects the concrete mixes our members typically use. Following a series of physical meetings and conference calls as well as idea refining through email, the committee devised a program that it felt was best to put this money to use.
Early in the process, the committee decided that our program and testing should be thorough and independent. To this end we have employed the services of Brad Barnes, P.E., as our project coordinator and Master Builders Technologies (MBT) of Beechwood, Ohio as the testing laboratory. Master Builders is a worldwide manufacturer of specialty concrete products and admixtures. Our technical associate at MBT, Joe Daczko, has already been invaluable in facilitating our work. They have made their facility, which includes industrial-sized refrigerated rooms, available to us through Rick Buccini at Osborne Ready Mix of Medina, Ohio.
Currently, we are in the process of testing 44 different mix designs ranging from a 5- sack, Type-I cement mix with no accelerator to a 6.5-sack, Type-III cement mix with water reducer and 1% calcium, and many variations in between. Each type is mixed by hand and checked for slump (6-7”), weight, and air content (6%). Each batch is then placed in cylinders (16 per mix batch) and loaded into the refrigerated rooms. Temperature measurements begin immediately, using the Con-Cure System, provided at a steep discount by John Gnaedinger of Con-Cure Corporation. Compressive strength and its relationship to time and temperature is measured over a 28-day span. These measurements, when plotted with the proprietary software, develop a kind of data known as a maturity curve. This type of testing is not new, but the equipment and technology are state of the art. There will be thousands of measurement taken and plotted, far too many to explain in a short article, but we hope to have important conclusions to share soon. In all there will be over 700 cylinders cast and broken, consisting of over ten cubic yards of concrete.
OK, “so what” you say? “We don’t care about laboratory concrete, we care about real walls!”
The next step will be undertaken in the yard of Osborne-Medina Concrete in full-scale walls poured by Scott Smith of Modern Poured Walls and Frank Ramey of Tri-County Excavation. They will be pouring a wall headed off into several different compartments, using different mixes typical to their area. Each section will be monitored with the Con-Cure Meters, and then core-drilled for cylinders that represent the real world.
The lab work will tell what these mixes are capable of. The “yard” test will show us what is really happening “out there”. The combination of these results should be able to give the CFA members a very impressive working chart showing, in general, how they can expect mix designs to perform in walls under different conditions. If you are in an area that has a really critical inspector, we will eventually be able to set you up with the Con-Cure System and directions on how to test your own local materials. We will get this info out to you as soon as we can digest it. Your earliest source may be the CFA web Site.
YOU CAN HELP!
You can help us move our effort forward in two ways:
1) We are continuing to develop field data using the HOBO Data-Loggers as was performed last winter. This system can provide data similar to that of Con-Cure system on a smaller basis. Several CFA members are measuring temperatures in their walls using the HOBO system and our CFA technical director Jim Baty is coordinating the effort and information. If you are interested in helping with some real world testing of your own, please contact Jim.
2) To help us make best use of the information we are gathering a short questionnaire will be sent to all members in the coming weeks. PLEASE fill this questionnaire out and fax your answers back to the CFA headquarters at 319-895-8830. Your answers will allow us to develop further focus to our efforts.
If you bump into any of the following people between now and the next report, give them a big thank-you! This committee has really been hard at work for the CFA members.
Arie Van Wyk, Van Wyks Inc. Brad Barnes PE, North Central Engineering, Ltd Frank Ramey, Tri-County Excavating Kevin Heindel, Cemstone Companies Jim Baty, CFA Ron Colvin, J C Concrete Scott Smith, Modern Poured Walls Rick Buccini, Medina-Osborne Concrete John Gnaedinger, Con- Cure Corporation Mark Markovich, Dependent Foundations Joe Daczko, Master Builders, Inc. Dick Hoying, Piqua ConcreteSpanish Foundation Fundamentals a Huge Success
The Foundation Fundamentals seminar held in Richmond, Virginia on October 19th was a huge success. What made this seminar unique was that it is the first time it has been offered in both Spanish and English. The CFA decided to offer the popular seminar in Spanish at the suggestion of area CFA board member Tim Parrish of Cornerstone Foundations who had several Spanish-speaking workers he wanted to attend.
“Recently, I have shifted to a Spanish speaking labor force and I knew of other members who had done this as well,” said Parrish. “I had four Spanishspeaking employees attend the meeting and they gained valuable information that would have taken me much longer to explain to them.”
Patty Asplund, a consultant providing Spanish interpretations, spent several weeks preparing for the seminar. She provided nearly instantaneous translation of presenter Brent Anderson’s words as he spoke (don’t ask us how she does it). After spending countless hours reviewing a videotaped Spanish Foundation Fundamentals, Asplund developed a thorough understanding of construction terms to ensure that the seminar was a success. One of CFA’s own members, Jim Bartley of the Bartley Corp., is bilingual and was able to assist Asplund as she prepared for the interpretation. Tackling this interpretation was a tremendous undertaking because Asplund did alone what would normally require two or three people. Word from the attendees, both bilingual and Spanish speakers, was that offering the seminar in Spanish was well worth the effort.
According to program attendee Kay Lanahan from Advanced Concrete Foundations in Troy, Va., the seminar was a great learning experience. “We had 25 people from our company attend the meeting, including six Spanish-speaking workers. Everyone from our team commented on how valuable the meeting was and the excellent information that was presented.” One bilingual member of the Advanced Concrete team even commented on how perfectly the translator spoke.
Parrish has noticed a change in his employees since returning from the seminar. “By having members of my team attend the seminar, I showed them that I was interested in their career development,” said Parrish. “This helped to boost their confidence and made them realize that they are important to our team.”
Another first at this seminar was the mini trade show. Several area vendors were invited to display their products during an extended lunch period. This allowed many workers to gain some first hand knowledge of the products they use on a daily basis.
The CFA will be offering Spanish simulcasting at future venues when reasonable support for the expenses can be guaranteed. Check the website (www.cfawalls.org) or contact headquarters to find out more information on possible locations.
