Educate 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.
Being A Member…
Membership is not just about paying your dues after the first of July, or when every your membership expires, and then waiting for the dues to come up the following year. And although this is a great publication, it’s not about just reading what’s between the covers of Concrete Facts. On a larger scale, membership is about improving the poured wall industry, and on a smaller scale, advancing our businesses by making us better concrete contractors and businessmen and women.
But in order to do anything, no matter what scale you’re looking at, it’s about actively participating.
The CFA is constantly trying to update the resources they provide us, and they are always looking for enthusiastic members to add to their committees who work on these resources. Being active in a committee ensures that your concerns are being addressed because you are the one bringing them to the table. And the majority of a committee’s activity is done via phone conferences and/or e-mails, so you can share your thoughts from the convenience of your own chair. One opportunity to participate will be Monday morning before the WOC starts.
The Board of Directors will meet for informal discussions on several topics at 10:00 AM and formally for the Board meeting at 1:00 PM. Please consider joining us.
The CFA also provides endless education and networking opportunities. The Winter Meeting in Vegas will be another fun-filled time to visit with one another in an informal, (and we promise this year, a little quieter) yet very informative, setting.
This year’s Summer Meeting is another great opportunity to get more involved. It’s at the Wisconsin Dells (see page 18 for more information), July 18 – 22, at the Kalahari Resort & Convention Center. Having it in the Midwest makes it easy traveling for almost everyone so don’t let other excuses get in the way – make this your first, fifth, or 31st Summer Meeting. It’s a guaranteed good time, and you’ll walk away with more than water in your ears but new thoughts in your mind.
Continue to use the CFA as much as possible. Read about the valuable industry management and construction information regarding codes, techniques and more, through CFA’s resources. Visit www.cfawalls.org to access the engineering programs that help you design retaining and basement walls. Attend the World of Concrete Tradeshow for free by using the CFA’s code. Read every issue of Concrete Facts (and please do!). But consider taking your membership one step further so you can actively make a difference in the Association and in the Industry, which in turn will most definitely make a difference in your company.
Terry Lavy, CFA President, Lavy Concrete Construction Inc. terry@lavyconcrete.comYour CFA Membership Benefits
Are you taking full advantage of your membership in the CFA? Hopefully you are. But just in case, I thought I would highlight a few of the relatively new member benefits, as well as remind you of some the old standbys.
First, let’s talk about the CFA cold weather effort. Now that winter is upon us, we are getting lots of calls regarding problems with inspectors. The CFA cold weather research project is complete and is being used and referenced from Alaska to Georgia. It is referenced in the recently published ACI-332 Standard, Residential Construction and chapter 7 of that document, in turn, is referenced in the soon-to-be-published 2006 version of the International Residential Code. Our next goal is to get the entire standard referenced by the IRC.
The 2006 version of the CFA Standard is now available. The Standard, which follows the format of the IRC and the ACI 332 documents, goes beyond both in terms of describing all aspects of residential foundation construction. The CFA Standard, The CFA Cold Weather Research Report, and the ACI 332-04 Standard are a great trio of references that you can use to help educate and inform your building inspectors and builders.
Next is the On-Line Engineering software. The use of this online software package is free to members and now includes the design of retaining wall, in addition to residential foundation walls. It allows you to play the “what if ” game with various wall configurations by changing wall thickness, height, concrete strength, reinforced vs. unreinforced, lateral pressure and other variables. If you need an engineering stamp on your design, it can be obtained within 24 hours from the software engineers for a modest cost.
Are you uncomfortable getting on-line or are you intimidated by the web? If so you are the latter, we now have regularly scheduled web conference classes using the web and our conference call setting to lead a small number of participants through the process. At least a couple dozen people have taken the on-line course and it has greatly increased usage. Call Jim in our office to inquire about future on-line training seminars.
Regional meetings and educational offerings are the latest change in our delivery of products. By expanding the scope of these regional meetings we now present a scaled-down version of our summer meeting educational offerings in a one-day conference closer to our membership base.
We have had meetings in Minneapolis and Pittsburgh and the spring meeting is scheduled for Indianapolis. We are looking to Connecticut for the fall of 2006.
In addition to these meetings, CFA members and staff are going on the road to make presentations to builders, inspectors, and others with courses such as the NAHB sponsored Cast-in-Place Foundations and CFA developed seminars on foundations, cold weather, the ACI 332 code and other topics.
Take the opportunity to bring education to your area – call us today about having a seminar.
Then there are the old standby offerings such as the ever expanding magazine, the summer meeting and convention, the winter networking meeting at the WOC, the CFA web site with member database (www.cfawalls.org), new and updated publications, and phone referrals and problem solving.
Ed Sauter, Executive Director, CFA esauter@cfawalls.orgCFA Releases 2006 Standard
The Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) has released a 2006 version of the CFA Standard. The Standard presents a wide variety of foundation construction information and minimum standards in a code format. It establishes a baseline for construction, and follows the layout of current and proposed building codes, enhanced by real life experiences.
“The Standard includes definitions, sections on limits of applicability, materials concrete performance, and production and placement of concrete, “ explains Ed Sauter, CFA Executive Director. “The emphasis is on footing and wall construction.”
Sections include excavation, forms and forming, placement, curing, cold weather, backfilling, damp proofing, and waterproofing to provide a complete guide for construction and specification of residential foundations. New and updated items in the 2006 addition include tolerances, better graphics, and new empirical wall tables.
The CFA Standard can be ordered by calling the CFA National Office at 319-895-6940 or at www.cfawalls.org. The member price for each publication is $14.95 (plus S&H) and non-member price is $29.95 (plus S&H).
The CFA is a voluntary, nonprofit association that brings together concrete contractors and professionals nationwide to improve the quality of cast-in-place concrete walls and foundations. The CFA provides promotional materials, educational seminars, and networking opportunities to its members and the industry. CFA also works on behalf of its members and the entire industry to develop, support, and influence code bodies. For more information about CFA or the 2006 CFA Standard, call 319-895-6940 or visit www.cfawalls.org to order resources online.
All Concrete Passive Solar Home Stores Energy in Walls
CFA National Associate Dow recently held an open house for a passive solar all concrete high performance home designed to get the maximum benefit of state of the art insulated wall technologies.
The Greene/ Cassidy Home just north of the Perry Park Golf Course in Larkspur, Co., is sited to make the most of the inclination of the sun, in all seasons. To save even more energy, the building shell is constructed of “Poured in Place” formed concrete walls, and features a complete building envelope of extruded polystryrene insulation sandwiched between the concrete.
The assembly is held together with structural-grade, non-thermal bridging fiber composite connectors. This design eliminates thermal short-circuits in the walls, and creates a thermal storage capacity on the inside of the concrete building shell. The homeowners expect to benefit from substantial savings on heating and cooling costs through these strategies, as well as enjoying all of the other benefits of passive solar concrete construction.
“We are fortunate to have this opportunity to showcase the very high efficiencies possible with custom homes built with integrally insulated concrete” explains Jim Cassidy from NatureNet Homes. “Concrete by itself has virtually no R-Value, but it has a great energy storage ability. By placing the insulation to the outside of the inner mass, high performance walls are created. We also like the fire resistance, durability, quietness, security and all of the other benefits of building with concrete.”
Information was reprinted from CBG’s article “All Concrete Passive Solar Home Stores Energy in Walls,” September 2005
The Concrete Chateau: High Style Meets High Strength
One of the newest concrete residences on the North Carolina scene has been described as “Quiet Elegance.” The Chateau, a French-country-style home built by Jon Rufty, and designed by Davenport Architecture + Design, Inc. (current CHC member) achieves exquisite style, superior class and enough resilience to withstand the most threatening elements.
An experienced custom home builder, Rufty has completed five concrete residences to date. The most recent of which is the Chateau, a three-story, 7,345-square-foot, luxury home located on 4.9 acres in Durham, North Carolina.
This magnificent estate home was built without a buyer in line. This may seem unusual, being that it is a concrete home with a price tag just above $2.25 million, but for Rufty, building luxury spec homes is all in a day’s work. “The reason we continue to build spec concrete homes is we truly believe that cast-in-place, using removable forms, concrete homes create a superior quality home,” Rufty says.
It is obvious upon stepping foot on the property that Rufty had a vision in mind when he planned this quality home. Chateau visitors cross the four-car, concrete cobblestone motor court before entering the oversized mahogany doorway and gazing down at the magnificent 24″x 24″ limestone floors. As you enter the game room, you are immediately impacted with acid etched concrete floors. These are just a few of the special features that place this house in a class by itself.
This Chateau is located in The Hills of Rosemont subdivision, which is just 10 miles south of I-40 near the rapidly developing area that encompasses a multitude of residential and commercial growth, including the new Streets of Southpoint shopping mall. Not only is the home exquisite in design with the exceptionally private setting, it is also conveniently located.
The property boasts five bedrooms, five full bathrooms and three half bathrooms. Rufty says that he wants each room to have a suite-like feel and he therefore includes a private bathroom with each bedroom, as well as a walk-in closet. Other extras Rufty opted to include in the design are a recreation room, an exercise room, a home-automated-lighting system, a media room and a four-car garage. To complete the house’s perfect combination of amenities, he also installed a large, rectangular-shaped pool, complete with hot tub, waterfall, tanning shelf and two fountains. The Chateau’s picturesque backyard is framed by a man-made pond with a large fountain in its center. The home also backs up to hundreds of acres of dedicated open space.
In all of these rooms and areas in the home, Rufty used concrete and natural materials for design purposes and to carry the theme of the home’s concrete structure throughout. A stacked-stone grotto frames the kitchen’s range and oven. Earthy ceramic tiles, in a range of sizes and shades, encase the garden tub and give the floor and shower a natural ambience. In many places the concrete walls are thickened to make the already solid walls visually wider. These design elements are not only aesthetically appealing; they are also reminders of the Chateau’s solid composition.
“Because of the monolithic pouring of the walls and ceilings, the home is essentially a sleek reinforced concrete cube,” Rufty says. “Concrete homes make it so that you can’t hear the footsteps on the floor above you and the china in the dining room doesn’t rattle when you walk by.”
A virtually soundproof environment is just one of the bonuses associated with concrete construction, but Rufty hopes to educate the public on the vast number of benefits. Fire resistance, reduced energy consumption, healthier environment, increased durability and lower maintenance are some of the main advantages that attract Rufty to build these concrete homes.
Rufty’s first ventures in cast-in-place concrete construction using removable forms were townhomes in Raleigh and Topsail Island and a 10,000-square-foot custom home in Birklands that has been used as a model home for the developer for the past three years. Part of Rufty’s concrete success is working with an experienced concrete contractor. Curt Fields and his team at Tri-City Contractors are no strangers to concrete home construction and Fields candidly admits that the Chateau is his favorite home of all of his past projects.
“It is the most dynamic house I have participated in the construction of in the last 30 years,” Fields says. “Rufty is extremely innovative and we’re glad that he’s building concrete homes in our market.”
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.
Fine Line Footings
FINE LINE FOOTING FORMS OFFERS NEW ADJUSTABLE SLIP FORM
Eagle Mountain, Utah—Fine Line Footing Forms, Inc., manufacturer of the Fine Line Footing Forms stake-free aluminum footing form system, released its new adjustable Slip Form™.
With the Slip Form™, contractors have another option available for their footing form needs. Doug Reid, president of Fine Line, states, “The Slip Form™ is an enhancement to the existing form system and gives our customers just one more way of customizing the system to their particular needs.”
Contractors who use the Fine Line Footing Forms system usually figure the exact fillers needed for each wall of each job. With the advent of various surveying equipment technologies, basement layouts are more exact than they once were, and contractors can simply “build to the stakes.” Fine Line designed the Slip Form™ principally for those contractors who use these technologies and prefer an alternative to the exactfiller system.
For more information on Fine Line Footing Forms and its new adjustable Slip Form™, please contact the company at 877-256-3676.
NAHB RESEARCH CENTER UNVEILS REDESIGNED PATH TECHNOLOGY INVENTORY
REVAMPED TECHNOLOGY RESOURCE FOR BUILDING PROFESSIONALS OFFERS ENHANCED USABILITY AND DESIGN
September 27, 2005, Upper Marlboro, Md.—The NAHB Research Center today announced the launch of the newly redesigned PATH Technology Inventory, the building industry’s online resource for practical information on innovative construction products and practices that can improve housing performance.
Redesigned to include enhanced search capabilities and support for streaming media, in its new format the PATH Technology Inventory will more effectively provide builders, trade contractors, and remodelers access to comprehensive information on over 160 building technologies. Created through the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) Program and administered by the NAHB Research Center, the Technology Inventory is an essential tool in accelerating the awareness and acceptance process for these beneficial technologies.
Redesign of the PATH Technology Inventory was initiated to meet the changing needs of building professionals by improving usability and navigation, and providing access to information more quickly, and in greater detail. The effort was executed over a six month period during which the Research Center conducted focus groups and surveys with builders and remodelers to assess the types of enhancements that would provide end-users with the most benefit. As a result, data enhancements include additional information on codes, product installation, ease of implementation, cost, and builder testimonials. The improved functionality includes increased compatibility with today’s major search engines, database driven content for more frequent updates, and support for new media sources such as detailed CAD drawings and streaming audio and video. Future enhancements will also include distributor listings and broadband capability.
As building professionals respond to the steady increase in consumer demand for more innovative products and higher performing homes, interest in and reliance on the PATH Technology Inventory as a trusted source of information has also increased. Shawn Martin, director of Applied Technology for the NAHB Research Center stated, “There are a number of technologies entering the marketplace that demonstrate great potential for improving housing performance, but have not yet been widely accepted. I am confident that the enhanced features and improved usability of the Technology Inventory will further accelerate awareness and implementation.”
PATH and NAHB Research Center technical experts actively seek technology information from researchers, trade associations, and manufacturers for inclusion in the Technology Inventory. Aside from this proactive solicitation, industry groups or individuals can also submit a technology for review.
Submissions are reviewed according to their technical and performance merits, as well as for their market potential, however PATH conducts no formal testing or evaluation. PATH also selects technologies from the Technology Inventory for use in Field Evaluations and Site Demonstrations.
For more information about the PATH Technology Inventory visit the NAHB Research Center’s ToolBase Services website at www.ToolBase.org, or to submit a technology for consideration, contact Mallika Kishen at (301)-430-6234 or at mkishen@nahbrc.org.
CFA Regional Conference A Success in Pennsylvania
The Western Pennsylvania Concrete Foundations Association (WPCFA) hosted the second Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) Regional Conference on Saturday, September 17, at the Embassy Suites Hotel Pittsburgh International Airport in Coraopolis, PA.
The daylong event was compact with concurrent tracks for management/owners and construction employees in the morning.Then attendees for the construction track went outside for a hands-on safety seminar while management continued with seminars indoors. Topics included form theft, safety, liability, and sub-contracts. Exhibit tables lined the perimeter of the management seminar room, and attendees were able to visit with exhibitors throughout the day. The event ended with a trade0show reception.
A special thanks to the exhibitors: BIK Hydraulics, Cranes & Equipment, DMX Plastics Limited, Irving Equipment LLC, Monarch Manufacturing, Schwing America, Western Forms, and V & H, Inc. A special thanks to Cargotech, Inc. who was unable to attend the event but still sponsored in their absence. Without the help of our Associates, we would not be able to have the level of success we continue to achieve at our events.
For more information about Regional Conferences, the CFA, the WPCFA or any other local chapter, visit www.cfawalls.org or contact the national headquarters at 866-CFA-WALL (232-9255).
CFA Introduces Marketing Presentation
Have you ever had the need to make a sales pitch to a builder, but didn’t have a prepared presentation? If so, CFA may be able to help. The Association has introduced a new tool called “Why Poured Walls” “Why Poured Walls”is a multifaceted Power Point presentation that addresses a wide variety of issues that a poured wall contractor may encounter.
Are you in an area where basements are not built, or are just beginning to appear? If so, the first part of the presentation presents the case for why building a basement makes sense. Photos, text, and supporting information make the case for using a basement for inexpensive lower level living and use of the basement as a safe room. If basements are common but there are competing forms of construction, such as concrete block or precast, the presentation gives reasons as to why poured walls are best. The section presents practical as well as technical information to help make the point.
The next section of the presentation explains the construction process for building cast-in-place foundations. It covers the proven performance of concrete, the versatility of modular forming systems, durability, and the speed of building with RCFs (Reusable Concrete Forms). The use of modern technology in layout and placement of concrete is also explained. It finishes with recommendations regarding waterproofing, and backfilling.
Other topics addressed in the presentation include cracks, their causes, and when they should be a concern; cold weather concrete, in particular the testing and recommendations from the CFA Cold Weather Study; and, sustainability – concrete as a green building material. The presentation finishes with several examples of the use of RCFs for above grade housing.
The presentation has a total of 81 illustrated and animated slides and should take approximately an hour to present. It is available in Microsoft Power Point or MacIntosh Safari presentation software. Text is provided with each slide to explain to the presenter what points are trying to be made. If you have less time to make the presentation, or if one of the sections isn’t applicable to your audience or purpose, you can use the hide feature or delete the section.
The slide show, along with pointers for making presentations, has been shown at CFA regional meetings in Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. If you would like a copy of the presentation, simply call the CFA at 866-CFA-WALL or email us.
Ed Sauter, Executive Director, CFA esauter@cfawalls.org
