Bontrager Concrete Specialties, Inc Named Contractor of the Year
Bontrager Concrete Specialties, Inc. of Nappanee, Indiana was named Contractor of the Year by the Concrete Foundations Association (CFA) based in Mount Vernon, Iowa. The Contractor of the Year Award recognizes an individual or company who exemplifies the ideals, goals, and standards of the CFA, a voluntary nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the […]
CFA’s First Regional Meeting
It is hard to turn away from a recipe that works, but that is what we did for the recent Spring Board /Foundation Fundamentals program. Brent Anderson has done a terrific job of educating contractors on the basic (and sometimes not so basic) engineering principles of foundation construction that we all should know. He has […]
Summer Meeting in San Francisco
The 2005 CFA Summer Meeting, our 30th Anniversary, is just around the corner. The CFA staff, Board of Directors, and committees involved in the planning of this event have implemented a host of changes to keep the event fresh, exciting, and fun. The first change is the schedule. Classes will begin before the opening reception […]
CHBC to Hold Plant Tour
Have you ever wanted to tour a cement, a forms, and an expanded polystyrene manufacturing plants; as well as a quarry and state-of-the-art concrete homes? If so, the opportunity awaits you. The Concrete Home Building Council, a council within the Building Systems Council of the National Association of Home Builders, has chosen residential concrete systems […]
CHC Attends the 2005 International Builders Show
The Concrete Homes Council (CHC) exhibited at the National Association for Home Builder’s International Builders Show held in Orlando, Florida, January 13-16, 2005. With 104, 922 attendees and more than 880, 000 net square fee of exhibits, it was the largest Builders Show yet and the world’s largest residential construction expo for the their consecutive […]
Concrete Paradise
By Wendy Shannon, Shannon & Company I’ve traveled many times to the Florida Keys for rest and relaxation, but this time I was flying in to meet with the developer and the design architect of SeaSide Key West, a highend residential project constructed entirely of concrete. Towards the end of the 90-minute direct flight from Atlanta […]
Concrete Not a Key Factor in Home Building Cost Increases
During the past year the cost of materials needed to build a single family home has escalated significantly. A July survey performed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) estimates these increases at $5000 to $7000 per new home. As the use of concrete has grown cement shortages have surfaced in a number of […]
CFA Board Update
Board meetings at the World of Concrete are always a busy affair with so many competing activities. The CFA board, however, tackled a host of initiatives and topics, several of which will result in additional member benefits and services. They are highlighted below. CFA CONSIDERS SAFETY PROGRAM A presentation on safety programs was made by […]
Agreements – Changing the “Take It or Leave It” Format
Doug Staebler, Custom Concrete Company, Inc., Westfield, IN In previous articles, we looked at the growing use of Subcontractor agreements by builders. In addition to the typical clauses dealing with schedules, work defects, payment provisions, and other construction related matters, most of these agreements contain extremely potent indemnification clauses, which impose nearly unlimited liability on […]
W.O.C. 2005 Wrap-up
Like most of you, I have had some experience with the World of Concrete shows. I’ll date myself by admitting that I attended my first in Dallas 1981, and later in Atlanta 1989. So with a perspective that spans 24 years, I can tell you they just keep getting more and more amazing. This year’s […]