A publication of the Concrete Foundations Association
Concrete Facts Magazine Online
Feature
Getting the Most Out Of Your Cylinders
Dr. Heather Brown, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Concrete Industry Management Program Middle Tennessee State University What could possibly go wrong? The better question to ask when talking about accurate cylinder breaks is what can’t go wrong. 6” by 12” concrete cylinders are the standard of checking in-place compressive strength for job performance, acceptance, checking mix proportion […]
Testing Concrete
The concrete testing process garners little attention from the construction industry – until a problem occurs. At that point, everyone is intensely interested and all the parties involved become, for the most part, adversaries. Here’s a true example from a personal experience. A commercial project with a lot of structural concrete allowed the general contractor […]
Foundation Builders, Inc.: A Solid Company with Loyal Employees
Foundation Builders, Inc. of Greeley, CO started out as a four-man company in 1972; however, it is far from a small concrete company now. There are currently 70 men and women employed at Foundation Builders, Inc. Owner Jack Renfroe and son Scott, are thankful for the quality of people working at Foundation Builders, Inc. and […]
Managing a Wage and Hours Violations Crisis
There are many possible crises that can affect your organization or the manner in which you conduct your business. This issue continues the 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. For review, crisis management is the process […]
Web Lesson: Getting Registered
You’ve seen two postcards and anticipation is building for our next summer event. Yes, the CFA Annual Summer Meeting is a mere fifteen weeks away. A lot can be said about taking advantage of getting your travel plans taken care of early enough to reduce the stress on your everyday lives. A lot more can […]
Increasing Flow and Igniting Fire
Winning Advice for a Tough Economy by Mike Foti Do you sometimes feel like you are batting your head against a wall in your business? Prices are going south. Costs are going north. Margins are getting squeezed. Where is the magic “silver bullet” of success? The quick answer – it does not exist! If there […]
Magazine Issues
Summer Meeting Recap At Amelia Island
Thank you to all that attended the CFA Summer Meeting at Amelia Island. Although our meetings and activities were scaled back to save cost for both CFA and the attendees I believe it was a successful and educational meeting, plus we had ample time for networking which is the most important aspect of CFA and the meetings. The education was excellent and covered topics from […]
The Future of CFA Conventions
We have just completed another CFA Summer Convention. Those who attended generally agreed that the speakers and educational opportunities were among the best we have ever assembled, but we are at a crossroad. For the first year ever, we lost money on the event. Contractors attended at about the same pace as the prior year but other revenue was off over 80%. Our […]
COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION for Insulating and Finishing Poured Concrete Walls benefits Contractor, Builder and Homebuyer
CertainTeed’s T-RocTM Thermal Laminate Foundation Insulation System equips contractors with a tool to save builders money and provide extra living space for homebuyers — without the additional construction and labor costs associated with traditional basement finishing. Using the T-RocTM Thermal Laminate Foundation Insulation System, the builder is able to bypass several costly, time-intensive tasks typically involved with finishing below-grade concrete walls, and offer a prized upgrade to prospective home buyers–a […]
DELTA®-FOOTING BARRIER
DELTA®-FOOTING BARRIER is a 3-ply sheet membrane containing a polyester needle punched fabric, a polyethylene barrier, and an ant-slip surface layer. Its primary purpose is to act as a capillary break between the footing and the foundation wall to prevent the capillary rise of moisture. Building Code in several jurisdictions across North America have begun to require basements to be insulated to […]
BILCO INTRODUCES NEW AND IMPROVED STAKWEL® WINDOW WELL SYSTEM ENHANCED DESIGN Results in Added Product Strength
The Bilco Company has enhanced its stakWEL® Window Well System, a modular system of units that are stacked together to accommodate virtually any foundation depth. The new design features high-density polyethylene inserts that add strength and rigidity to withstand adverse freeze/thaw and site-settling conditions. Inserts also simplify the backfilling process and lock modules together to create a cohesive window well assembly. The interlocking modular design of the […]
Hit The Deck!
As foundation contractors your focus in this recession is certainly obtaining work…any work and as much of it as you can. One way to secure more work in this down economy (and into the future) is to do more on the jobs you do get. Your crews are on the job, your equipment is there, the concrete pump is […]
ADDIDRIVE SYSTEM DEBUTS on Putzmeister America, Inc.’s 70Z
The Addidrive system, the first of its kind in North America, is an innovative front drive system that provides over 12,000 pounds (5,443kg) of traction force to aunit’s tractor steer axles giving it an incredible 10×10 drive configuration. The system is featured on Putzmeister America, Inc.’s 70Z truck-mounted concrete boom pump. “With the ability to be activated on the fly, this feature is especially helpful when […]
IMPROVED WALL SURFACES. Cleaner Forms & Cleaner Application. Lower Applied Cost.
Alumi-Con from Nox-Crete Products Group is a chemically reactive, low odor, low VOC, super concentrated form release agent specifically formulated for use on aluminum forms. Alumi-Con is Green Engineered™ and is manufactured to be safer for both the applicator and the environment through the use of safer raw materials. IMPROVED WALL SURFACES. Nox-Crete’s Alumi-Con off ers the consistent, quality performance expected of a Nox-Crete form […]
WHEN QUALITY MEETS VALUE Zoomlion 40-meter Boom Pump
During the World of Concrete 2009, CIFA USA, Inc., the management group for Zoomlion America, introduced the new ZLJ 40X-4Z. Th is is the 1st concrete boom pump unit produced exclusively for the North American marketplace in cooperation of the two newly joined groups at their Milwaukee Wisconsin facility. “We planned the unit knowing that the American buyer not only looks for a great […]
Great Reasons to Head to Amelia Island
I hope to see you this summer at the CFA 33rd annual Summer Convention July 29 – Aug 1, 2009 in Amelia Island Plantation, Florida. With the economy the way it is I can understand if you are thinking maybe we should sit this one out. Let me give you some great reasons why you should attend. Education – […]
Education, Education, Education
The CFA Summer Convention 2009 is all about education. We may be in a down economy but CFA staff feels they have assembled one of the strongest educational programs ever. Our most popular presenters over the past 12 years have been recalled to active duty to serve the needs of members. Topics are relevant and should be indispensable as we enter the recovery (it is […]
2009 PROJECT OF THE YEAR
Concrete Facts magazine sat down with CFA Technical Director, Jim Baty to find out more about this program for you. See what Jim had to say about this very important membership benefit. Why should your members consider this award program? Awards programs are created to do two primary things. The first is to raise awareness of the professionalism and quality of the market that they surround and […]
