Native Series

Precast Construction Advantages Series

As a building professional, it’s not uncommon to spend hours searching for answers and inspiration. Sites like Pinterest allow users to earmark and save project photos, links, technical resources and articles for future reference – guaranteeing that the things you find will be in one place.

With a site like Pinterest, however, users can’t always be guaranteed that the desired information is available, accurate or reliable. With thousands of potential search results, finding the information you need can seem like digging for the proverbial needle in a haystack. A simple search for precast concrete will return results about sinks, fences, culverts, planters, countertops, and stairs in addition to wall panels.

Fabcon Precast has developed a solution for users looking to save and organize information specifically about precast wall systems. Virtually anything on the Fabcon web site – products, images, case studies and more – can now be saved to a personal dashboard called SketchBoard.

“I think it’s difficult for people to get their head around just how pervasive and diverse precast buildings are,” says Fabcon regional sales manager Dave Stanton. “Our site shows some fantastic examples of great organizations using precast to move their businesses forward; SketchBoard gives architects and building owners a way to tuck away a few ideas and save them for later.”

Of all the content available on the Fabcon website, the most-saved content items are exterior finish options, project images and case studies. And the list of resources available on the site is robust - including product details, performance specifications, testing certifications and whitepapers.

“When we redesigned our online experience, we wanted to do more than talk about us—we wanted to add value,” said Joy Svoboda, marketing manager at Fabcon. “By giving users a way to easily retain and revisit the things they found most useful and inspiring, we can finally do more than just give information. We can help our customers put it to good use.”

In just its first year, SketchBoard has already attracted more than 500 subscribers. Students and architects make up the lion’s share of current users, but developers as a group are not far behind. As the technology evolves, Fabcon anticipates more content will be savable to SketchBoard and more features will become available.

“We’re excited to see how things evolve,” added Svoboda. “We’re hard at work developing additional features and functionality. Creating group boards and sharing content, for example, are two ideas we’re pursuing.”

You can experience Fabcon’s SketchBoard at fabconsketchboard.com.

Mind Your Beeswax

kcaron — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 22:18:07 +0000

Mind Your Beeswax

kcaron Thu, 11/15/2018 - 16:18

Load-bearing panels and functional aesthetics help personal care company upgrade facility

Started as a hobby in a small family kitchen in 1996, personal care products company Raining Rose has quickly transformed into a highly successful personal care products company. From lip balm to beard products, Raining Rose is committed to creating quality products with the highest quality ingredients, including thousands of pounds of beeswax.

The transition from kitchen to company required Raining Rose to make a huge facility upgrade. They needed serious space, and fast. With Morning Star Studio Architects and Primus Construction General Contractor, they made the move into a custom 122,000 square-foot facility in the heart of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The state-of-the-art facility now accommodates more than 250 employees in a structure that is spacious, functional and beautiful.

Raining Rose depended on Fabcon to deliver a design that met their demanding product loads and the growing needs of their customers. For a company that makes raw material retail-ready on-site and uses 30,000 pounds of beeswax a month, uninterrupted space was a must. Fabcon’s load-bearing panels eliminated the need for perimeter columns and helped create more usable space.

Because Raining Rose uses primarily organic ingredients and consistently works to eliminate waste, they also needed to avoid harmful temperature fluctuations in their new facility. Fabcon’s VersaCore+Green Panels are capable of reaching R-values of up to R-28.2, meaning heating and cooling costs were kept in check and their products kept safe from Iowa’s seasonal temperature extremes.

Along with the functionality of the new structure, the exterior needed to match the company’s friendly, easy-to-work-with personality. Fabcon specializes in Functional Aesthetics — the idea that appearance doesn’t have to be sacrificed for performance — so this was a natural partnership. A painted steel form finish gives the building a sleek, professional look. Painted blocks, modern windows, and a large glass entrance add splashes of color, brightness, and a welcoming feel.

The new facility allows Raining Rose to be flexible with deadlines and keep up with their clients’ ever-changing needs. And, the building demonstrates that you don’t have to give up aesthetic value to have a well-performing, spacious facility. Fabcon’s design flexibility and performance attributes gave them a structure able to help them grow, and has Raining Rose looking forward to a bright and busy future.

For more examples of how Fabcon Precast helps businesses of all sizes, visit www.fabcon4biz.com.

The Power of Understanding Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems

kcaron — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 20:37:14 +0000

The Power of Understanding Uninterruptible Power Supply Systems

kcaron Fri, 07/20/2018 - 15:37

Highly reliable and efficient backup power systems are a key concern for building teams.

Precast Construction Advantages Series

The need for highly reliable backup power in buildings cannot be overstated. Going dark is a potential disaster for tenants and building owners alike. When constructing more efficient buildings for greater overall savings, Building Teams need to utilize uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems that are reliable, efficient, have a smaller footprint and are rapidly deployed.

Reliability Rules

If a UPS doesn’t perform its job, a building owner could potentially lose millions of dollars per hour in the dark depending on the type of business affected. The most reliable backup supply systems must be capable of delivering continuous power in the most demanding environments.

Industry innovators like Mitsubishi Electric are offering some of the most robust proprietary technologies on the market today. Seeking and finding the provider with the most reliable mission-critical back-up power supply is key. Similarly, reliability across all load capacities is a must for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) teams looking to solidify long-term client relationships. To this end, partnering with companies that achieve highest reliability among back up power electronic suppliers is crucial.

Efficiency Saves Time and Money

Building Teams should be looking for companies that protect their equipment, with employees and technicians committed to serving all the way from system specification through the lifespan of the system. A UPS provider should offer a proven track record of service and operational history with other customers.

One provider, Mitsubishi Electric, has been on the scene and evolving technology for more than 30 years. Its UPS designers have found a way to run more power per square foot through their system than others in the market. For example, Mitsubishi Electric reports its installed base of 9900 Series uninterruptible power supplies have sustained load-carrying capability more than 99.99 percent of their actual operational history. The technology has allowed the company to expand into key industries, from data centers and communications to medical and manufacturing equipment.

Footprint Size Matters

Increasingly, there is a greater focus on the physical size of equipment such as an uninterruptible power supply system. Since UPS systems usually take up valuable real estate, size does matter. As such, a UPS with a smaller footprint give customers more room for their IT equipment. Additionally, modular designs of UPS systems are now allowing for planned capacity growth.

Fast Deployments and Tenant Satisfaction

In specific markets, UPS systems offer rapid deployment for immediate need. Being able to set up and provide fast service is critical in selecting the UPS system that answers a building’s demands. Mitsubishi’s large inventory of product boosts its capacity to meet customer needs. In the selection process, Building Teams are wise to seek and find providers with backup systems that offer addition protection to customers, in ways that are significant and sustainable.

Tenant satisfaction is a powerful priority in the UPS space. For teams selecting equipment, systems that provide stellar performance, back up power and take up less space get high marks for boosting the tenant satisfaction quotient. The best uninterruptible power supply options are those that ensure continuous clean power is reliably supplied, and whose critical operations achieve the highest level of uptime. As building owners, developers and their AEC teams face increased pressure for cost savings and efficiencies, the ability to find the best UPS—with reliability, technology, footprint and quick deployment—will serve as a winning combination.

Avoiding Downtime Disasters

Service is an important factor when selecting a UPS provider. Key items to consider are:

Certified field technicians, offering around-the-clock protection. This helps keep operations safe against outages, grid decay, and other crucial threats to the flow of business.
Preventative maintenance checks, priority demand on parts and service, and 24/7 communication with experienced technical support staff. These inspections include UPS diagnostic reports, complete battery testing, and site hazard checks to keep systems running at maximum efficiency.
Factory witness testing and collaborative engineering, as further value-added services.

A Construction Primer: Precast vs. Site-Cast

kcaron — Thu, 05 Jul 2018 22:26:52 +0000

A Construction Primer: Precast vs. Site-Cast

kcaron Thu, 07/05/2018 - 17:26

While the end products can look similar, the two styles offer differing results.

Commercial construction is an intense and complicated topic. The subject of building envelopes alone is as vast as it is dynamic. Obviously, there’s more than one way to build a building, but two styles often confused for one another are structural precast concrete panels and site-cast panels.

First, some quick definitions. “Tilt-up” describes an installation technique where a crane tilts finished panels into place. Although this process is used for both precast and site-cast panels, it’s important to understand the defining characteristics of the two styles. With precast construction, large concrete panels are cast in a climate-controlled manufacturing facility, transported to the job site via flatbed trucks and then set in place. With site-cast construction, large panels are cast at the job site, usually on what will become the floor slab. To the untrained eye, the end product can be very similar, and in some cases, almost indistinguishable. The differences, however, are significant.

For starters, consider the number of aesthetic options and finishes that are available with precast. Precast offers building professionals and owners a robust palette of options, including the use of formside and topside aggregates, formliners, thin brick, and three variations of sandblast. Because precast panels are manufactured in a controlled environment, a higher level of quality and consistency can be obtained.

Physical and structural differences exist as well. Take height, for instance. Fabcon is now producing load-bearing panels that are more than 73 feet tall. With site-cast panels, anything over 40 feet becomes tricky to engineer and increasingly cost prohibitive. Thermal performance is another critical difference. Precast panels have an integrated insulation component with the ability to deliver R-values up to R-28.2. Adding insulation to a site-cast envelope is an added step in the process and requires a whole new set of subcontractors.

Additional advantages to the precast process begin early in the construction cycle. While the site-cast crew is waiting for the job site preparation to be completed, a precaster like Fabcon can begin producing panels and preparing them for delivery. Factors like weather and excavating crew availability can affect when the job site will be ready.

Both systems are relatively fast when it comes to setting panels, but while a precast crew of six workers can enclose 100,000 feet in four to six days, a site-cast crew of 20 (or more) can only erect them as fast as they can cast and cure the panels. The site-cast panels are manufactured in the open air and can be exposed to the violent swings of mother nature, which can push back the schedule, the curing process, and ultimately the final cost and quality of your building envelope. Even after site-cast crews have left the site, there is a risk that pouring all those panels on the floor slab may have damaged it to an extent that it may soon require serious repair or even complete replacement.

With a site-cast project, it is possible there are more workers and equipment on the job site for much longer. That not only monopolizes access to the site, it may expose teams to added risk and liability. While site-cast isn’t the worst way to build a building, it does have its limitations.

For a more in-depth look at the advantages of structural precast, visit fabconversus.com. For more information on Fabcon Precast, visit fabconprecast.com or contact 800.727.4444.

Key Considerations for HVAC Selection in Today’s Buildings

kcaron — Tue, 15 May 2018 17:26:52 +0000

Key Considerations for HVAC Selection in Today’s Buildings

kcaron Tue, 05/15/2018 - 12:26

From energy efficiency to ease of installation, here are some things to keep in mind when selecting the right system.

Of the many decisions made on commercial building projects, few are as critical as selecting the HVAC system. Systems that deliver energy efficiency and maximize profitability lead the pack, with many owners and developers eyeing innovative technologies that offer long-lasting benefits, including simplicity of installation, low callbacks, and high tenant satisfaction. Developers are increasingly tapping the best and brightest Building Teams for insight.

Finding collaboration is an important first step. Efficiency leaders should be able to prove their system’s ability to reduce its carbon footprint and lower energy use. Companies like Mitsubishi Electric pride themselves on a strong track record of innovative energy-efficient system design. Mitsubishi Electric offers project case studies and detailed product specifications that showcase its more than 30 years of cooling and heating technology. Developers are learning the companies that collaborate with AEC teams are typically the ones with strong results to back up their claims. If an HVAC system provider brushes off requests to discuss key details on energy-efficiency benefits, Building Teams are wise to keep looking for a better provider.

There are five questions to keep in mind for considering HVAC systems:

How will this system reduce energy use?
Are fossil fuels used? How will the system help reduce the building’s carbon footprint?
Does the system provide for a lower global warming potential (GWP)?
What detailed features and advanced technologies does the system offer?
What control and monitoring capabilities are available to the owner and occupants?

Building Teams understand the long-term value of investing in innovative HVAC technologies. Companies like Mitsubishi Electric help architects, engineers, and contractors remain current on advanced technologies, system flexibility, and environmental impacts. Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) has become the future of HVAC, helping to solve difficult challenges in any building size. Mitsubishi Electric’s is the first two-pipe simultaneous cooling and heating VRF system of its kind, reducing piping costs and decreasing the complexity needed for connections during installation.

Lowering the overall cost of ownership is also essential for Building Teams. HVAC products need to deliver reliability, energy efficiency, and tenant satisfaction. Low callbacks, efficient equipment, and product longevity serve the interests of all parties involved, from the building owner to the facility manager to the building’s tenants. Tenants are ultimately happier when a facility manager’s stress levels are reduced.

When architects, engineers, and contractors bring knowledge of the best HVAC systems to owners and developers, collaboration serves as the foundation to a successful commercial building project. Selecting the right HVAC solution saves time, trouble, and money before, during, and after the build, by focusing on energy savings and helping to achieve long-term profitability.

For more information, visit BuildBetterTogether.com.

Elevator Innovations Bring Efficiencies and Greater Return on Investment for Building Teams

rrocha — Thu, 12 Apr 2018 17:41:38 +0000

Elevator Innovations Bring Efficiencies and Greater Return on Investment for Building Teams

rrocha Thu, 04/12/2018 - 12:41

Key considerations for building owners are elevator reliability, a smooth ride, tenant satisfaction, and total cost of ownership

The demands on commercial building owners and developers are daunting: Make a smart investment. Build a more efficient building. Meet tenant expectations. Prioritize profitability. These demands make specifying require products that offer sustainability, reliability, and durability key to tenant satisfaction and long-term investment results.

Elevators are a prime example. Seamless operations are vital to owners, contractors, facility managers, and tenants. Elevator reliability, a smooth ride, and tenant satisfaction are key considerations, as is reducing the total cost of ownership.

Collaboration is critical. AEC firms know the best building products benefit the developer both during and long after construction is complete. Installation must be exacting with stellar service. Products need to be backed by manufacturer representatives and technicians who are committed to saving the customer money and trouble, from purchase through the product life cycle.

Building Teams should invest in quality elevators with features that reduce unplanned service calls. Statistics show that more than two-thirds of elevator callbacks result from door malfunctions. These quickly add up and can increase monthly and overall maintenance costs. Many consultants predict that the average elevator installed today has an expectancy of 20 years or less while those top-tier manufacturers design elevators that could last beyond 30 years in the United States.

Building owners and developers seek elevators that help maintain focus on operational and financial efficiencies. One example is manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric, which has been providing building products, including elevators and escalators, for 30 years in the United States. Mitsubishi Electric elevators deliver a world-class ride in terms of comfort reliability and safety, and is proven in reducing the total cost of ownership. The company is also the only one that manufactures spiral escalators.

Sustainable design remains as important as ever, and facility manager and building owners work to maximize energy efficiency wherever possible. Mitsubishi Electric utilizes a regenerative converter on gearless traction elevators, which allow the unit to generate power when a fully loaded car travels in the down direction and when a lightly loaded/empty car are traveling in the up direction. The regenerative converter transmits power back into the distribution transformer and into the electrical network, with a power saving effect of up to 35% compared to a similar unit without this feature.

To ensure greater reliability and less scheduled maintenance, Mitsubishi Electric developed an innovative door operation system that employs a highly efficient “one-chip RISC microcomputer” which detects the constants variations on each floor in the door load, strength of wind, and even sediment in the sill grooves. This innovative advanced door control system is even isolated from the cab, allowing for a smoother more quiet operation. The company prides itself on best-in-class features and an industry-leading average callback rate of less than one per year per elevator. Low callbacks have the added bonus of reducing facility managers’ stress levels, improving end user satisfaction, and reducing building operating costs. Reliable elevators are a win-win for manager and tenant.

Buildings with high-quality elevators that provide maximized uptime result in more satisfied tenants and stress-free building operations. Enhancing elevator efficiencies and innovations will satisfy the demands of building owners, developers, contractors, and commercial property tenants.

Doors With a Past… And a Future

kcaron — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 19:25:09 +0000

Doors With a Past… And a Future

kcaron Tue, 04/10/2018 - 14:25

Adaptable tie-rod doors are built for easy modification and repair.

Durable doors like Tubelite’s often outlast the usage conditions or code requirements for which they were originally installed. When that happens, they can be modified to meet the new needs and go on performing for decades more. Pat Neyhart, vice president of Wooster Glass Co. in Wooster, Ohio, knows of several such doors. He started with the company in 1969 while he was still in high school and, except a brief hiatus to attend college, has worked there over 40 years. Wooster Glass installed the doors of the Wayne Savings Bank when it opened in 1964, and those doors are still in operation today.

“Those are the original doors for the bank. It’s got the custom push-pulls. We’ve never taken it off or had to replace a tie rod or anything. I cannot remember having anybody go up there to service that door,” says Neyhart. “I’m guessing it has to open and close at least 75 times a day. That door is as original as you can get. They could even be the original hinges. Hinges get a lot of use, and sometimes you have to replace them, but it’s pretty easy on a Tubelite door.”

Another Wooster installation, 116 East Liberty Street, is a retail location that has had many lives over the past 40 years, but like the bank, only one set of doors. They are Tubelite narrow-stile standard doors with a clear anodized finish. When they were installed in the 1970s, the location was Brenner’s Clothing Store. The mosaic floor of the entryway still says “Brenner Bros” to this day.

Neyhart recalls that when it became a coffee shop, code required a panic bar exit device on one door. He explains that it was a fairly simple modification: “You take the two tie rods off and replace the rails. You can manually disassemble the tie rods manually, without power tools, and do it right in the field.”

The current tenant of the location, the Blue Spruce Boutique, reports that the doors are still performing well.

Neyhart observes that easy modification and repair is an important feature of tie-rod assembled doors, because they save the owner significant money. “If someone tries to break into a building, they’ll destroy the lock-stile,” he says. “You can take off that horizontal rail and replace it, and you’re back in business. Or if a car hits it, you can replace a couple of horizontal rails and some glass and repair the door. If it’s some other welded door, you’d have to order a complete new door. Tie rod definitely has its advantages.”

“We prefer to use Tubelite because of the adaptability,” says Neyhart. “For repairs, or if something gets fabricated incorrectly (sometimes we might put the closer on the wrong side, or drill a hole in the wrong place) we can just replace that rail. If it was a welded door, it would be a whole different story—you’d have to replace the entire door. We like the adaptability of tie-rod doors so much better. The beauty is the adaptability and the ability to change.”

Watch the clip above to see how tie-rod doors can be serviced and replaced with ease.

Tie-Rod Doors Bring Durability to High-Traffic Entryways

kcaron — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 20:12:25 +0000

Tie-Rod Doors Bring Durability to High-Traffic Entryways

kcaron Mon, 03/12/2018 - 15:12

The Elements Financial Blue Ribbon Pavilion in Indiana and the gift shop at Mount Rushmore feature doors that are made to perform.

Considering that entry doors are among the most frequently used moving parts of a building, it is impressive how long aluminum doors last and how well they perform. The door of a high-traffic entry such as at a retail facility could see literally hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of openings and closings every year.

Event venues are designed for large crowds of people, and their doors see intense traffic. The Elements Financial Blue Ribbon Pavilion, a 70,575-sf building at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, is one such example. It is used not only during the annual Indiana State Fair—its 2017 edition saw more than 900,000 visitors in 17 days—but for a variety of public events such as tradeshows and roller derby matches, as well as private events like corporate gatherings and retreats.

The main entrance has eight sets of double doors, Tubelite medium-stile doors with continuous hinges, and a PVDF resin-based coating in medium green. They were installed in 2000 by Hoosier Glass Co. as part of a major renovation of the building. The pavilion receives 750,000 guests annually, and since every entry is eventually followed by a departure, that could total up to 1.5 million door cycles per year.

Dan Buchanan, vice president and general manager of Hoosier Glass, who was the estimator on the project when the doors were installed, describes the doors as high quality. “A durable, architectural-grade door means it’s high traffic, it even gets beaten around a little bit,” he says.

As far as Buchanan knows, the pavilion’s doors have never been repaired or replaced in the 17-plus years since installation. However, he points out that if they did need repair, it would be an easy and economical project because it is a tie-rod assembled door. “The good thing about a stile-and-rail door like that is if a stile gets damaged, we can replace just the stile,” says Buchanan. “But if you take a welded door, you’d have to replace the whole thing. It’s good for the customer, although I don’t know if everyone realizes just how good it is for them.”

As an installer, Buchanan likes tie-rod doors because they give his company flexibility. He can order vertical stile and horizontal rail materials and manufacture the doors to the exact sizes he needs.

Another destination that draws scores of people every year has a similar story of high traffic longevity. The gift shop at Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota has just one public doorway, a pair of narrow stile aluminum doors with center pivots, in a clear anodized finish. Every year, 1.5 million to 2 million guests go through that entryway, twice. These doors, installed in 1998, are unusually light-duty choices for such a high-traffic location. Nonetheless, they served well for 20 years before the owner considered replacement.

In a situation like this, the owner actually has two options.

Tie-rod assembled doors can be refurbished, replacing worn parts such as hardware. A local installer can adjust the glass blocks and fasteners to bring door leaves back to square with the openings. Replacing the weathering and seals gives the entryway optimal air tightness. Surface wear from millions of contacts with users cannot be removed or repaired, but badly worn individual elements such as a rail or a stile can be replaced. This approach may be considerably less expensive than full replacement.

Replacement can also be done to varying degrees. New doors and frames can be ordered to match the adjacent storefronts, or all new framing can be installed to provide a fresh new face for visitors. It is recommended that new door products be used for such high-profile destinations as Mount Rushmore.

Replacement does not necessarily mean the end for the existing doors, either. Often the old doors can be re-used in other, less public applications. Glazing contractors can also disassembled them and use the parts to repair similar doors. A final purpose for aluminum door components is to recycle the metal for use in a variety of construction or commercial purposes from beverage containers to automobiles.

If the doors are not reused, the aluminum parts are fully recyclable. Aluminum is a very environmentally friendly material because it can be recycled with no loss of metallurgical properties. Recycling has been an integral part of aluminum manufacture for decades. It accounts for much of the “new” aluminum produced, and is one of the major reasons that aluminum remains a highly affordable architectural material.

Innovations Pave the Way for High-Performing Metallic Coatings

kcaron — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 18:17:27 +0000

Innovations Pave the Way for High-Performing Metallic Coatings

kcaron Mon, 01/15/2018 - 12:17

Valspar's durable metallic coating systems are made to last while providing a vibrant sparkle

Color Innovations Series