Masonry Magazine January 2006 Page. 20
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18
CIRCLE 183 ON READER SERVICE CARD
Masonry
January 2006
Jensen's company built five identical schools, each with 60,000 blocks-two were built the conventional way, while the other three were built using the high-lift grouting method. The labor cost on the last three averaged 27 percent less than the first two. Said Jensen, "That makes your profit come out triple what you estimated."
To employ high-lift grouting every day, some obstacles had to be overcome. "We have to educate the inspectors we work with because most of them don't understand masonry, and even the difference between a lift and a pour," Jensen said. As many of you know, a lift is when grout is poured five feet at a time, vibrated or "rodded" to consolidate it, and then allowed to sit for approximately 30 minutes for the block to begin to absorb some of the water and the grout to begin to set. A pour is when you repeat the process again and again at consecutively higher elevations.
Another obstacle is the use of clean-outs. To overcome this, Jensen invented the Smart Masonry Clean-out System, a clear plastic window that is fastened over the clean-out opening with a special plastic T-bolt and nut that works like a toggle bolt to hold the window in place.
When asked how exactly it saves his company money, Jensen said, "The obvious biggest savings are running the walls up 24 feet instead of four feet. On the grouting end, we set up and make only one pour instead of three of four, we have one inspection instead of many, we only have one mess to clean up, we order less grout overall, and we save on rebar laps. In fact, saving three feet of rebar pays for the system. Being able to see the rebar placement, that it's lapped and tied correctly, and watching the grout go in place properly has put the inspectors' and engineers' minds completely at ease about high-lift grouting."
The new ACI 530.1-05 specification now defines low-lift grouting as 12'8", and it is part of the new 2006 International Building Code by reference. This new code should help engineers and inspectors better understand grout placement.
If you have any questions about high- or low-life grouting, contact the Mason Contractors Association of America for more information at (800) 536-2225.
Saving Proactively
Photo courtesy of Non Stop
Scaffing
DEAN CROWELL, owner of Word-Co, a mason contractor in Wilkesboro, N.C., builds a lot of Wal-Mart stores and other fast-track commercial work. "Moving as fast as we do, we have to head off problems before they occur," he said. "We have a quality control crew who documents how we do all our work. For instance, one of our biggest nightmares would be for a GC to question the grout placement in a completed project. That would hold up our money, and we might have to spend thousands just to prove we actually did it right the first time. This thermal image of a section of a block wall shows WordCo exactly how well they poured their grout. If a void or other deficiency is found, it can be repaired immediately."
"In order to head that off, our quality control crew makes an infrared image of every wall we build. You can see exactly where the grout is, and if there's a problem we can fix it right then."
Crowell has used his quality control program to gain Wal-Mart's trust. He can build their stores quickly and to their specifications. He gives them a quality product and backs it up with proof. He can also keep up with Wal-Mart's schedule, and credits adjustable scaffolding as one of the key elements.
"We can get a lot of scaffolding to the job easily and our men can set it up in no time," he said. "We move 217 feet at a time from wall to wall in about three hours. It's amazingly fast."
As walls are completed, WordCo cleans up, points up, and has the GC's people sign off immediately. This may seem a bit overboard, but it helps WordCo get paid quickly and eliminates callbacks after the job is finished.
Justin Breithaupt Jr. is the owner of Non-Stop Scaffolding Inc. He has been involved with elevating scaffolding and the masonry business since 1975, when his father invented a tower scaffolding system for their own masonry business.
www.masencontractors.org