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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Austin View
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(210) 308-5800
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Volume 15
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Number 6
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JUNE 2015
Moving forward
Hitting the ground running
Darrell Smith (right) and the Oakbrook Builders team look over plans at the Round Rock office.
Michael Boy and Sara Wilkus
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ound Rock based Oakbrook Builders has operated since Oct. 2013. Darrell Smith is the founder, president and CEO. “We have had tremendous opportunities over the past two years,” Smith said. “We will be expanding office space in our building this summer.” According to Smith, Oakbrook Builders completed its first out-of-state project in Omaha, NE in May and will expand into Louisiana and New Mexico before the end of the year. The company is also working on the Sodalis Eldercare project in San Antonio. Smith says when Oakbrook Builders employees have extra time, they make it a priority to volunteer together outside of the office.
“During Christmas time we helped hang decorations at the Texas Baptist Children’s Home and are currently working with Austin LifeCare to help them with their office remodel,” Smith said. “We’re handling the general contracting for the project free of charge and contacting our subcontractors and suppliers to donate materials and furnishings. “We really believe that’s our responsibility to give back and make a difference in our community.“ In addition, Smith says faith is a huge part of the company culture. “We commonly share Bible verses and pray in the office during meetings,” Smith said. “Several folks are active in
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enturing out on their own, brother and sister Michael Boy, president and owner and Sara Wilkus, vice president, established Travis Roofing Supply at 2325 E. Ben White Blvd. The company hosted an open house and crawfish boil for customers in late April. “Sara and I formed the company in January and opened the doors in early March,” Boy said. “After working together for a local roofing supply company, we felt it was time to do something different. “We have a lot of support from existing customers. We are trying to take care of people who trust us with their business on the front end as we establish new processes and procedures.”
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Boy says the past few months have been very busy at Travis Roofing Supply. “There were some days we were at the office very early in the morning and we stayed late at night,” he said. “Once things started to streamline, there were hail storms in Central Texas. So, we got busy again. More roofing contractors and builders needed roofing supplies.” Boy and Wilkus are pleased with the convenient location of the E. Ben White Blvd facility. “We have 40,000sf of indoor storage space,” Boy said. “We are able to keep all the roofing supplies inside the warehouse instead of outside.” continued on Page 17
Attention to details
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ovium Group LLC performed 15,000sf of renovations on Salvation Army’s Austin Shelter for Women and Children. Tyler Walbridge managed and supervised the 45-day project. “This project was unique for Novium Group because we were able to help out those in need using the services that we provide every day,” Walbridge said. “It is very fulfilling for us to be able to help others because we are not always in a position to help those in need.” Construction materials used during the project included Durock, sheetrock, galvanized studs, ceramic tile, VCT, blinds, solid core wood doors, hollow metal door frames, metal lockers, latex paint, epoxy paint, acoustical ceiling tile and sprinkler pipe. The construction team divided a large room to accommodate a new location for the worker dorm and the old
worker dorm was refinished to accommodate the new women’s shelter. “It was imperative that the transients dorm remained open during construction,” Walbridge said. “This room was the dorm that we were dividing in half and where the majority of the work took place. We also had to paint all dorms and halls while the project was occupied by tenants.” Walbridge says Salvation Army coordinated with the occupants and worked very well with Novium Group to give ample notice to occupants and give the construction team access to all dorms to complete all of the painting. “The Salvation Army requires perfection on their projects, and they demand that the completed work be performed at a standard at or above what they would expect work in their own homes to look like,” Walbridge said. “They took Salvation Army’s Austin Shelter for Women and Children interior construction
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