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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Baylor Street Art, Austin
www.constructionnews.net H (210) 308-5800 H Volume 16 H Number 9 H SEPTEMBER 2017
Turn right at the chicken
Starting the next chapter
L-R: Co-owners, James Gould and Gray Richardson
Collins Johnson, owner of Pinpoint Strategies Inc.
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hen getting ready to make a career move, long-time buddy Gray Richardson, partner and co-owner, convinced James Gould, partner and co-owner to start up a roofing business of their own. Having just hit their 5-1/2 year mark in business, Intrepid Roof Systems is going full steam ahead. The two buddies affectionately refer to themselves as a couple of redneck boys. Richardson from Mobile, AL and Gould from south of Buda met twelve years ago while working on a job together. Being good ’ol boys, the two struck up a friendship that is by no means an accident. The two seem to compliment each other perfectly.
According to Gould, the two good ol’ l boys started their new company the hard way. “We didn’t borrow any money. We started spending a lot of money and doing without. It was difficult at first but we have no regrets. The rewards are far greater than the things we’ve endured.” “Seeing something grow from the beginning, making something out of nothing, working for one’s self and putting in 18-hour days, the time and effort you put in and all the mental anguish, is well worth it. But, the biggest thing is seeing something grow from nothing,” adds Richardson. The company seemed to grow pretty fast for the new entrepreneurs and would like to continue to see some steady continued on Page 17
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t’s been ten years since Collins and Janna Johnson started Pinpoint Strategies Inc. in August of ’07 as a commercial painting contractor. Since that time, the company has been growing step by step. In January of 2009, the company rolled out their commercial drywall division as an added service which included interior demolition, metal framing, acoustical ceilings, door and hardware installations, a variety of specialty acoustical type products and treatments, and miscellaneous installs. By 2011, they introduced their flooring division, separating themselves from the industry standards by offering hard and soft flooring. In 2012 their multi-family drywall division entered into the market, which
piggybacked with their flooring division. The company moved from down downtown Austin to Buda. Fully invested in his customers and his employees, Johnson has special provision for both within their new facility. “It’s a good location with all the work we do in San Antonio and San Marcos, the toll road is close by and we have easy access to get us all around Austin and the surrounding areas,” adds Johnson. The 17,000sf facility offers plenty of office spaces for their staff and management team, and includes a gym for employees to use as needed and a 360 degree PM room with white boards and plenty of work space to spread out. One of the aspects of Pinpoint’s new continued on Page 17
A stone facelift
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ince 1969 Alpha Building Corporation has been providing general contracting solutions to transform how their clients undertake construction. The University of Texas at Austin Main Campus (CAM) Statue Area Remodel CP621315 project was no different. The UT main campus statue area has been a focal point for many major types of events over the years including Graduation, UT Remembers, and Party on the Plaza. It’s no wonder that father time and mother nature finally got their voices heard when the UT system decided it was time for a facelift. After decades of weather, tree sap and billions of footsteps and handprints, much of the historic campus statue area was deteriorating. The $300,000 project took six months to complete. “There were several sections over the years where the stone wall had cracked along with sections of wall where poor repairs had been previously done,”
The newly restored University of Texas Main Campus Statue Area
says Bill James, Project Manager for the UT Project Management and Construction Services Department. James continues, “We started in December 2016 and completed before spring graduation. Alpha’s contract was issued before Christmas break so Alpha could order the replacement stone. Material procurement was a critical milestone for the project. Actual stone repair started taking place when we had the material and could remove and replace sections at the same time. Prior to the arrival of the new limestone, Alpha cleaned the limestone with a specified solution that would remove the biological matter but not harm the existing wall. This process took at least 2 applications before all of the biological material was satisfactorily removed. Alpha then proceeded to repair all mortar joints. Several mortar samples were submitted for acceptance prior to mortar joint repair commenced.” continued on Page 17