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More is more
Art projects
Margarito Espinoza's (fourth male from left) staff, as well as his wife Claudett, help make his three companies a success.
Art + Artisan Founder/President Jennifer Brener Seay (far left) and her staff
f a contest for “Busiest Person in the Construction Industry” exists, Margarito Espinoza is in the running for the top prize. He is currently President of three companies: LMS Lonestar Masonry, Imperial Products Supply and his most recent acquisition San Felipe Stone. If anyone can make a go of a third business during a pandemic, it’s Espinoza. He has worked in the construction industry since his family moved to the Austin-area when he was a kid to work in the stone business. “I was 13 and going to school during the day and working a night shift at the quarries,” he says. “I learned stone and I kept growing in my experience.” He was in high school and working for another company when in 2003, he and a
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he pandemic has forced company owners to take stock of almost every detail of their business operations, and Peter Nunez was no exception. Eighteen months ago, the trucking company owner opened up a quarry and was burning the candle at both ends. He had hired Cory Farris to help streamline the companies, and the pandemic allowed Nunez and Farris to truly take stock of what the company needed for further success. A rebranding, which will roll out Dec. 1, is part of that reassessment. “One of the big problems we had eighteen months ago when he opened the quarry, was that he didn’t call it ‘Nunez,’ as he did with Nunez Trucking. He called it McCar from the combined names of his daughter McKenzie and son Carson. We have a brand-new quarry that is taking off and doing great but then we have the bread-and-butter company,
friend began buying and selling stone, serving as a broker of sorts for masonry workers. They incorporated their company, LMS Lone Star Masonry, in 2006. Today, LMS in Jarrell focuses on high-end multifamily and residential and commercial masonry. Espinoza’s second business, Imperial Products Supply in Liberty Hill, manufactures and wholesales stone veneer, aggregates, brick products and mulch nationwide. San Felipe Stone in Liberty Hill and Granbury has seven of the largest quarries from North Texas to South Texas. Espinoza says the wide variety of stone his company offers means clients can source any stone from Texas. “San Felipe Stone was a running comcontinued on Page 14
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here’s an art to construction projects. Visit law firm Jackson Walker, residential skyscraper The Independent, Texas State University’s Angelina Hall or the Domain’s Charles Schwab buildings – the murals, sculptures, prints and paintings installed there aren’t just art pieces. They represent a construction project’s final stage. They also represent how Art + Artisans helps builders of workplace, education, student housing, healthcare, multifamily and hospitality projects. From a project’s start to its end, A+A works with general contractors, architects, developers, design firms and clients. They help determine the space’s art story or theme, research, procure and fabricate appropriate artwork, and ensure that the entire building
process allows for their successful installation at the project’s end. “Some our projects only have a few pieces of art, while some have multiple floors needing a ton of art and different themes,“ Danea Dickey, Business Development, explains. “We make sure everything stays on budget and on time. We work with the GC and make sure the architect puts blocking in the wall, that there are lights for the art. Typically, we are seen most at the end of the process, but we work with everyone involved in the project to make sure the art installation goes smoothly. We make sure that we can do installations on the weekend or at night so that we don’t disturb anyone who is working, although it depends on the continued on Page 14
McCar in the making
Peter Nunez and Cory Farris (center) with McCar team members
Nunez Trucking. That’s very confusing and I told him that on my first day. We’ve spent the past couple of months rebranding. We hired an Austin firm to create our logos for us and another great company to handle some marketing ideas, and they have put together a stateof-the-art website that is going to be out in early December. We also hired Ryan Davis Media to create a new brand. We now have McCar Companies, McCar Trucking and McCar Materials. Our trucking side is our aggregate hauling fleet, and our materials side is our quarry where we mine, and crush limestone.” It’s a change that has been 12 years in the making. Nunez was an 18-year-old living in Hutto with his parents when he borrowed money from friends and family members to buy his first dump truck. Although the truck was old and damaged, he began hauling material in and around continued on Page 14
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
Austin: No. 1 and No. 10
Hot topics
L-R: John Lewis and Casey Giles PE in Manhard Consulting’s new Austin office.
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any who live and work in Austin consider the city to be a perfect 10, and a national civil engineering and surveying firm thinks so, too. It’s why Manhard Consulting recently opened a new office – the firm’s 10th in the country – in Austin. Located at 2101 E. St. Elmo, Building 1, Suite 100, the new branch will work closely with its other offices. Dallas-based Vice-President Jesse Conrad, who oversees the company’s Texas business, will manage the new location. Project manager and associate principal Adam Burke PE, Senior Project Manager and Associate Principal Casey Giles PE, and Project Manager John Lewis will assist Conrad in building the firm’s presence in the area. Headquartered in Illinois, Manhard Consulting employs more than 275 employees. In addition to civil engineering and surveying, the firm offers water resources management, construction management, landscape architecture and planning. Manhard Consulting focuses on government and municipal, industrial and business, retail and mixed-use, residential land development, healthcare, educational
facilities, recreational and sports facilities, oil and gas, energy alternatives, supply chain logistics, transportation and telecommunications. President and CEO Don Manhard, Jr. says the office compliments the company’s existing growth in Texas. For the past five years, Manhard Consulting has made an indelible mark on the Texas landscape. Recent Lone Star State projects include Iowa Colony’s 1800-lot master planned community Sierra Vista, Rowlett’s $1 billion mixed use development Sapphire Bay and Dallas’ 1.6 million-sf Valley ViewDFW Commerce Park. “The decision to expand to Austin aligns perfectly with our growth strategy of providing local expertise backed by a national network of support,” Manhard Jr. says. ”We feel that it is critical to provide services where our clients are working and our local team in Austin can respond immediately to the expansive growth in the region.” Civil engineering and surveying firm Manhard Consulting serves public and private clients nationwide. –mjm
L-R: Kanga Roof’s Marketing Manager Kyle Sattler and Owners Scott and Stacie Feller have cooked up some sweet heat with a new web series.
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ENZ Construction owner Travis Blattner is uncomfortably shifting in his seat, his face flushing redder as the questions keep coming. A video camera records his answers to inquiries about his business. As his discomfort grows, Blattner pauses to take a sip of milk, not to stall the interviewer, but to extinguish what feel like flames on his tongue. Despite the interrogation, Blattner is not actually in trouble – or, maybe he is: He has just bitten into five pieces of spicy chocolate while participating in Kanga Roof’s “Interview Ignited” web series. The interviewee must complete an interview while eating progressively spicier chocolate candy pieces. If they succeed without succumbing to the heat, they earn 30 seconds to promote their business at the episode’s end. “Interview Ignited” is the brainchild of Kanga Roof’s Marketing Manager Kyle Sattler, who proposed the idea to company owners Scott and Stacie Feller. The husband-and-wife team (who also own HVAC company Koala Cooling) kept open minds even as the concept’s kinks were worked out. One such kink
includes the mustard gas-like effect Sattler accidentally created as he cooked up “Level 6” capsaicin extract chocolate pieces in the office kitchen. Once the smoke cleared from the office evacuation and the recipe was perfected (thanks to employee taste tests), interviews were recorded at a local church. Blattner and five other business owners voluntarily put themselves in the hot seat (literally) to be interviewed. “I think it went really well,” Sattler says. “I am a big fan of organic content development marketing, specifically in video. Our goal is for Kanga Roof’s content to spread on its own merits and for people to enjoy our content without it having to be entirely focused on roofing. If they enjoy it, they will consume it, and then Kanga Roof will immediately come to mind the moment they have a roofing issue.” The first season can be viewed on the company’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Interested in feeling the burn? Austin-area business owners can submit their applications for season two! Roofing company Kanga Roof is in Round Rock. –mjm
BENZ Construction owner Travis Blattner fires off answers during “Interview Ignited.”
Buildings and BBQ
Siteline Interior Carpentry Inc. Account Executive Patrick Kurtz and Executive Vice President Dan DiCicco traveled from Chicago to visit the company’s Texas team, including the Austin office. In addition to being impressed with the state’s building boom, Kurtz and DiCicco were impressed with the barbecue! –mjm
Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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ringing years of expertise, experience and real-world knowledge, Cokinos | Young has enhanced its portfolio to truly grasp the needs and goals of their clients. What is Structure Cokinos? Structure is a sub-brand of Cokinos | Young emphasizing the non-litigation services we offer. While we have always been a “one-stop shop”, the firm has expanded in recent years to accommodate our clients’ needs. In doing so, we now provide more depth of services and resources than before. The name “Structure” was chosen specifically as a nod to the longstanding reputation the firm has in the construction world, as well as highlight our attorneys’ ability to provide the legal framework or “structure” any business needs. How can Structure Cokinos assist companies in the construction world? A business in any industry requires guidance and expertise. Our lawyers act as outside general counsel for numerous clients, providing general advice as well as needs for specific transactions. Whether it’s purchasing property, pursuing a new business venture, handling employee matters, leasing space, obtaining financing, seeking new investors, or updating corporate records, our team can help. With our deep industry knowledge, relationships in the construction industry, and transactional expertise, Structure Cokinos is uniquely equipped to address our client’s needs. More specifically, we focus on the following areas of law for our clients: Commercial Real Estate What types of real estate matters does Structure Cokinos handle? Our lawyers represent both buyers and sellers, lessors and lessees, individuals and companies, in their real estate and development transactions. Our attorneys conduct large-scale land acquisitions for commercial buildings, negotiate leases on
Accentuating service
The Structure team of Cokinos | Young Front L-R: Tiffany Melchers, Darrell Taylor, Shelby Morgan; Back L-R: Alec Herzog, Philip Kinkade, Michael Renya, Kristi Hubbard, Shannon Gatlin and David Tolin
behalf of tenants or landlords, navigate financing issues for both commercial owners and developers, and oversee multiproperty closings spanning different states. Our real estate practice includes: • Negotiating and completing acquisitions and/or dispositions of all types of real property • Drafting transaction and financing documents • Drafting and reviewing design and construction contracts • Advising on existing real estate relation- ships regarding available rights and remedies • Drafting and negotiating commercial leases Labor and Employment What issues do you typically find your clients need assistance with in this area? As we like to say, if you have employees, then you have employment law considerations. Whether it’s solving current problems or helping to prevent future ones from arising, our lawyers provide a full spectrum of labor and employment advice for our clients, including:
• Defending Title VII harassment, discrimination and retaliation claims, claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and benefits disputes, including under the Family and Medical Leave Act and ERISA questions • Drafting and revising employment manuals and company policies • Reviewing hiring, termination, and employment-related decision practices • Aiding in implementation of good employment practices • Non-competition agreements and confidentiality documents and protections • Executive compensation packages Mergers and Acquisitions On mergers and acquisitions and similar matters, what do your clients generally need from you? Do you represent only smaller or mid-sized entities in M&A deals? Our attorneys’ experience spans from representing global companies engaged in multi-million-dollar transactions to counseling small or mid-size businesses seeking to expand their market presence. We are
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regularly asked by our clients to assist in: • Asset and equity acquisitions and sales • Complex funding arrangements, including venture financing and agreements Private Equity Everybody seems to be interested in private equity. Why is this area so prominent now, and what can you do to help client in this area? Traditional lenders are not able to react on an accelerated timetable, and private equity allows far more flexibility in types of financing vehicles. We represent individual investors, funds providing private equity capital, and portfolio companies in initial or later round financings. We see a variety of needs across a variety of industries in multiple aspects of private equity transactions, including • Growth equity transactions • Acquisitions, investments, and dispositions • Preferred equity • Minority investments • Private placements General Corporate Matters What about more day-to-day general corporate matters; do your clients still need this type of assistance? Yes, we consistently help our clients manage the corporate law aspects of their enterprises, so they can focus on their expertise in running their businesses. We assist with: • Forming business entities, including advising on management provisions • Resolving governance and business disputes among partners and share holders • Corporate structuring and restructuring Cokinos | Young is a commercial real estate and construction law firms with offices in Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin and San Antonio. -cmw
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
make it stronger. Last year, we did $12 million in business and we have 50 employees overall. It turns out, it is a real business!
Don Grenier
President/Owner Cedar Park Overhead Doors Cedar Park, TX
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hen Don Grenier was first introduced to the idea of owning a garage door business, he was skeptical about it bringing him any measure of success or happiness. Sixteen years later, he is enjoying both enormously, and is sharing his good fortune with a cause close to his heart. How were you introduced to the construction industry? I was always interested in electronics and things like that. I was in the Air Force for eight years, teaching electronics. Then, I worked out at Fisher controls (now Emerson) for 10 years teaching in a corporate environment. When that went south, I ended up running a used car dealership for about two years. That was a horrible job for me because you’re selling people dreams and they’re just picking it apart; it’s their job to find something wrong with the car so they’ll get money off. That just kind of broke my heart; it was kind of hard job and I wasn’t very good at it, and I just took it too personal. How did you transition from used car salesman to garage door business owner? The company has been around for 30 years but I bought it in 2004. It was run by a nice hippie in Austin back in the ‘80s who sold it to a guy for two years. When he was selling it, my father-in-law said, “Let’s buy a garage door business!” I said, “That’s a stupid idea, Frank, that’s not even a real business!” But Frank wanted to talk to him anyway, and then we bought it. We started off small with a little bit of advertising. Two years later, we made enough to pay salaries. Four years later, we were making enough money to buy our little building that we had on Bell. Ten years later, we were buying cars and trucks. We’ve worked on building it up to
Is Frank still a part of the business? No, he quit after about two months. He said, “We’re going to have a small family business and we’re not going to spend a bunch of money on advertising.” I said, “Forget that. We’re going to run a real business and we’re going to grow it.” And he said, “I quit!” He was retired and bought the company to give me something to do. He’s still around and still doing well. I bought him out about 10 years ago, but he’s happy with it because he made his money back and a ton more. But he also kept me busy for 10 years, which was a good thing. He was right. How has your company evolved? We were doing a lot of residential work, and then we started working on apartment community gates, industrial gates and residential gates for facilities. That started to grow a lot, and then we started to go commercial – bigger jobs, bigger companies. Something I’m proud of is the City of Austin and City of Georgetown Service contracts. We also do the Overhead Doors for the Fire departments and EMS buildings of Leander and Cedar Park. That’s growing our business, too. The plans are to continue to maintain a good business. We’re growing this year and we plan on growing, but we really want to maintain the quality and our attitude. We have good ratings on Google and Yelp. We really want to be the company that people trust. We don’t want to be regional or national; we want to be local, where everything comes through our main office and we know what our people are doing. We’re happy growing at this rate and don’t want to get too big. We really think customer satisfaction is the most important thing for our business. We’re a small business but we really want the customer to be happy, to think and feel that they got an honest and fair deal on everything, and we’re going to stand by that. Customer satisfaction and doing the right thing has always been a big part of that. It’s still a family business. My son Keaton, my brother Ted is in the business. My mother-in-law and of course, father-inlaw. My wife Karen does not work here, but she is half owner. My son-in-law just joined the business. How have you evolved as an employer as your company has grown? It’s been very educational. I left a job where I was making very few people happy a month selling them cars, to a place where I was making five people happy a day. We have such a great demographic in Austin.
Cedar Park Overhead Doors owner Don Grenier (left, with a furry friend and Texas Humane Heroes COO Laura Acton) has long been a huge supporter of the no kill animal shelter.
They’re nice people and if you do the right thing, you treat them right they will stick with you. If you like helping people, the garage door business is the perfect job. It’s a great business How is your business currently during the pandemic? I’m embarrassed to say that the pandemic has been fine for us. Business is very strong. People are staying home and working on their houses. We happen to be beneficiaries of that trend. Our biggest problems are vendor distribution, things are late coming in. Doors that used to show up in three weeks are now taking six weeks to show up. Also, keeping the guys healthy; my guys have been working hard all summer so they’re kind of beat up and tired right now, but we’re healthy and doing okay. Are you and/or the company involved in philanthropy? We are big supporters of Texas Humane Heroes [no kill, private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.] I think it was probably 10 years ago that they were building a new facility and needed new doors; we were asked to take a look and see what we could do. Since they were a dog rescue and I love dogs, we thought we could help out. Their budget wasn’t bad but we could beat it so I said if they could pay for some of the doors, we would cover all of the labor. Everyone in the company enjoyed the positivity of the whole experience, and after that, they kept up with us and we became a food sponsor for all of the dogs, contributing maybe $1000 a month. We’ve been doing that and more for the last 10 years. We are the largest corporate donor to Texas Humane Heroes and are now the main sponsor for all of their events, like their annual gala, hockey games and the Chili cookoff that’s coming up on Nov. 14. This year their intake facility had old rotting
wood doors and they wanted to do something with that, so we made some custom doors and donated the labor for that. I joined the board of directors of Texas Humane Heroes about four or five years ago. CEO Jeff Struchtemeyer and COO Laura Acton are doing a great job out there, they’re growing it and doing more community outreach. All the dogs last year – more than 3,000 – got adopted and we’ve already beat that number for this year. We’re big fans of those guys; they always do a great job. Do you have dogs? We started off a rescue German Shorthair pointer, Molly, who died of old age at 16, and then we picked up another rescue dog, Sierra, a collie breed who lived about 14 years; she died about two years ago. We then got Harley – short for Harlequin – a girl. And then we picked up another dog, Abbey, a German Shepherd whom we are watching for a while. At our office, we have a company cat that we found in the dumpster one day. We fished her out and she’s about 8- or 9-year-old now and she lives in the office. Also, in the sales office we have one employee who sometimes brings in her dog. What do you enjoy doing in your free time? I don’t own an airplane but I’m taking flying lessons. We scuba dive, we travel to Mexico a little bit every year for the birthday. During the first four years, there was no free time, but I’m still working six days a week, from 8 in the morning to usually six or seven at night. There are times when we’re here until 8 at night, doing whatever has to get done. They’re long hours, but they’re not long hours if you like what you do. Cedar Park Overhead Doors is in Cedar Park and Lakeway and opening a design center in Tarrytown. –mjm
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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SURETY BONDS Prevent COVID Tax Relief Surprises
What Can be Done to Increase Your Firm’s Bonding Capacity
Steven Bankler, Owner Steven Bankler, CPA, Ltd. San Antonio, TX
Jeremy Pendergast, Surety Producer TSIB Inc. Austin, TX
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id you receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds? Are you deferring payroll taxes this quarter? Have you requested penalty relief because you couldn’t make your tax deadlines? The federal government has opened up relief in these areas, but actually getting the relief—without paying a price later—isn’t easy. There are hoops to jump through so that you’re not surprised by “pay back” costs in 2021. PPP Loan Forgiveness If you received PPP funds, it’s time to ask for loan forgiveness. As we’ve discussed here before, getting 100% of the funds forgiven requires due diligence. You should have been keeping the money in a separate bank account and meticulously documenting how you’re spending the money. Forgiveness is based on several factors, including: • Maintaining or quickly rehiring employees, and maintaining salary levels. If your full-time headcount declined, or if salaries and wages decreased, forgiveness may be reduced.
• Payroll costs can include all forms of cash compensation paid to employees, including tips, commis sions, bonuses, and hazard pay. But there’s a limit. As of mid-October, a $100,000 cap per compensated em ployee was in place. There’s an own er compensation cap as well.
• Nonpayroll costs like mortgage interest costs or rent/lease costs and other expenses may be forgivable if they amount to up to 40% of the ex penses only.
You may have heard that loan forgiveness is already being administered, but you can wait until 2021 to apply. In fact, it might be more tax-advantaged for you to wait (but that’s a decision that needs to be made on a personalized level with your tax advisor). For any funds that aren’t forgiven, you’ll need to pay back at an interest rate of 1%. If your loan was issued prior to June 5, you have two years to pay it back. Loans issued after June 5 can be repaid within five years. Deferred Payroll Taxes The federal government declared a payroll tax “holiday” for this fall. But is it too good to be true? It might be. The payroll tax deferral includes withholding, deposit, and payment of certain employee payroll taxes beginning September 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020. The deferral relates only to the employee’s portion of Social Security payroll taxes (6.2%) for those who generally earn less than $104,000 annually. However, as soon as the announcement was made, questions were raised, including the most critical: Will the payroll taxes need to be paid (as in, deducted from paychecks) later? The answer, as of mid-October, is a concerning, “Yes.” At the moment, while you may be able to give employees a paycheck bump through the rest of the year, it looks like those lost tax amounts will need to be deducted from paychecks in early 2021. For employees who quit or are laid off, you might be able to withhold the entire delayed amount in their final paycheck (although IRS guidance remains unclear on that point as well).
It’s been reported that President Trump intends to forgive the deferred payroll taxes if he wins reelection, but that would require congressional action to do so. In the meantime, the safest bet is to assume that any payroll taxes you choose to defer will need to be paid back—and soon. It will be a heavy administration burden either way, so roll up your sleeves. Penalty Relief Since July 15, tax deadlines have arrived on schedule, despite financial impacts of the pandemic continuing to hit the construction industry. If you had trouble getting your taxes filed and paid on time, you’re not alone. The IRS says it’s offering relief, but even some who followed the rules will still receive penalties. Taxpayers who made “a good-faith effort to meet the filing…but are unable to do so due to COVID-19,” were instructed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) to write “COVID-19” in an attachment to the their tax returns briefly describing the reason they cannot meet the deadlines, or, if possible, to write “COVID-19” at the top of the tax return to indicate the need for penalty relief. Certain tax software required a state-specific disaster code issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as well. Some who requested penalty relief due to COVID-19, however, still received a late-filing or late-payment penalty notice from the IRS. Whether you’re among them, or haven’t yet requested penalty relief, you still have options. Penalty relief due to reasonable cause isn’t a new consideration. It’s a concession that can be used in cases of natural disasters, serious injury or illness affecting the taxpayer, or an inability to obtain tax records. The IRS will consider factors that include your reason for incurring the penalty, your compliance history (have you missed tax deadlines before?), the length of time it took you to respond, and whether the circumstances were truly outside your control.
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s a Surety Agent, one of the most frequently asked questions that I receive from Contractors is what can be done to increase our Firm’s bonding capacity. Although there is no quick answer to that question, the following are some specific items and suggestions to follow to increase your Firm’s bonding capacity over time; while still growing and maintaining your Company’s profitability along the way. Balance Sheet A balance sheet is the most important thing to consider when increasing your company’s bonding capacity. Your company’s balance sheet is the cornerstone of this surety underwriting equation. Your balance sheet tells the story regarding your company’s ability to obtain larger bonds. Typically, a contractor is offered an aggregate bonding capacity that is 10 times the net worth of the company. The exact amount depends on many factors such as a contractor’s experience, personal net worth, and availability of bank credit, among other things. If you are looking to “stretch the limits” on a particular job, have the conversation with your Agent ahead of time. If your Agent understands the job then they can effectively be your advocate to the Surety. Doing things like explaining how a larger job relates to the scope of jobs done in the past, may have a high material cost with the same labor/ production costs or providing a run off/ billing schedule are all things a competent Agent should be able to provide the Surety when looking for larger than normal approvals. For example, a favorable construction company with a net worth and/or working capital of $1MM can typically expect to receive an aggregate bonding program of $10MM. As a rule of thumb, the single project limit will usually be 1.52 times your largest project. Even though these limits are flexible, your company may want to bid on a job that is slightly larger than the single limit. If that is the case, the surety underwriter will consider the project’s scope of work and current backlog, etc. As your company’s retained earnings and net worth increases, you can expect your bonding capacity to grow along with it. Upgrade Financial Statements
While welcome tax relief measures were passed in 2020, it’s up to you—the taxpayer—to identify them and to follow the (often complicated) rules of compliance to take advantage. That latter detail may yet reveal some unwelcome bombshells for you in 2021. Get organized now to avoid surprises later.
Next, upgrading your year-end financial statements to a “review” level is important. Having these statements prepared on a percentage of completion (POC) basis by your CPA is preferred. If your CPA is unable to do that, then it’s time to hire a more construction-oriented accountant. Even though you many have a long-term relationship with your CPA, if they cannot create an accurate WIP or put together a proper POC statement, they may be hurting or halting the growth of your business.
Steven Bankler has more than 43 years of experience in the accounting industry. Steven’s expertise lies in consulting, planning, tax, and asset protection as well as exit strategy services for closely held businesses. He also provides litigation support (both as a testifying expert witness and a consulting expert), business negotiations and estate planning. Visit www.bankler.com for additional tax strategy tips and to learn more about Steven Bankler, CPA, Ltd.
In order to obtain larger bonds, you will need to provide your surety company with transparent underwriting updates. This includes quarterly WIP statements, an in-house balance sheet, P&L summary, and a mid-term financial statement prepared by your CPA. In addition, the surety company will expect aged accounts receivable schedules, along with the personal financial statements of the company principals.
Company Infrastructure & Philosophy Company infrastructure and philosophy changes will ultimately need to be made in order to accommodate the above suggestions. While using the Quickbooks software can accommodate much of the heavy lifting for contractors with revenues below $15MM, it can be a good idea to upgrade beyond that. Quickbooks, while userfriendly, is not designed to handle job costing and large project tracking & reporting for a more sophisticated construction company. It may be time to upgrade to a more thorough accounting system that can handle these additional details. Open Dialogue As we touched on prior, the importance of communication cannot be understated. The ultimate suggestion for increasing your bonding capacity is keeping an open dialogue with your surety company. Underwriters love good news, but the bad news must be shared on a timely basis as well. Building a foundation of trust with an underwriter will make it easier for a surety company to support you during construction slowdowns and help you obtain larger bid requests. It’s mportant that you talk to your Surety Broker about increasing your bonding capacity. A good Surety Broker will be able to provide you with what your surety company’s expectations are and what you need to do to accomplish this. In addition, your broker will be able to provide you with trusted, construction-oriented CPA firms in your area. It’s important that your Broker and CPA talk in order to ensure the ultimate bonding success of your company. Regardless of what steps you take to upgrade, steady profitable growth, and a willingness to communicate should be your guiding principles. Working with professionals who understand these pieces and consider themselves part of the team, will not only take the mystery out of your Surety relationship but should make life easier when it comes to obtaining the surety credit your Firm needs. Jeremy Pendergast has been a Surety Producer since 2006. In his current role at Turner Surety & Insurance Brokerage, Inc., he oversees new client acquisition and managing a book of existing Surety business in Texas that ranges from first time bond users to Firms with annual revenues in excess of 100 Million. He can be reached to discuss any Surety related questions at: Turner Surety & Insurance Brokerage, Inc. 12600 Hill Country Blvd, Suite R-275 Austin, Texas 78738 Phone: Office 512.329.2614 Cell 512.808.9601 Email: JPendergast@TSIBINC.com Website: TSIBINC.com
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
OSHA
LEGAL
Machine Guarding and Saws
Stiffed in the Oil Patch? There’s a Lien for That!
Joann Natarajan Compliance Assistance Specialist OSHA Austin, TX
West W. Winter Attorney The Winter Law Firm, PLLC San Antonio, TX
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mployee exposure to unguarded or inadequately guarded machines is prevalent in many workplaces. Serious injuries can result from the use of portable and stationary power saws.
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ith the ups and downs of the oil and gas industry, many contractors and subcontractors working in the oil patch may eventually find themselves in a dubious collection position. All hope is not lost however, as Chapter 56 of the Texas Property Code provides lien rights to mineral contractors and subcontractors to secure payment for labor or services related to mineral activities. In some situations, unpaid contractors and subcontractors may also be able to secure lien rights through a traditional statutory Mechanic’s and Materialman’s Lien. Mineral Lien Basics The definitions contained within Chapter 56 of the Texas Property Code provide the starting point for determining whether you have lien rights for mineral activities. “Mineral Activities” are specifically defined as digging, drilling, torpedoing, operating, completing, maintaining, or repairing an oil, gas, or water well, an oil or gas pipeline, or a mine or quarry. A proper mineral lien claimant must also come within the definition of a Mineral Contractor or Subcontractor. A “Mineral Contractor” is a person who performs labor or furnishes or hauls material, machinery, or supplies used in mineral activities under an express or implied contract with a mineral property owner or with a trustee, agent, or receiver of a mineral property owner. A “Mineral Subcontractor” means a person who: (a) furnishes or hauls material, machinery, or supplies used in mineral activities under contract with a mineral contractor or with a subcontractor; (b) performs labor used in mineral activities under contract with a mineral contractor; or (c) performs labor used in mineral activities as an artisan or day laborer employed by a subcontractor. Finally, a “Mineral Property Owner” is an owner of land, an oil, gas, or other mineral leasehold, an oil or gas pipeline, or an oil or gas pipeline right-of-way.
53 of the Texas Property Code. This means that suit must be filed to foreclose the lien claim within two years after the last day the claimant could file its lien affidavit or within one year after completion, termination, or abandonment of the mineral activities, whichever is later. Mineral Lien Nuances Chapter 56 sets out the types of property which are subject to a mineral lien, and includes the land, leasehold, oil or gas well, water well, oil or gas pipeline and its right-of-way, material, machinery, supplies, and other types of property set out in the statute. However, the act also specifically states that a lien created by performing labor or furnishing or hauling material, machinery, or supplies for a leasehold does not attach to the fee title to the property. And while there is no retainage requirement for mineral activities, mineral property owners may withhold payment to their mineral contractor once served with a subcontractor’s notice. Given these and other nuances, all of the specific deadlines and requirements for properly perfecting a mineral lien, and varying judicial interpretations, it would be wise to enlist the assistance of counsel early on in order to ensure compliance.
Mineral Procedure and Timelines
Chapter 53 Mechanic’s and Materialman’s Lien
In order to properly secure a mineral lien, the mineral lien claimant must, not later than six months after the day the indebtedness accrues, file an affidavit in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 56 with the county clerk of the county in which the property is located. “Accrual of Indebtedness” for labor performed by the day or week accrues at the end of each week during which the labor is performed. The indebtedness for material or services accrues on the date the material or services were last furnished. While more time is allowed to file a mineral lien than for a traditional Chapter 53 mechanic’s lien, the necessary information for properly perfecting such a lien typically will not be as easy or quick to ascertain. A Mineral Subcontractor has the additional requirement to serve advance written notice on the property owner that the lien is claimed. This notice must be served no later that the 10th day before the day the affidavit claiming the lien is filed, and it must include the amount of the lien, the name of the person indebted to the subcontractor, and a description of the land, leasehold interest, pipeline, or pipeline right-of-way involved. Since there is an additional notice requirement placed upon mineral subcontractors, it is imperative to properly determine your classification to ensure proper perfection. There are very specific content requirements for a mineral lien affidavit which are set forth within Section 56.022 of the Property Code. A mineral lien claimant must also enforce its lien within the same time and in the same manner as a statutory mechanic’s lien under Chapter
Even if your work does not qualify as “mineral activities”, you may alternatively have statutory lien rights pursuant to Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code. Statutory mechanic’s liens, if timely and properly perfected, secure your right to payment against the project. While the specifics of proper lien perfection are beyond the scope of this article, perfection of a lien claim generally requires timely and proper written notice of the unpaid debt, timely recording of a proper lien affidavit in the real property records in the county in which the project is located, and timely giving notice of the filed lien to the owner and general contractor. Be aware that suit must also be filed to enforce/foreclose the lien claim within the limitations period mandated by Chapter 53 or the lien will be extinguished. Where there is uncertainty about whether a mineral or a mechanic’s lien is appropriate, the best course of action, depending on the circumstances, may be to protect your lien rights under both Chapters 53 and 56 of the Property Code by properly and timely asserting both a mineral lien and a mechanic’s lien. West W. Winter is the founder of The Winter Law Firm, PLLC, currently serves as President of the Construction Law Section of the San Antonio Bar Association, and has been repeatedly listed as one of the Best Lawyers in San Antonio for Construction Litigation. The Winter Law Firm represents owners, general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers in all phases of the construction process, from contract formation through dispute resolution, litigation, and collection. West can be reached via email: west@thewinterlawfirm.com.
A chop saw is essentially a lightweight circular saw mounted on a springloaded pivoting arm, and supported by a metal base. The chop saw is operated by the user lining up the saw blade with the user’s mark. The user then positions the hands properly, clamping the wood to the fence with one hand and working the saw with the other. A trigger is depressed to activate the blade and the blade is pulled through the work piece. The left hand secures the material and the right hand stays firmly on the handle. Once the blade has been guided through the cut, the user guides the saw back to the upright position.
Potential Hazard at the Point of Operation for Chop Saws:
Contact with the turning blade. Solution: Ensure that all guards are in place and working. If a guard seems slow to return to its normal position, ad just or repair it immediately. Use only recommended size and RPM rated blades. Maintain sharp blades. Always wear eye and face protection Table saws are used for straight sawing. Depending on the blade, they cut either across (crosscut) or with (ripsaw) the grain of the wood.
With hand-fed saws, the operator adjusts the height and angle of the blade. Then, holding the stock, the operator pushes it into the blade. A guide is used to maintain a straight cut at the desired width. At the end of the cutting stroke, the operator either changes positions or pushes the stock past the blade. Potential Hazard: • Injuries can occur if an operator’s hands slip while feeding the stock into the saw, or if the operator holds his or her hands too close to the blades while cutting. The operator can also be injured when removing scrap or finished pieces of stock from the table. Enclose the portion of the ripsaw and crosscut saw above the table with a self-adjusting guard. • The guard must adjust to the thickness of the material being cut and remain in contact with it. Hinge the guard so that the blades can be changed easily. Use a push stick for small pieces of wood and for pushing stock past the blade. Keep hands out of the line of the cut. • Attach a brake to the motor’s arbor to stop the saw from coasting after the power has been cut off, or have the operator remain at the saw station after the motor is shut off, until the blade stops turning. natarajan.joann@dol.gov 512-374-0271 x232
Moving on up
L-R: Founder Tony Ridout, Managing Shareholder Melanie Geist and Partner Michael Moore
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hese past 34 years have been a wild ride for the folks at Ridout Barrett. The company grew from a one-man show in 1986 when founder Tony Ridout, after working in public accounting, decided to strike out on his own, to a staff of 15 by 2006. Ten short years later, the firm grew to a staff of 50. In 2013, the Ridout family moved into their own facility with 14,000 sf. Lots of room to grow, or so they thought. By 2016, they discovered their home of just three years was no longer big enough and moved into their current home at 922 Isom Road, Ste. 100 with 23,000 sf. Then in 2017, Ridout Barrett grew again. This time with a second location in Austin. Ridout was then quoted as saying, “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that my firm would grow to be this big.” But the growing didn’t stop
there and in Jan. 2020, Ridout Barrett acquired the talented team from the firm of Stegemueller, Jett & Co. Today, the company is excited to have been named in the top 50 Construction CPA firms in the US and in the top 10 firms with the concentration of business in the construction industry. “We’re just a small local CPA firm, but when we put the information in, it turns out we are No. 6 in the country for concentration in construction as 60 percent of our revenue, is from the construction industry. No. 6, really? I guess we are that specialized. I knew we were, but I just didn’t know just how specialized we were compared to the rest of the CPA firms in the US. We are ranked No. 42 in the country as for the different things they judged us on. We are very excited, proud and just wanted to let people know,” says Ridout. -cmw
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fish. Watch the solar/lunar tables for best fishing days when the major bites fits your schedule. I’m really hoping that after we get through this election, things will somewhat go back to normal and the world is united again. The year 2020 has been a very difficult year on all of us and I pray that 2021 will bring new life to our country regardless of the outcome of the Presidency. My 2021 fishing calendar is open, and I am starting to book trips for the upcoming year. My whitetail hunts are almost full for this season, and I still have a few dates to book if interested. To schedule your next bay fishing trip or hunting trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361813-3716 or e-mail him at SteveSchultzOutdoors@gmail.com. Follow me of Facebook and Instagram at Steve Schultz Outdoors. Good Luck and Good Fishing
Blessed Beyond The Horizon by Capt. Steve Schultz Sponsored by: Waypoint Marine, Shoalwater Boats, Fishing Tackle Unlimited, Shimano Reels, E-Z Bel Construction, Costa Sunglasses, Simms Fishing, ForEverlast Fishing Products, PowerPro, Interstate Batteries, MirrOlure, JL Marines Power-Pole, AFW and AFTCO Clothing.
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ell it’s been a very trying year on the water getting through the Covid-19 pandemic. However, I’m thankful that my business was not affected as much as I thought it would be. In the early months (March-April), there was so much uncertainty and people were scared into thinging they couldn’t leave the house. By May, we got back into full swing and, to date, nobody was infected by the virus while on a fishing trip with any of the guides I know. Hopefully, by the time this paper hits your hands, the election will be over and God willing so will this pandemic. November will surely bring cooler temperatures to the Coastal Bend and Laguna Madre. I really look forward to this time of the year to get a break from the stifIing heat from our summer months here on the coast. Don’t get me wrong, you can’t beat Texas summer days but when you spend 27-28 days a month on the water, it starts to wear on you. I will only be guiding a few trips during this time because I spend most of my
The simile says it all! R.H. Johnson of Brownwood TX at the age of 89 fished 3 days with me last month. Limits of trout and Reds ranging from 20 to 45” were caught throughout the days we spent on the water. Here is on of the reds being released by Bart Johnson. Photos by Steve Schultz Outdoors.
time guiding deer hunts in the off-season. It’s really a great month to fish because the bays don’t get as much pressure on them and you can really key in on some of the more popular areas. Shrimp is the main diet of reds and trout during the winter months and lures can be very effective also. Both of these bait choices can be executed by drifting in the boat or wading. Tides have been really high and most likely will stay above normal until we start getting regular cold fronts mov-
ing thru every week to 10 days. Higher tides means you have to get shallower than normal. I like depths in the 2-4 ft range with some type of structure whether it be rock, shell or sand pockets. Working these areas either from the boat or wading can be very effective, especially if there is a presence of bait activity in the water. Soft plastics and live shrimp under a popping cork have been producing the numbers while top water lures have been yielding some of the bigger
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
Ken Milam’s Fishing Line Since 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country, You can hear Ken on the radio as follows: The Great Outdoors: 5-8 am Saturday on 1300, The Zone, Austin and The Great Outdoors: 5-7 am Saturday on 1200 WOAI San Antonio The Sunday Sportsman: 6-8 am Sunday on 1300, The Zone, Austin All on iHeart Radio
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If there's one thing a pandemic can do, it can make you appreciate the great outdoors
here is just nothing else that compares to being able to get yourself enough social distanced that the things you touch may have never been touched by another human hand and the air you breathe didn’t just come out of someone else! We are all slogging our way through this Covid 19 mess the best way we can, I guess. With the everchanging advice from experts and such, it is hard to know how to take it from day to day. When the pandemic and the politics and all the accompanying noise start to wear you down, I hope you can find a way to get outside and find you the time and space to just breathe and let that stuff just slip away for a bit. Its great if you live in the country or have a chance to go fishing or hunting, but even a little escape to a park for lunch or a sightseeing drive through the country, or just to look at holiday sights will help.
Things are going to be different this year for the holidays for sure. I know our family is already doing damage control by not even considering the usual big holiday gatherings, opting instead for quieter more intimate plans. That’s not gonna be easy where grandkids are concerned! The trend we have been seeing in our fishing trips and our cabin rentals is that we have been seeing more people rediscovering our local lakes and attractions. Extensive travel is something most people are still avoiding, so this just makes sense. We have seen family reunions with large gatherings from all over the country have to cancel and then people having more careful small scale gatherings where each family group has their own cabin, and they meet outside to visit and fish. Something like that might make the usual hunting camp gatherings a little safer too. Stratum Floors, Austin
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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continued Ken Milam
Fall sunrise fishing
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Another nice thing that seems to be happening is that people are not as happy to just stay inside as it gets cooler. They are ready to get outside! We have noticed the last several years that our wintertime fishermen hadn’t been as active. The fishing in winter is great for stripers and hybrids because they love the colder water. They have to chase bait and feed hard to be ready to spawn in the spring, which makes for good fishing trips if people just don’t get so caught up in the other fall and winter activities and forget to come. Fishing, especially for stripers and hybrids, is not just a shorts and flip-flops kind of affair! Watch the weather, bundle up and come on! We have more flexibility in the winter schedule in case a cold front gets in the way, and we can help you find the best times to get on the water. Another nice thing about winter fishing is that our fish migrate upstream during the colder months. This means they just get closer to our home dock, so the boat ride to catch up with them is a lot shorter! However you do it, I hope you can get a chance to get outside and let the fresh air and warm sunshine melt away your worries for a while. This too shall pass, even if it’s taking a while!
Ranch Life
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en Garner, has two jobs. His first, and most recent role, is as Vice President of Rental for Equipment Depot. His second is as overseer of his Throrndale ranch Diamond G, and all of the creatures great and small that live there. Garner grew up as a city boy but had grandparents were ranchers, and in high school he participated in FFA and worked at a large ranch. He fell in love with the lifestyle, and for the past seven years, Garner has enjoyed the pastoral beauty Diamond G offers. He especially enjoys tending to his registered longhorn cattle and has created an elite longhorn breeding program that involves longhorn artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization.
“I breed to the top genetics in the world. When I say we have the longest horned bull in the world, it’s in the Guinness World Records. They measure it tip to tip, and I believe the bull, named Cowboy Tuff Chex, is over 104 inches,” Garner says. Helping him keep track of his herd are a few Australian shepherd cow dogs – which he says are the smartest dogs he has ever been around – and his son Will, a Texas A&M sophomore who is not currently in class due to COVID. And when they aren’t working, the ranch offers hunting and two ponds’ worth of fishing to help Garner relax. –mjm Garner chills with two young heifers
IVF cow by the Guinness book of World Records for longest horns in the world and 85-in. mom
An hours-old double-bred calf with horn nubs; this calf is double bred
Bonita grazing
Cows in the morning fog
Cow dogs have a ruff job.
A senior cow dog watches over the herd
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
Pinpointing the need
Wired to compete
Randall Electric’s Zachary Shelton competed at the National Independent Electrical Contractors Wire-Off Competition held Oc. 21-22 in Cincinnati, OH. Among the tasks Shelton participated in was a written exam and conduit bending. –mjm
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Raw Fitness
appy, satisfied customers are the driving force behind Pinpoint Strategies. Company president Collins Johnson knows all too well you need to know what your clients want and that they deserve more than just a job or a skill set. Since the company’s inception as a commercial painting contractor in August of ’07, Collins has morphed the company into several divisions to accurately fit his customers’ needs – commercial drywall and paint, multi-family and facilities maintenance. Facilities Maintenance is the latest division added to company’s scope and is under the supervision of the Division Manager Josh Olson. Pinpoint Strategies, Facilities Josh Olson. Maintenance Division is a full-service construction provider primarily in the commercial market for existing facilities. “We do everything from the concrete to the roof when doing renovations to the inside of a building. We are a very well-rounded division that can handle something very small like putting in a new outlet, to full scale general contract-
ing remodeling where permits and inspections are involved,” says Olson. The Pinpoint Strategies Facilities Maintenance Division performs many scopes ranging from framing, drywall and paint, to electrical, lighting plumbing, HVAC, fire and life safety, doors and windows, concrete, acoustical ceilings, architectural millwork, custom cabinetry, casing, baseboards, crown molding – anything you can think of in a building. They install many different types of flooring that include, but are not limited to tile, carpet, LVT, VCT, rubber composite, engineered wood and laminate. “Our primary goal is to service the needs of our customers which range from property management groups, tenants and building owners. “There are general contractors out there that are willing to pick up the larger scopes of work but fall short when it comes to servicing the smaller needs of their clients. We specialize in the fact that no job is too small or too large for us to take on. It really helps us fill in the gaps when it comes to our clients which are mostly property management groups. We can service all our clients’ needs without all the overhead that a general contractor typically comes with. We are able to keep our prices down with our inhouse workforce, and most importantly, we have excellent communication throughout our projects,” says Olson. -cmw
Three for three!
Alan Butler’s repair and remodeling company is on a winning streak! Butler Contracting was honored with “The Best of Bastrop County” Award for the third year in a row. –mjm
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Excellence in construction
espite COVID, Associated Builders and Contractors Central Texas Chapter (ABC) held their 2020 Excellence in Construction and Safety Awards of Excellence with a twist. Instead of hosting a sit down dinner, ABC brought the awards to the winners of the Excellence in Construction and Safety Awards program. Eagle winners received the traditional eagle award accompanied with a cake and crate of goodies which included champagne. -cmw
Commercial: 360 Electrical Contractors – YMCA Camp Moody Natatorium
2020 Eagle Excellence in Construction Award winners: General Contractor $25 - $100 Million: Austin Commercial – Music Lane
Special Contractor Electrical, Industrial: Weifield Electrical – Ripple
Specialty Contractor Commercial Less than $10 Million: TD Industries – The Summit at Lantana General Contractor Special Projects $2 - $100 Million: Turner Construction Company – UT Hall of Fame 2020 Merit Award winners: Specialty Contractor Electrical,
Specialty Contractor Mechanical, Commercial: Capital Industries – North Austin Medical Center Medical Office Building Renovation
General Contractor Commercial $25 $100 Million: Rogers-O’Brien Construction – Plaza Saltillo General Contractor Institutional $5 $10 Million: Lott Brothers Construction – Divine Savior Academy
Specialty Contractor, Sitework/ Landscape/Hardscape: Choate USA – Elizabeth Apartments
General Contractor Institutional $10 $25 Million: Flintco – Montopolis Recreation & Community Center
Specialty Contractor Interiors: LASCO – Lake Belton High School
General Contractor Institutional $25 $100 Million: American Constructors – Bee Cave Middle School
General Contractor Commercial Less than $5 Million: White Construction – NI Café B General Contractor Commercial $5 $10 Million: DPR Construction – ABIA HMS Host General Contractor Commercial $10 $25 Million: White Construction – Davenport 360
General Contractor Special Projects $2 - $10 Million: Flynn Construction – UT Outdoor Training Pool General Contractor Renovation $10 $100 Million: UT Jester General Contractor - 2020 Chapter Safety Award of Excellence Gold winners: EBCO General Contractor LLC Lee Lewis Construction
General Contractor - 2020 Safety Award of Excellence Best of the Best winners: American Constructors DPR Construction Harvey Cleary Builders White Construction Subcontractor Contractor - 2020 Chapter Safety Award of Excellence Gold winners: 3G Drywall Baker Drywall Austin LTD. BCS Concrete Intertech Flooring Subcontractor Contractor - 2020 Safety Award of Excellence Best of the Best winners: Beckett Electrical FL Crane & Sons Lasco Slater Painting Company
Specialty Contractor Interiors: Greater Metroplex Interiors
General Contractor Institutional $10 - $25 Million: American Constructors – Temple ISD Maintenance Building
Association Calendar
Content submitted by Associations to Construction News ABC
NAWIC
Associated Builders & Contractors
National Assn. of Women in Construction
Nov. 2: 2020 Annual Golf Tournament, Twin Creeks Country Club, 3201 Twin Creeks Club Dr., 8am Registration, 10am Shotgun Start, 3pm Awards & Dinner. SOLD OUT. Nov. 10: Legislative Update, Post 2020 Election Update & Impact on the Texas Legislative Session, JW Marriott, 110 E. 2nd St., 7:30-9am. For more info, contact Jodi Bunyard at 512-719-5263 or email jbunyard@abccentraltexas.org ACEA
Greater Austin Contractors & Engineers Assn.
General Contractor Institutional $25 - $100 Million: White Construction – Tom Green County Detention Facility; 2020 Free Enterprise Award Recipient: White Construction – SHI International Corp, Garza Ranch
Nov. 12: Membership Luncheon, Norris Conference Center, 2525 Anderson Ln., 11:30am. For more info, go to www. aceatx.com or call 512-893-7067. ASCE
American Society of Civil Engineers
Nov. 4-6: CECON 2020 Virtual, Texas Civil Engineering Conference. For more info, visit www.TexasCECON.org or call Jenni Peters at 512-910-2272 CTSA
Central Texas Subcontractors Assn.
Nov. 10: PPP Loan & 2020 Tax Update, via Zoom, 10-11am. For more info, contact Wendy Lambert at 512-255-6373 DACA
Drywall Acoustical Contractors Assn.
Nov. 12: Evening Banquet & Casino. For info, email Eddie McCormick at eddie@ dacadfw.org
Nov. 10: Lunch & Learn Webinar & Austin Zoom Meeting, 11am-1pm. For more info, contact Danielle Dlugosh at ddlugosh@ henselphelps.com RCAT
Roofing Contractors Assn. of Texas
Nov. 5: Annual Business Meeting via Zoom, 9-10am. For more info, 512-2517690 or go to www.roofingcontractorstexas.com TSA
Texas Society of Architects
Nov. 5: TxA Annual General Business Meeting, 11:30am. For more info call 512478-7386 or go to www.texasarchitects. org. TSPE
Texas Society of Professional Engineers Travis Chapter
Nov. 4: TSPE Travis Online Luncheon, Zoom Webinar, 12-1pm. For more info, go to www.tspe-travis.org
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
Submitted to Construction News
Round-Up
Summit Electric Supply is pleased to announce two new additions to the Summit family. Cedric Ravet effecJohn Peterson effectively Aug. 24, joined tively Aug. 14, joined Summit Electric SupSummit Electric Supply as Vice President ply as Vice President of Supply Chain. Ravet of Industrial Sales. Pewill assume responsiterson will report to bility for supply chain and work closely with including operations, Senior Vice President logistics, procurement, of Sales, Robert Case, inventory management and supplier re- in growing the company’s industrial busilations. He will manage the company’s ness throughout the Gulf Coast. -cmw product offering and will manage the company’s inventory flow. -cmw Pfluger Architects Inc. is pleased to announce: Heather A. Rule, AIA, Heidi Collins, AIA, a LEED AP BD+C, a projproject architect, has ect architect, has been been promoted to aspromoted to associate sociate. Collins reand brings more than a ceived her Bachelor’s decade of experience in Environmental Dein phasing, research, sign from Miami Uniand international projversity and has worked ect design. Rule graduwith Pfluger for over ated from the University of Michigan with a ten years. Her broad experience includes B.S. in Architecture and received her Master education, commercial, historic preserof Architecture with a Latin American Ar- vation, residential, and renovation projchitecture Certificate from The University ects. -cmw of Texas at Austin. -cwm Derek Pennant-Jones, MBA, has been promoted to Senior Associate. As Pfluger’s controller, he has over 20-years of experience in accounting and finance. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA with a focus in Business from Indiana University. He is an exceptional strategic financial planner. -cmw
Structure Tone Southwest is excited to announce construction expert Ray McCoy has joined the Structure Tone family as the new Regional Vice President. McCoy will oversee the Austin office’s strategic growth, business development, client relations and overall operations. He holds an undergraduate degree in construction management from Texas State University. -cmw
What are you thankful for and why?
I’m thankful for my life. I was diagnosed with leukemia when I was 28 years old and given very little chance for survival. I had a very rare form of leukemia that was very aggressive and had to have a bone marrow transplant. None of my family matched my DNA so we had to go back to my ancestry. We found a relative in my grandparent’s hometown in Germany that was a match and was able to have the transplant eight years ago. Josh Olson, Pinpoint Strategies Inc. First of all, we’re thankful that we have such a great demographic; they’re great customers. We’re thankful we are an essential business, especially this year. We’re thankful that all of our people have stayed healthy. We haven’t had any people who had COVID this year, so we’re thankful for that. We’re just thankful for the opportunity to earn
people’s business and earn people’s trust. It’s been an unusual year, but with all of the people who have had problems and who have been out of jobs, with waiters and restaurants going under, I’m so thankful we’re able to continue to run our business and do what we need to do. Don Grenier, Cedar Park Overhead Doors Friends and family. Ben Garner, Equipment Depot I’m thankful for opportunity, favor, relationship with Christ, another shot at forgiveness, and for God putting people in my path, because this isn’t a one-man show. Ky Benford, KBG Welding I’m thankful for health and my family’s health right now. We are just so blessed. Danea Dickey, Art + Artisans
continued from Page 1 — San Felipe Stone pany that was actually purchased this year at the beginning of the pandemic, which was nerve wracking, Espinoza says with a chuckle. “We had a down payment and closed March 28. That was scary but, thank God, I think this pandemic, if anything, really challenged us but helped us do business differently. The way that we work here at the office is different. We have worked on other ways to communicate effectively, keeping our team safe and well-informed.” Espinoza’s work takes him all the way from tricking out a local friend’s office in luxurious stone, to designing and building the first all-stone lighthouse in the last 200 years (and Texas’ tallest at 141 ft.) In Corpus Christi. Currently, he is in talks to construct a 100% stone house for a former football player in Georgia. “I enjoy the creativity this allows me,” he says. “Many people have forgotten about the beauty, creativity, culture, and history of building with stone. Some of the U.S.’s oldest buildings and really anywhere in the world are 100% stone; that just gives me a different feeling
working with it. It has a value that people put on it. Another thing I enjoy is that buyers are going more to the green side, and what could be more green or local than stone?” Espinoza credits the more than 200 employees and 200-plus subcontractors – including many family and friends – that help him in his work. He feels especially blessed to have his wife Claudett help manage his offices and support his dreams. “I love working beside everybody. I’m blessed with the team we have. Claudett is obviously a big help and a big part of this as well. They say behind every successful man is a great woman, but she’s by my side, not behind me.” Espinoza is already eyeing more business opportunities. He plans to open more design centers in California, Florida, Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Colorado Springs (he currently has two in Houston). Subcontractor Lonestar Masonry is in Jarell. Supplier Imperial Products Supply is in Liberty Hill. San Felipe Stone is a landscaping, stone, clay and concrete refractory in Liberty Hill. – mjm
continued from Page 1 — Art + Artisans project.” Founder and President Jennifer Brener Seay was selling art when she began meeting other artists. As her database of local talent grew, the UT graduate was inspired to establish Art + Artisans in 2012 out of her home office with her mother. Today, she and her staff of seven in Austin, Houston and Dallas help clients differentiate their spaces from their competitors’ and aid them in uniquely expressing their brands. In the first phase of the three-phase process, Art + Artisan learns about the client, and determines budget and art locations. During the second phase, a wide variety of art options is presented to the stakeholders and the selections are narrowed down and approved. In the final phase, designs are commissioned and framed, the site and vendor are coordinated and the art is delivered and installed under the team’s careful supervision. It is the oftentimes the final stop on a long construction journey and together, the Art + Artisan team makes sure that every construction project
they are involved in is a true work of art. Art + Artisans is in Austin. –mjm
Texas State University’s Angelina Hall is one of Art + Artisan’s many local projects.
continued from Page 1 — McCar Trucking Austin. On Sunday nights, he would sit on his bed in his childhood home and create invoices to be mailed on Monday. As he began turning a profit, he bought slightly better trucks, and soon realized that if he wanted to beat the competition, he needed to invest in the best late-model equipment possible rather than sinking money into vehicle repair. One million dollars’ worth of trucks later, he was on his way to becoming one of the largest aggregate haulers in Austin at 32 years old. But Nunez continued to expand his dream. Even though he was not an engineer, Nunez developed a lighter weight truck that carries more payload and is being replicated in the industry. Eighteen months ago, in response to rising quarry prices, he decided to open his own quarry. He attended a quarry convention in Las Vegas, took every seminar he could, and
at the convention’s end made a deal with a top equipment company: If he bought all of his equipment from them, they would stay a few weeks and teach him to use it. They agreed, and several million dollars-worth of equipment later, Nunez was learning how to mine and crush rock at his Georgetown quarry. Now, with a combined 50 quality employees working at his trucking company and quarry and a new company brand, Nunez is grateful to have had the time to reassess and looks forward to the future. “As terrible as the pandemic has been, for McCar there really was a silver lining, which is it forced us to take a minute and slow down,” Farris says. “We took that time and we made the absolute best of it.” McCar Trucking in Hutto delivers aggregates to job sites. The McCar Materials quarry is in Georgetown. –mjm
Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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wo Austin companies teamed up to fight COVID-19 through construction. Panache Development & Construction and Texas Air Systems recently designed a system that uses ozone to disinfect buildings. Their idea took root last December as COVID-19 began trending in the news. Based on the Center for Disease Control (CDC)’s statements regarding the coronavirus’ airborne method of transmission, the two companies noted what other businesses were doing to contain the potential viral spread. They soon assembled their own team of engineers to explore air disinfection and purification options. Although UV lights and disinfecting agents were options, they proved costly or potentially harmful. The team concluded that disinfection and purification must work concurrently, and that any solution they designed must utilize existing mechanical systems to serve an entire space. Implementation of the new system also had to require little manpower and be cost-effective. Fortunately, the team of product development specialists and engineers specialized in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling and simulation. They also had several patents to their credit and had worked on the latest generation of Boeing’s widebody plane air circulation systems. Collaborating with the CDC, the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing, they designed a system to limit airborne contaminant transmission throughout aircraft cabins during the SARS pandemic. Now, they were combating viral spread in commercial buildings. By February, the team decided that Ozone (or “activated oxygen”) was an effective way to fight airborne viruses. Ozone is the second most powerful
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Construction vs. COVID disinfection system. A demonstration of the system was hosted Sep. 23 at Panache’s Austin office. Panache president Adam Zarafshai welcomed representatives from Corgan Architects, GSC Architects, KGA Design, Mint Engineering and Trane Technologies. Austin property management company Tech 3443 is already a believer: the company is currently having the system, which costs roughly $40,000 for a 20,000sf space, installed during construction of its new building. Panache Construction is a design, development, construction and project management firm. Texas Air Systems offers equipment sales, service support and parts solutions. –mjm Construction industry guests were welcomed to a demonstration of the Ozone Disinfection and Purification System at Panache Development & Construction.
sterilant in the world and can be used to destroy bacteria, viruses and odors. Build-ing owners could implement it quickly at low cost and with little labor. It was also a long-term solution, as Ozone can treat a variety of pathogens and be implemented in building design. Texas Air Industries engineered and designed the Ozone Disinfection and Purification System (DPS)’s hardware. The automated space disinfection system accommodates different types of pre-existing and new HVAC systems and disinfects small residential spaces to large commercial spaces daily. Despite the possibility of its broad applications, purchasing and installing the system is complex: An engineering study of any current HVAC system must be conducted and approved prior to purchase. After installation, the company must annually maintain the
Halff helpers all in
Sofia Carrillo, Aleesha Toteja, Cruz Lopez and RJ Endsley in Halff Associates Inc.’s Austin office recently represented the company’s Halff Community Initiative. These do-gooders produced food boxes at a Central Texas Food Bank event. –mjm
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Thank you for your service
Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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eterans Day is Nov. 11. Don’t forget to thank your fellow colleagues for their service to our country and our freedom. We, as a nation, are nothing without you. Thank you! -cmw Holt CAT Top Row ➤ L-R: Tony McGuire, Machine Application Specialist - U.S. Air Force; Brandon Gaston, Service Supervisor - U.S. Army; Allan O’Neil, Service Technician - U.S. Army; Bottom Row L-R: Adam Gonzales, Field Service Supervisor - U.S. Navy; Shantia Shaver, Parts Manager - U.S. Army; Richard Shaver, Service Technician – U.S. Marine Corps & U.S. Army; Jason Dennis, Parts Exchange Coordinator – U.S. Air Force; Tim Rogers, Service Technician – U.S. Army; Darwin Bush, Service Technician – U.S. Marine Corps; Benjamin Hryb, Technician – U.S. Army; Joe Haefner, Technician – U.S. Army; Richard Lawlor, Service Manager – U.S. Army. Not pictured: Sherman Frazier, Field Service Technician – U.S. Marine Corps and Jeff Howell, Sales Representative, U.S. Army. Photo courtesy of Robert Anderson.
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Structura
Wurzel Builders Ltd. Superintendent John Mitchell, SFC U. S. Army
Joeris General Contractors L-R: Eric Lyon; Jeff Fuller; John Blake, U.S. Air Force and Wilbur Watson, U.S. Army.
Equipment Depot - Operations Manager David Stires, Captain U.S. Army
Kristian Lopez, Pinpoint Strategies Inc. Commercial Contract Division Manager, U.S. Marine Corps
Custom Trench Inc. L-R: Tim Oney, U.S. Army; Miguel Delgado, U.S. Army and Isaiah Picker, U.S. Army
Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
Supplying Liberty Hill
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Industry FOLKS Ed Coffey Production Manager Dovetail Custom Wood & Metal Del Valle, TX
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On Sep. 30, McCoy’s Building Supply broke ground on a new store located at 2505 RM 1869 in Liberty Hill. Embree Group serves as general contractor on the project, slated to take 32 weeks. The store’s design will include spacious interior retail space, a paved lumberyard and a large drive-through lumber storage area. –mjm
Driven employees
d Coffey has been in the construction industry from nearly four decades; he began his career in woodworking in 1984. “I got involved in construction through a work program at high school,” Coffey, who was born in Rantoul, IL and raised in Austin and El Paso, explains. “I then got hired on with a crew that built apartments and I loved that I was involved with building places to stay and securing a future for people. Then I got involved specifically in cabinetry.” Ed has since been managing the production of premium millwork manufacturing companies throughout Texas. Coffey has been with architectural fabrication company Dovetail Custom Wood & Metal since 2015 as the Production Manager. The company specializes in corporate, education, hospitality, restaurant, and medical projects. During the last five years, Ed has been instrumental in growing the company from 20 employees to currently over 100. He also co-designed and built a new state-of-the-art 60,000sf architectural manufacturing facility and assisted in expanding into the metal and stone divisions. Coffey enjoys helping others realize their visions for their unique designs, but one stage of the process excites him the most. “I enjoy the end product!” Coffey
says. “It is just papers, emails, sheets and sticks until it comes together onsite. What we produce is so custom it is like art, a masterpiece each time. I also enjoy working with the different architects and designers seeing what new visions they want to come to life and making that happen.” Coffey’s dedication to his craft has earned him the respect of his fellow team members and that of his company Founder and President Isaac Alexander. “Ed has been Dovetail’s solid rock over the last five years by building a foundation of leadership, quality, and safety,” Alexander says. “He is the key to our daily success in making our company a safe and fun environment, all the while producing premium custom wood, metal, and stone products. I wouldn’t be where I am today without him! When Coffey isn’t wowing others with his skills on the shop floor, he enjoys passing the time playing disc golf with his wife Laura. – mjm
Juan Ramos, Lauren Concrete Inc.’s Concrete Mixer Operator in Round Rock, is one of the many drivers the company recognized during October’s “Mixer Driver Appreciation Week.” The company celebrated the drivers' positivity, politeness and “can-do” attitude that they bring to their work. –mjm
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Second chances
y Benford’s initial welding experience was in a Round Rock high school shop class, followed by welding work for a friend’s dad. Despite having the opportunity lined up, he says he began looking for “the golden ticket.” “My mentality was making fast money,” he remembers. “I ended up getting out of welding; it just veered off and I had a lot of troubled years.” He eventually formed a relationship with God and a new mindset. “I wasn’t going back to that lifestyle or what got me there,” he says. “I was content to do what it took; I had a plan to do right, to live right and not return back to my vomit, as the Bible says. But I didn’t have an actual plan, because I didn’t have a trade or a career. Even though I had exposure to welding, it Welding offered KBG’s Ky Benford a fresh start wasn’t even on my radar because it had and a way to help others. been a long time.” Fortunately, a friend introduced Benford to a sheet metal shop owner who In 2018, Benford started his own busioffered second chances and saw his ness, KBG Welding. Since then, he has potential. grown the business to seven employees “The owner took me through his and recently moved into a larger shop. He whole shop and asked me what I wanted to stays active in ministry, teaches other do,” Benford says. “I asked what his hardest welders through his YouTube channel, and spot to fill was, and he said, ‘Welder.’ I pays forward the grace he was shown. wasn’t a certified welder, but I could weld. “When we’re hiring, and someone Almost immediately, he allowed me to comes through the door looking for a practice during lunch, breaks, whenever I second chance, I’m able to give it to them. I could. He offered to pay for my schooling can look, maybe more than a lot of people, two weeks into the job, so I worked during without a lot of judgment, and see a the day and had school at night. That person. That’s satisfaction: giving back to accelerated the learning curve. A couple of those that gave to me.” months in, he put me in a welding booth; I KBG Welding is in Austin and Pflugerville. began doing smaller stuff and it evolved.” –mjm
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In memoriam…
AN Engineering mourns the passing of George Oswald PE, 74, who passed away Oct. 14 surrounded by family in Austin. In his role of 24 years with the Watershed Engineering Division for the City of Austin, he oversaw its growth following the 1981 Memorial Day floods, making the division a nationally recognized leader in floodplain management. Oswald was born in Little Rock, AR on Dec. 13, 1945 and was preceded in death by his parents. He received degrees from Christian Brothers College and the University of Tennessee. Oswald is survived by Kim Oswald, his wife of 37 years, sons Justin Oswald and Nicholas Oswald, daughters Devon Oswald and Carlyn Oswald, siblings and extended family. A virtual memorial service was held by Westlake United Methodist
George Oswald PE
Church on Oct. 27. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Mobile Loaves and Fishes are requested. –mjm
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Ann Richards School of Young Women Leaders project
Polished concrete, Ann Richards School of Young Women Leaders’ main lobby entrance.
Polished concrete at Ann Richards School of Young Women Leaders
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the polish concrete scope to perfection. Modern Day Concrete provides superior quality service to Austin’s commercial construction market offering the best value on decorative and functional concrete flooring systems. Emphasis is given to continuous and extensive training to all our staff, obtaining top certifications in the industry, and excelling through productive and creative corporate values. “It is our commitment to be ‘The Concrete Floor Experts,’ delivering competitive prices and high-quality concrete flooring installations, and at the same time enhancing the care of a green environment,” says Director of Sales & Marketing William Gutierrez. The result they strive for is to achieve complete satisfaction for their staff, their clientele, and the communities in which they live. “Modern Day Concrete’s expertise used on one scope of for such a huge project is us understanding that it is a team effort that we take serious on every jobsite. We pride ourselves in working with Austin ISD and we are grateful to Rogers-Obrien Construction who gave us the opportunity to be a part of the project,” adds Gutierrez. -cmw Modern Day Concrete Austin, TX
odern Day Concrete has been blessed to be selected by Rogers-O’Brien Construction (RO) as a trade partner to install the polished concrete flooring throughout the new Austin ISD Ann Richards School of Young Women Leaders project. This project represents their first venture alongside RO and has been filled with close team collaboration and a high level of excitement. Modern Day Concrete installed 60,000sf of polished concrete, cream finish with a medium gloss reflective shine. “Our team at Modern Day Concrete pride’s ourselves on a cooperative attitude and passionate approach to our work. We’d like to give a big shout out to RO’s Project Manager Susan Stewart and Superintendent Mitch Kennedy for creating a jobsite environment focused on teamwork with an emphasis on high work standards. The entire RO team has been wonderful to work with. Achieving total quality management is a standard that Modern Concrete is continuously striving toward, day-in and day-out. “This project is a center piece for our new Austin office. Cristobal Carstens, president of Modern Day Concrete’s Austin branch has performed the installation of
Far West Retail Center
An Austin retail center built in the 1980s needed to remove traces of the former tenants’ signage.
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hen the retail center on Austin’s Far West Blvd. was being built in the 1980s, the owner (who was also an architect) insisted that the its coolcolored brick façade resemble Dallas’ Northpark Center’s. The building has held up well in the decades since, but like any structure it eventually needed occasional repairs, especially as tenants moved out and removed their signage. Nick’s Bricks Masonry & Stone has expertly performed these repairs as needed, and recently refreshed two storefronts at the retail center. “When tenants put signs up, I know contractors do what they need to do but it does do some damage to the brick,” company owner Nick Page says. “Signs and logos are all different configurations, so their attachment needs vary; in most cases, sign companies drill anchor holes into the brick. It may stay for 10 years but when they take the sign off, it’s not just a
cosmetic thing. The next tenant’s sign will probably not cover up a lot of that damage, so it’s a ghost that still remains. When we attack whatever they’ve left us, it could be a mixture of both cleaning and removing brick, and that’s what we did in this case.” First, the area was washed down with a restoration cleaner (Page exclusively uses PROSOCO® products). This attacks the dirt and mildew but not the mortar, and reveals which bricks are in most need of removal. Then, with the help of a DeWalt 9-in. battery-operated wet saw, the carefully chosen bricks were cut out in a one-day process. The reason only some bricks were chosen for removal was due to the availability of the 1980s brick, which is not in circulation anymore. “We were lucky enough in this case that, last year, we have been able to find the brick that matches that building,” Page says. “We reached out to Acme Brick, and they happened to have 2500 of those bricks and that was all they had. We bought
The anchors from the former signage necessitated replacing some of the decades-old brick.
Because the owner only had a limited supply of matching brick, only certain bricks were replaced.
those last year just for small maintenance needs that might arise. We have them at the building owner’s office for just such a need. For this project, we only needed about 500 bricks of those we had retained.” Had brick matching not been possible, Page would have considered masonry color staining, which he has performed for years. “In the right conditions, which I evaluate before any job is done, I hopefully can use a product, Masonry Cosmetics, which is a commercial watercolor that I can apply to the brick after some testing and trying out different colors,” Page explains. “This staining has actually helped me in cases where the brick couldn’t be matched.” The next step was ensuring the mortar color did not give away that the area had been repaired. “We already had a feel for matching the mortar because we had already worked on that shopping center before,” Page says.
With the brick replaced, future tenants can now visualize their own signs on the storefronts. “My goal is that a finished repair does not look like a repair,” Page says. “I’m really happy with the way it turned out, mainly because the owner is happy with the way it turned out. We buttoned it up and now it’s ready for another sign to cover up our work. It helps sell the building and it helps the next tenant look at how the building is maintained because that is what they’re paying for. If a retail center is in disrepair and all property is gauged by how it looks and is maintained, this is one of those situations in which I think we play a part and in helping the next tenant be attracted to that space.” Nick’s Bricks Masonry & Stone is in Liberty Hill, TX and serves Williamson and Travis counties. –mjm Nick’s Bricks Masonry & Stone Austin, TX
Matching brick and mortar and a skillful application results in a fresh surface for new tenants to display their signage.
Austin Construction News • NOV 2020
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Ace Hardwood Flooring Showroom can have an impact on both aesthetics and performance. That being said, we took into consideration the amount of traffic we would be getting and based our decision off of that.” In the end, they decided to go in a unique direction, with stunning results. “ACE prides itself on the materials we use on all of our residential and commercial projects,” Castaneda says. “For this specific project, we used Character Grade White Oak with a mix of grey and white commercial sealers on individual pieces that consisted of 2ft. to 10ft. boards that
Ace Hardwood Flooring moved to a new location and had the challenging task of installing floors in the new space that would represent the company well.
Character Grade White Oak was used installed with grey and white commercial sealers on individual pieces.
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fter many years of being at its North Lamar location, Ace Hardwood Flooring decided that it was time to be closer to its clientele for their convenience and recently moved its showroom and offices to a new location in West Lake Hills. What once was a restaurant on a hill was converted into a one-of-a-kind, 2500sf showroom that would not only fit more than 200 samples, but also properly showcase them and provide a comfortable workspace layout for employees. Understandably, a main challenge of the project was deciding what flooring to use. “The overall pressure of showcasing our own services in our showroom was a challenge,” project manager Manny Castaneda says. “Which wood do we want to represent our work best? Not only did we have to do an excellent job but we also had to make sure our floors served as a display for potential clients. “One can only imagine that having so many samples would make it extremely difficult to narrow to just one option,” he adds. “Not all hardwood flooring is created equal, and selecting a product isn’t simply a matter of choosing a preferred color. A range of other factors
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The floor enhances but does not distract from the more than 200 samples in the showroom.
were glued to the floor with Bostic Green Force Waterproof Urethane Mastic. “Mixed hardwood flooring blends together different species of wood, as well as woods that have a lot of grain, pattern, and movement on their own,” Castaneda continues. “The result is a floor with a lot of character, depth, beauty and interest. We cleverly mixed these to show off our light and dark-colored wood options. “The final results turned out even more amazing than we initially thought,” he says. “Since we used a mixture of different woods, the showroom floor has a truly unique touch to it. Mixing wood material is not something clients often take into consideration when choosing a floor. Customers often ask what specific line we used or which designer suggested the idea and are amazed to find out it is a custom milled piece we created ourselves. Come see them for yourself!” Ace Hardwood Flooring is a family-owned flooring manufacturer, distributor and installer in Austin. – mjm Ace Hardwood Flooring Austin, TX
Customers often ask about the showroom flooring and are surprised to learn it is a custom milled piece.
Corporate Commerical Space, Congress Ave.
wo floors of a Congress Ave. corporate commercial space recently underwent a complete gutting, and was in need of glass office fronts, doors and hardware to partition the space. Workplace Solutions, a provider of workspace products and services, was brought in to transform a vast space into an eye-catching office.
Workplace Solutions installed glass office
and hardware in two stories of fronts, adoors corporate commercial space.
“The client approached us about doing all of their office fronts on two levels, a total of approximately 1400 linear feet of product,” Field Project Manager Frank Bruno explains. “It’s a very wide, open, large concept, with private offices and conference rooms. It was a unique project because it doesn’t have standard rectangular offices; a lot of angles and fronts are used. An office would be in the middle of the room, with glass all of the way around. It was very aesthetically pleasing to look at – just really sharp, cool looking lines. It’s a unique-looking space.”
“It has interesting transitions between surfaces – carpet vs. polished concrete, or open ceiling vs. grid ceiling inside their offices,” Vice President Jim Ling, who assisted Bruno on the project, adds. “We were asked to handle the details of how that happened in regard to how it interfaced with our walls.” For the project, the team relied on glass office-front system Tek The vast space is now compartmentalized by the glass fronts. Vue from manufacturer Teknion, whose went with us because we have phenoline Workplace Solutions exclusively uses. “They have four different types of wall menal STC ratings, so anything with sound, fronts,” Bruno says. “Tek Vue is a fairly new we’re pretty comparable to sheetrock to a product for Teknion. It’s very sleek and certain degree. Obviously, people want very thin; it’s only 1 3/8 in. wide. They also that in their conference rooms. “They’re able to get visual continuity through the space, keeping it open-looking space but still having acoustic privacy with this product,” Ling agrees. In addition to the challenge of trying to match the angles with the glass and with mitered cuts on trim pieces, the uneven floor presented a challenge as well. “With a lot of other demountable wall systems, you need a pretty level surface," Bruno explains. "With ours, we have adjustability to match the slope of the floor, which leads to tremendous cost savings; you don't have to float the floor if you're using our system. It has expansion and contraction built into the product itself, so we’re able to overcome some challenges, especially in Austin’s and Dallas’ older buildings Despite a tight deadline, the team was able where the floor tends to sag a little bit here to complete the project in 22 days.
and there. That definitely alleviates a challenge for the general contractor in floating the floor and leveling it out. “ This was the largest Teknion Tek Vue project completed in Texas to date. Despite the project’s size and tight 28-day deadline, the Workplace Solutions team completed the project in an impressive 22 days. “We had a follow up with the GC and they seemed very pleased,” Bruno says. “They looked forward to hopefully having us on a future project with their company. They really were impressed with what we were able to do and the challenges we overcame, especially with the floor not being level and getting that to them quick and under budget.” With locations in Austin, Dallas and Houston, Workplace Solutions offers workspace products and services. – mjm Workplace Solutions Austin, TX
The angles of the offices presented a challenge in matching the glass’ mitered ends.
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Austin Construction News • NOV 2020