« Manning Building Supplies Home

Press  - don’t forget video - qw-sup_ch_25_report_2

http://staugustine.com/stories/072209/news_1772332.shtml

A new method for new homes

'Quick wall' concrete product enables house exterior to be built in less than 18 man-hours

ANTHONY DeMATTEO
Special to The Record
Published Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The only new home under construction in St. Augustine is being built differently from those before it.
The exterior shell of a three-story house in Pelican Reef that started from scratch Monday morning was nearly complete Tuesday afternoon, thanks to a technique from Manning Building Supplies.
Manning, whose corporate headquarters are in Jacksonville, is using its "quick wall" product in working on the $1 million-plus home for its builder, John Valdes and Associates.
Quick wall concrete panels are manufactured at Manning's Lakeland plant and trucked to home sites, where they are erected in a fraction of the time it takes to construct the shell of a typical concrete block home.
"The way it looks, by the time it's said and done, we'll be looking at less than 18 man-hours," Manning representative Alan Chappell said of erecting the home's exterior shell.
A typical concrete block home's exterior shell might take a 12- to 14-man crew two weeks to erect, Valdes said.
A crew of five men worked on the Pelican Reef home Tuesday afternoon, when Chappell said he expected the shell to be finished.
Valdes said it's the first time he has used quick wall in building a house, but he doesn't expect it to be the last.
Among the benefits of a quick-wall home are solid, self-compacting concrete panels rated for 296 MPH winds, six hours of water penetration, and windows made with high impact glass that can withstand 140 MPH winds.
"We've been trying to get to a place where we say, 'You can stay in your home through a Category 3 hurricane, and we'll stay with you,'" Valdes said. "The last thing was getting it to still be cost efficient, and now it is. Hopefully this is the first of a lot of them we build."
Valdes said the Pelican Reef home should be ready in six-to-eight months for its owners to move in, about half the time construction would take on a concrete block home.
The Pelican Reef home also will include an insulated attic, without the ventilation space between attics and roofs many homes include.
"When it is blowing more than 100 MPH, the only thing that separates the attic (in many homes) from the rest of the house is a half inch of drywall," Valdes said. "If we are serious about hurricane standards, we need that not to be the case anymore."
Valdes said the Pelican Reef home will have its wood components treated with boric acid and "mildewcide" to prevent termite infestation and mildew. A metal roof will sustain winds of 120 MPH.
There is no dumpster at the Pelican Reef construction site. A few trash cans hold spent caulking tubes and a handful of Chappell's water bottles. "It's incredibly efficient," he said. "We make our own concrete. There is basically no waste."
A large blue and white crane with "Bruce Almighty" written on it lifted the concrete sections high over a neighbor's house, before setting them in place near the future front door.
"I think this is the first one we've done in St. Augustine," Chappell said. "We've done a few in Jacksonville, Ocala -- residential and commercial. This is the first three-story residential that we've ever done and it's working out beautifully."
Manning began manufacturing the quick-wall product eight years ago.
Cost is also a product benefit for the Pelican Reef home, Chappell said.
"Moneywise, over block, I think they save about $14,000," he said.
Chappell said Manning plans on using quick wall on many future St. Augustine projects.
"We are excited about hitting this area hard," he said. "We haven't seen storms (with high winds) in a while. But when they come through, it really gets on people's minds."
St. Johns County Commissioner Ken Bryan, who lives in the neighborhood, watched part of the home's speedy construction Tuesday afternoon.
"This is just the kind of thing we need to look at for the future," Bryan said. "This is the way. When you talk about the wind resistance and the water -- this should be the code."
Breakout:
Three story house in Pelican Reef only new home currently being built in St. Augustine.
Home is being built by local builder using "quick wall" a concrete panel product from an area building supply company that cuts construction time and increases hurricane ratings over concrete block homes.
Building supply company representative said the panels represent about a $14,000 cost benefit over block home.
External shell of house estimated to take two days and use 18 man hours. Builder says concrete block home would take about 2 weeks and many more man hours.
Quick-built concrete panels rated for 296 MPH winds and six hours of water penetration.
The Pelican Reef home's construction, from start to finish, is estimated between 6 to 8 months, about half that of a common concrete block home.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20070722/NEWS/707220305

Precast May Resist Wind's Blast

Concrete-Wall Homes Billed as Safer in Storms

PIERRE DuCHARME/The Ledger
Buy photo
The O'Donnell home on Lake Hartridge in north Winter Haven was constructed using the Quick Wall system of precast concrete built by Cook Construction in Winter Haven.

By Jeremy Maready
The Ledger
Published: Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 12:01 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, July 22, 2007 at 9:32 a.m.

WINTER HAVEN - Larry and Tammy O'Donnell learned building a house by traditional means was nearly impossible immediately following the 2004 hurricane season.
var enableForum = "false";  
THE O'DONNELL HOME: WINTER HAVEN
About 4,000 square feet

Typical electric bill: around $200 a month

Precast concrete paneling

For a typical 2,500-square-foot home it takes about 20 panels to build the walls of the home.

It takes about 28 days for the concrete to totally cure to 7,200 psi (pounds per square inch). But it takes only about 48 hours from its mold pouring to job site delivery.

Slabs weigh between 3,000 and 10,000 pounds each

The walls are rated to wind speeds of up to 140 miles per hour and can resist winds up to 200 mph, the company said. That rating exceeds state building codes of 110 mph for traditional homes.

The cost is about 10 percent more than a traditional block or wood frame home.

20

For a typical 2,500-square-foot home it takes about 20 panels to build the walls of the home.

28

It takes about 28 days for the concrete to totally cure to 7,200 psi (pounds per square inch). But it takes only about 48 hours from its mold pouring to job site delivery.

3,000-10,000

Slabs weigh between 3,000 and 10,000 pounds each

140

The walls are rated to wind speeds of up to 140 miles per hour and can resist winds up to 200 mph, the company said. That rating exceeds state building codes of 110 mph for traditional homes.

10

The cost is about 10 percent more than a traditional block or wood frame home.

Click to enlarge
Felix Santiago wires steel framework prior to pouring concrete at the Quick Wall plant, which is part of the Manning Building Supply facility in Lakeland.
Buy photo
PIERRE DuCHARME/The Ledger


Click to enlarge
Crane operator Rigoberto Mendoza pours a load of concrete into a form at the Quick Wall plant.
Buy photo
PIERRE DuCHARME/The Ledger


Click to enlarge
Worker Francisco Hernandez levels concrete poured at the Quick Wall plant.
Buy photo
PIERRE DuCHARME/The Ledger