John G. Johnson Co. Puts the Owner First with Hydronic Heat

As with any good story, difficulty along the way makes the end that much sweeter. Such is the case for the John G. Johnson Company at the Joseph & Florence Mandel Jewish Day School Renovation Project.

JGJ Head of Business Development Matt Large put us in touch with his PM Ian Schechterman after learning about hydronic heat at one of our "Lunch-and-Learn" events. Ian was working on a large repurposing project for which hydronic was a perfect fit. He presented the hydronic option to the owner, but they chose to settle for the slightly lower up-front cost of a traditional indirect fired system. Continue reading →

While pouring grout may be simple in light applications, your method can have a massive impact on larger projects.

When your grout is what secures bridge columns or keeps a compressor in place errors can be catastrophic. Your method truly matters if you want to avoid costly and dangerous mistakes. Nothing teaches like experience, but these general guidelines are a great starting point for putting work in place properly. In this article we are focusing on applications where the grout serves as an intermediary between concrete and the base plate of a large piece of equipment or support-beam/column. Continue reading →

How do you know when to use a cementitious or an epoxy grout?

The difference between cementitious and epoxy grouts is more than just personal preference or a price tag. While most articles on grout cover home or light commercial contexts, we will focus on industrial applications. In an industrial setting these products serve to fill a void between a concrete foundation and some other material, most often the base plate of some kind of heavy equipment or a support beam. Though of course there are finer details and exceptions to each of the points we will discuss below, the following will give you a broad understanding of the features of both types of grout. Continue reading →

Surface prep is deceptively simple.

The process itself is easy enough to understand, but where do you start? Choosing the right tools and methods is dependent on asking the right questions: Continue reading →

Estimating a grinding job sometimes feels like predicting the weather.

A lot of variables go into grinding concrete, making it difficult to judge length and cost. It's not uncommon for a customer to contact us in dismay when a job takes longer or is more expensive than they expected. These disappointments and delays, however, can be avoided with a better grasp on what goes into grinding. Continue reading →

The new year offers contractors a time to step back and re-evaluate their production schedules and project costs. Many projects are quickly approaching completion. Others are already behind even if the contractor doesn't realize it yet.

I've attended far too many meetings with contractors facing unexpected delays and cost overruns. We've all been there: we run into problems because our focus on short-term savings made us ignore long-term value. This happens very often with temporary heat. Continue reading →

Should you pump or hand-mix self-leveling underlayments?

While pumping underlayment can be extremely useful, there are situations when the high output of pumping isn't the best solution. Alternatively, hand-mixing requires more man power and takes significantly more time. Depending on factors like volume, amount of open space, and size of workforce, either method could be more productive. So how do you determine when to pump and when to hand-mix? Continue reading →

In order to keep building in the Mid-West year-round you need some type of temporary construction heating.

We've already discussed the drawbacks to direct and indirect-fired temporary construction heating: high fuel cost, moisture and fume production, and uneven heat distribution.  The trouble is that, even if you can overcome these issues, traditional methods still waste valuable time and money just fighting ambient conditions. A common quote for open-flame heat, for example, sets a 10°-15° temperature rise as it's goal. This brings us to the important distinction between raising temperature and maintaining temperature. Continue reading →

In construction, speed is everything, particularly in winter. The problem with cold weather is that you can't always use the same products that you use in warm weather.

Continue reading →

The ability to shift gears and adapt may be the most important character trait for a general contractor today.

When Justin Leonard of Beaver Constructors contacted us back in August for a project he knew would need temporary heat.  Already familiar with hydronic heat, he knew he couldn't settle for just any climate control system for this project. Continue reading →