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“Going it alone” didn’t have the same meaning for Charlie Meador Sr. that it does for

others who start their own businesses. That’s because Meador has had his family behind him – and with him – from the start. Charlie Sr., a 36-year veteran of the lath and plaster supply industry, owned a building supply company for 13 years, sold it in 2000 and continued to work for the new owner for eight additional years. However, when that business sold its stucco and mortar division to another company, Charlie Sr. and his youngest son, Blake (who also worked there) opt-ed to move on and start Texas Stucco Supply in Dallas in 2008.

The company quickly became a fam-ily affair: His wife Carol is company presi-dent, his oldest son, Charlie is a ware-house supervisor, and Blake serves as vice president. Although Charlie Sr. calls the decision to strike out on his own again a “very easy” one, it didn’t come without challenges. “When we started in ’08, it was a little bit tough because the economy had turned,” he explains. “But we’re very con-servative, we’ve always been very fo-cused on what we do and we’re very cus-tomer oriented. The first couple of years we didn’t struggle; we did fine and had five employees. Sales were decent and we survived.”

L-R: Benjamin Sanchez, Blake Meador, Charlie Meador Sr. and Charlie Meador Jr.

Everything is coming up BIG for BET-CO Scaffolds these days. The com-pany recently moved its Euless lo-

cation to a larger facility in Hurst, and it turns out that bigger is indeed better, ac-cording to Dallas/Fort Worth branch manager Kevin Rowland. “It’s a strategic move for us,” Row-land says of BETCO Scaffolds’ new loca-tion at 205 W. Hurst Blvd. “We were only on three acres in our old location and now we’re on seven acres with a larger storage facility that will enable us to grow our business and better serve our customers. We are anticipating increas-ing the sales force, as well as adding to our operational capabilities now we have the facility that really allows us to be able

to grow.” Rowland says client reaction has been very positive, and they aren’t the only ones happy to have BETCO Scaffolds in Hurst. “It’s something that everybody is ex-cited about,” he says. “The city of Hurst has been very accommodating and wel-coming of us moving here and will have a ribbon cutting for us. Construction and restoration work took a little bit longer than we expected but we are fully opera-tional now. We are planning to host an open house event in October or Novem-ber.” In addition to a new location, BETCO

The BETCO Scaffolds’ staff is ready for business in their new Hurst location.

From the beginning, the project was one step forward and six years back.When Tutor Electrical Service Inc.

owners Bobby and Diana Tutor bought a little over an acre at Mansfield’s 201 Wil-low Creek Court in 1998, the couple planned to build a much-needed spa-cious facility for their business. “The old space was a very small building; we had nine people working in nearly 1,300sf,” Diana explains. “We were very cramped. We had four people to a room; phone conversations overlapped with visitors trying to have a conversa-tion – we were like puppies in a box.” The first two steps – finding a gen-eral contractor and hiring an architect to design the building – were the easy parts. In addition to Tutor Electrical Ser-vice Inc., Bobby also owned a general contracting business, Tutor Develop-ment. As for the architect, the Tutors re-lied on Paul E. Canup with whom they

had worked on other projects. Canup, who designs a range of projects from banks to warehouses, had one directive from Bobby. “I told Paul that I wanted a nice build-ing, not a box,” Bobby remembers. “I wanted something professional, similar to a doctor’s office.” With the plans in good hands, Bobby and Diana focused on actually getting it built. The economy, however, kept get-ting in the way. “The year 2000 was a very good year, so we started the process [to build it] but then 9/11 happened and the economy cratered,” Diana says. “The year 2007 was another good year for us but then we had the recession of 2008. It seemed like ev-ery time we thought we were on mark to do it, something happened.” With the economy finally recovering in 2013, the Tutors sprang into action,

Bringing the new Tutor Electrical Service Inc. building to fruition was a 17-year process.

Dallas/Fort Worth Construction News • Sep 2015


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L-R: They have the power to please! Tony Paton, Allen Crawford, Lisa Thompson, Dave Beasley, Chance Cole and Ryan Kaufmann are on staff at equipment dealer

Ag-Power in McKinney, which is also the company’s corporate office. –mjm

How did Dallas’ construction sisterhood celebrate their 60th anniversary? An elegant dinner, an engaging speaker, and of course a few gifts! On Aug. 17, the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC)’s Dallas chapter dined

at the MCM Eleganté Hotel and heard “MENglish Gender Communication” founder Andrea Jones (pictured) address women’s and men’s workplace

communication styles. –mjm

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Anuj PatelPresident/CEO

AP EngineeringConsultants Inc.

Growing up, Anuj Patel was sur-rounded by family members de-termined to succeed despite im-

poverished circumstances. Aware of his advantages, it lit a fire in him to gain as much education as he could, move to America and pursue his dream of work-ing in construction. Determination must run in the fami-ly: Despite a few setbacks, Patel succeed-ed in realizing his dream with the estab-lishment of his own firm, AP Engineering Consultants Inc.

Were you interested in construction at an early age? Yes! I grew up in the city of Mumbai and in the State of Karnataka, India where my dad worked in the manganese ore mining industry as a director of opera-tions. I used to go with my dad to the mines and there were huge excavators, loaders and dump trucks. I would occa-sionally hop on them as a kid, hang out with the drivers and see where they were going. It was bumpy, a lot of dirt and a lot of mess! That’s what got me interested in the field of construction. India’s schools are greatly influenced by the British system, so in the beginning stages of my life until about 7th grade, I went to a Roman Catholic Convent school, and it was an English language school, like 95% of the schools in India. I completed my bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering in India in 1984 and in 1985, I came to the United States to pursue my Master’s degree in civil/structural engi-neering from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

What motivated you to come to the United States? I wanted to pursue my higher educa-tion. My extended family is a little bit un-usual. All of my uncles, aunts and my dad grew up in the 1940s and ‘50s, and in those days, India was still pretty back-wards under the British rule; we didn’t gain independence until 1947. Electricity was very scarce. My uncles, aunts and dad grew up studying on the bench un-der the corner streetlight. I was greatly influenced by them; they were so impov-

erished as they were growing up, and I saw what they became. Today in my family, we have 13 doc-tors across four continents – literally, ev-ery uncle and aunt, cousin and their spouses are all doctors – and we have six engineers, including myself. I was influ-enced to say, “I need to become some-body. If they could do it under a street-light, I can certainly do it under tradition-al electricity.” In India, your role models are your family members, similar to here, where someone teaches you along the way and guides you to a proper path. That was my upbringing, and then given the fact that I was hanging with my dad and going to his work, that’s what got me interested in engineering.

Where did you first settle in the U.S.? After I got my bachelor’s degree, I ended up going to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and completed my Master’s degree in civil/structural engi-neering. It was an 18-month program that I completed in 12 months. I then moved to Connecticut where my dad’s cousin lived.

I can only imagine the culture shock it must have been for you, moving from balmy India to the frigid Northeast United States. It was extreme! I come from a very tropical place in India – I totally was not prepared for Michigan or Connecticut. Over the years, I kind of grew used to the cold; I was in Connecticut for 18 years.

You stayed there a good length of time; did you start your own firm there after graduation? No, I worked for an engineering firm there. I got a job in two weeks. Fortunate-ly the employer thought I was a good kid and honest, and he sponsored me for a green card, which I got in 1989. Because of this, I felt a need to be loyal to him and reciprocate in kind, so I stayed there for 18 years until I came to Texas in August 2001; my wife was offered a job in Irving and they made her an offer she could not refuse.

You had married during your years in Connecticut then? When were you married? In 1989, I went back to India and got married to my wife, Bala, but she couldn’t come back with me right away because of the paperwork and no green card. Af-ter the honeymoon, I came back to the U.S. and in the meantime, I went back to India three times to see her.

Thank goodness for phones! Yes! But talking on a landline was pretty expensive back then, like $5 a min-ute, so we could only talk for 20 minutes at a time. She legally came to the U.S. af-ter 2½ years in 1992 and started looking for a job right away; her degree was in Science with a major was Chemistry, but her background was software and com-puters. She was working in Mumbai for a

shipping newspaper, but she was fluent in English and found a job in a depart-ment store in Connecticut.

And then, as you mentioned, she was offered a job in Irving. When she interviewed in Irving in August, they wanted her to move and start the position in two weeks. We had asked them to wait because she had an interview at another company in Texas on Sept. 11, 2001. In Connecticut, we lived 90 miles from Manhattan and she was going to fly at 10 o’clock that morning for the interview, but we had woken up to the news [of the attacks]. She made her decision to accept the first company’s of-fer by the end of the day.

Which meant that you had to leave your job, too. Yes. Also, in our culture, our parents live with us, so my mom and dad, who were both handicapped, lived with me. I had to deconstruct their entire medical support system and fly them, my wife and two kids here in October, right after 9/11 happened. It was a very hard time for this coun-try, and we faced a lot of challenges [be-cause of the color of our skin]. Someone that looked like me didn’t have a lot of job prospects. Some employers weren’t distinguishing who was Arabic and who was Indian; to some, we all looked the same.

So you experienced difficulty finding work in Texas? At first I got everyone settled in; I had to get the kids and my parents situated. We didn’t really know anybody in Dallas and were living in a rented home in Coppell. Stupid me, I was blaming my wife the whole time. Why did we end up here? We both had great jobs where we were. We were suffering through all of this by com-ing here. My former boss kept calling, ask-ing why I left! But then I realized if worse came to worst, we could always go back. Fortunately, I got a job six months later in March, but I literally had to start from the bottom up. People didn’t know me here and weren’t willing to give me a high position as a project manager. It pushed me back by 15 years [profession-ally] but I told myself that it was okay, once they found out about me and my back-ground, I could move up. It took me about nine months to get back to where I was. I worked at the company for nine months, which led me to work at DART. Once they knew me, they offered me a job to become a project manager and I stayed there for six years. When I left there in 2007, I opened my own company.

What motivated you to open your own company? I left on good terms, but it was be-cause I was getting stagnant and not moving up. I decided that I needed to do something, that I needed to carve my own cake! I was in my late 40s so I thought if I was going to do something, I had bet-ter do it then.

What do you enjoy about running your own firm? I enjoy helping people solve their problems. We do all kind of things: de-sign, program management and con-struction management. We love what we do!

What would you tell someone who wants to pursue a career in engineer-ing or start their own firm? Don’t worry about the money part. The money will follow. Build your reputa-tion first. In order to do that, you need to be some kind of an expert. You don’t have to be Superman, but at least you have to know every little thing and know how to resolve issues. I credit this all to my former boss in Connecticut, who made me do all kinds of different things. At the time, I asked why he was making me do them. He would tell me to calm down and just do them. Now I realize that, when I opened my business, I knew. I had that back-ground. He gave me that opportunity to do that. I would say to anyone wanted to start a firm to gain all of the necessary ex-perience before you branch out on your own because once you’re in a business, there will be very few people who really teach you and guide you. Keep your head high, be honest about what you do, don’t cut corners and certainly don’t worry about the money part because it will come eventually.

What is your life like outside of work? Growing up in India, I was a very out-doorsy kind of guy. My wife and I are very spiritual and part of a spiritual group in India and we help them set up outdoor events; whenever I go to India, I use my background in construction to help them. Last year, Bala and I celebrated our silver anniversary, and we went to Austra-lia with our two kids, Shaina and Rahul.

You are also the newest president of the Asian American Contractors As-sociation of Texas (AACATX). Please tell about your involvement with that. I joined the AACATX four years ago as a VP and gradually helped build it. Due to my relationship with several local pub-lic and private entities, I was able to get sponsorship support for the association and get the exposure that we needed. Today we work very closely with the Re-gional Hispanic Contractors Association, Black Contractors Association, Associat-ed General Contractors, North Texas Toll-way Authority, Texas Department of Transportation, DFW Airport, the City of Dallas, Dallas Independent School Dis-trict and other entities to help our grow-ing membership with potential business-es and grow capacity. Our mission is to increase the visibil-ity and reach of minority businesses by promoting and creating new avenues to expand business opportunities as well as help these businesses prosper and con-nect with each other. –mjm

Anuj Patel was inspired by his family’s struggles to succeed in America.


Transferring your construction business to family

Michael Kuchar, CPA, Shareholder of Construction GroupDoeren MayhewHouston, TX

If you’re among the baby boomers marching toward retirement, it’s critical you develop a plan to transition

out of your leadership role in your construction compa-ny. Succession planning in the construction industry should cover everything from naming a successor to choosing the right method for shifting ownership to that suc-cessor and perhaps other family members.

Find the Best Candidate The most important question ad-dressed in any succession plan is, who will lead the enterprise? If your construc-tion business is family owned, finding a successor can be difficult. Family mem-bers may be qualified but have no inter-est in taking the reins. Or they may be in-terested but lack experience. To deal with such challenges, take time now to develop future leaders. Iden-tify children or other key employees you believe hold leadership potential and ex-pose them to all aspects of running the business. Give them a well-defined path to find out what they need to do to be-come leaders of the business. And design appropriate fringe benefit and deferred compensation plans, as well as incentive pay, to help retain them until you step down.Make It a Family Affair It’s important that you encourage the entire family, whether or not they’re active in the business, to participate in planning and understand the financial and personal consequences of an unsuc-cessful succession. A common issue is how to equitably divide assets among heirs when only some of them will receive ownership in-terests in the business. If there are suffi-cient liquid assets, consider purchasing life insurance to provide for any children who won’t be involved in the business, giving ownership interests to only those who will be involved. Or, establish a fam-ily trust so the entire family shares the risks and benefits.Transfer Ownership The simplest way to transferring ownership of your construction compa-ny is to sell it to family members, if they want to buy it and can afford it. You can also transfer ownership by gifting interests over time, but there are potential gift tax liabilities associated with this approach, and you won’t gener-ate an income stream to carry you through retirement. A trust may be a better alternative for transferring ownership without creat-ing harsh tax obligations. One option is a

grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT), which will provide you with income for a term of years and then distribute the re-maining assets to your beneficiaries. The transfer of assets into the GRAT is a taxable gift, but the annuity you receive reduces the value of the gift. Interest rates also affect the value of the gift. Keep in mind that if you die before the end of the annuity period, the trust as-sets will be included in your estate and the tax advantages will be negated.Get Your Advisors Involved No matter whom you choose as your successor, get your construction CPA, lawyer, insurance advisor and a family business consultant involved to help as-sess your circumstances and create a suc-cession plan. Along with selecting a vehicle to transfer your assets, the plan should state to what extent you’ll stay involved with the company after you leave. If you stay too involved, you may inadvertently in-hibit your successors from succeeding. Your plan should create a manage-ment structure that will survive your de-parture and keep the business on sound financial footing while ensuring ade-quate liquidity to fund your retirement or a buyout. Include a buy-sell agreement in the succession plan. It allows you to re-strict transfers of ownership interests, and can help minimize income and es-tate taxes.Start Now While everyone talks about the need for a succession plan, too few actually fol-low through with developing one. It’s critical that you start the process at least several years before you plan to retire, and ideally a decade or more in advance of that target date.

Michael Kuchar, CPA, is a Shareholder and leader of Doeren Mayhew’s dedicated Con-struction Group in Houston. A top 100 U.S. firm, Doeren Mayhew’s CPAs and business advisors serve more than 500 suppliers and general and specialty contractors doing business domestically and abroad. For more information, visit www.doeren.com.

Non-owned automobiles on company businessMark Gaskamp, CSP, CRM, CIC, CPCU, ALCMManaging DirectorWortham LLC Austin, TX

Are you “financially safe” on the Texas roadways? Ac-cording to the Insurance Information Institute you

have better than a 1 in 10 chance of being involved in an accident with an uninsured motorist. And even if the

other party does have insurance, in Texas the current minimum liability limits are $30,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. This basic coverage is called 30/60/25. Is that enough to pay for your doctor bills, lost wages or your damaged vehicle?

Why is this a topic for a construction newsletter? Well, most construction op-erations have what is referred to in the insurance world as “non-owned” auto ex-posure, that is, individuals who are driv-ing their personal vehicles (i.e. not owned by the company) on company busi-ness. Any job superintendents, field staff, safety manager, etc… driving their own vehicle during the work day for business purposes other than the commute to and from work fall into this category. Should an individual be involved in an accident while in the scope of employ-ment, their personal auto coverage is pri-mary and the company’s insurance cov-erage is secondary. It is a good risk management prac-tice to not only require a certificate of in-surance for auto coverage from those driving on company business on a regu-lar basis, but require minimum limits of coverage, so the company’s insurance does not become financially responsible. 100/300/100 or a $300,000 combined single limit are the generally accepted standard for most organizations and commercial insurance carriers. Why should the limits be increased beyond the state minimums? Well, prob-ably half the vehicles on the road today cost more than $25,000, so if you hit one of those vehicles, the physical damage limit may not be enough to pay for the car. That means if you have state mini-mum limits and you cause an accident resulting in totaling a $75,000 Ford Rap-tor, the additional $50,000 comes out of your pocket. The same is true for a liabil-ity suit, which could far exceed the $30,000 minimum limit. The good news is the cost to increase

the limits is nominal. I had our personal lines staff provide an estimated premium change to increase limits from 30/60/25 to 50/100/50, the cost was about $50 per year. To increase up to 100/300/100, the cost was another $50. So for about $100 per year, you can get four times as much coverage. My experience has been that many drivers are not even aware of the risk or the minimal cost to increase their limits. This is an good topic of discussion with your drivers, to encourage them to in-crease their insurance limits from the state minimums to those outlined above, to not only benefit the organization by insulating your commercial auto policy, but as good “personal risk manage-ment” for those individuals driving on our busy Texas roadways.

Mark Gaskamp is a managing director for Wortham Insurance & Risk Manage-ment in Austin. He is a part of the Wortham Construction Industry Practice Group where his responsibilities include partnering with clients to manage safety and risk manage-ment exposures to reduce their cost of risk. He previously served as a Risk Control re-gional supervisor and as a senior under-writer for St. Paul and Travelers organiza-tions and as a national risk consultant for Corporate Systems. He is actively involved in the Association of Building Contractors and Association of General Contractors safety committees, and is a national faculty member of The National Alliance's Certified Risk Manager's (CRM) program. For more information contact Mark at (512) 532-1536 or [email protected] or visit www.worthaminsurance.com.


Personal Protective Equipment Joann NatarajanCompliance Assistance SpecialistOSHAAustin, TX

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that employers protect workers

from workplace hazards that can cause injury or illness. Controlling a hazard at its source is the best way to pro-

tect workers. However, when engineering, work practice and administrative controls are not feasible or do not provide sufficient protection, employers must provide per-sonalprotective equipment (PPE) and ensure its use.PPE is equipment worn to minimize exposure to a variety of hazards. Examples include items such as gloves, foot and eye protection, protective hearing protection (earplugs, muffs), hard hats and respirators. On May 15, 2008, a new OSHA rule about employer payment for PPE went into effect. With few exceptions, OSHA now requires employers to pay for personal protec-tive equipment used to comply with OSHA standards. The final rule does not create new requirements regarding what PPE employers must provide. The standard makes clear that employers cannot require workers to provide their own PPE and the work-er’s use of PPE they already own must be completely voluntary. Even when a worker provides his or her own PPE, the employer must ensure that the equipment is ade-quate to protect the worker from hazards at the workplace.

Examples of PPE that Employers Must Pay for Include:§ Metatarsal foot protection§ Rubber boots with steel toes§ Non-prescription eye protection§ Prescription eyewear inserts/lenses for full face respirators§ Goggles and face shields§ Fire fighting PPE (helmet, gloves, boots,proximity suits, full gear)§ Hard hats§ Hearing protection§ Welding PPE

Employers are not required to pay for some PPE in certain circumstances:§ Non-specialty safety-toe protective footwear (including steel-toe shoes or boots) and non-specialty prescription safety eyewear provided that the em-ployer permits such items to be worn off the job site. (OSHA based this decision on

the fact that this type of equipment is very personal, is often used outside the workplace, and that it is taken by workers from jobsite to jobsite and employer to employer.)§ Everyday clothing, such as long-sleeve shirts, long pants, street shoes, and nor-mal work boots.§ Ordinary clothing, skin creams, or other items, used solely for protection from weather, such as winter coats, jackets, gloves, parkas, rubber boots, hats, rain-coats, ordinary sunglasses, and sun-screen§ Items such as hair nets and gloves worn by food workers for consumer safety.§ Lifting belts because their value in pro-tecting the back is questionable.§ When the employee has lost or inten-tionally damaged the PPE and it must be replaced.

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You missed the notice deadlines, but a sham may keep you from turning into a pumpkin!

West W. Winter, PartnerMcNelis + Winter, PLLCSan Antonio, TX

When faced with non-payment for work performed or materials provided for the improvement of con-

struction projects in Texas, the most powerful remedy available to contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers is the mechanic’s and materialman’s lien. Statutory mechan-ic’s liens are governed by Chapter 53 of the Texas Property Code and, if timely and properly perfected, secure payment rights against the project. In addition, contractors having an agreement directly with the project’s owner may be able to avail them-selves of constitutional lien rights that exist independently of any notice or recording requirements, pursuant to Article XVI, Section 37, of the Texas Constitution.

While mechanic’s lien rights are well know and frequently asserted in the con-struction industry, some lesser known nuances in the law may apply to salvage mechanic’s lien rights in certain situa-tions where a subcontractor or supplier has missed the required pre-lien notice deadlines. One such situation involves Sham Contracts where the purported owner and general contractor are essen-tially one in the same.

Sham Contract Provision As set forth in Section 53.026 of the Texas Property Code, when a person contracts with another, and that other person controls or otherwise is con-trolled by the owner “through ownership of voting stock, interlocking director-ships, or otherwise”, the person perform-ing the labor or furnishing materials is deemed to be in a direct contractual rela-tionship with the owner and has a lien as an original contractor. The same result occurs when the contract was made by the owner “without the good faith inten-tion of the parties that the other person was to perform the contract.” When the Sham Contract provision applies, the unpaid subcontractor or sup-plier should be considered to be in a di-rect contractual relationship with the owner and gains original contractor sta-tus. Along with original contractor status, the unpaid subcontractor or supplier also has lien rights as if it were an original contractor. Accordingly, the mandatory notice requirements generally applicable to subcontractors and suppliers for per-fecting statutory mechanic’s liens should not apply, and the unpaid subcontrac-tors or suppliers may be able to perfect their lien rights as original contractors despite a failure to comply with the Prop-erty Code notice requirements. Another benefit derived from the Sham Contract statute is that a constitu-tional lien is available to a person per-forming work or supplying materials to a sham contractor if such work or materials are covered by Article XVI, Section 37, of the Texas Constitution (i.e. buildings and articles). The recent appellate court deci-sion of Trinity Drywall Systems, LLC v. Toka General Contractors, Ltd. confirmed this benefit in holding that the Sham Con-tract statute, by improving the subcon-

tractor’s position in the construction con-tract chain, allows a subcontractor hired under a sham contract to assert and en-force a constitutional lien because he is deemed to have a direct contractual rela-tionship with the owner.

Other Considerations Even though a constitutional lien is self-executing, a lien affidavit should still be filed of record in the county where the property is located to protect the en-forceability of the lien against subse-quent good faith purchasers. Be aware that suit must also be filed to enforce/foreclose a mechanic’s lien claim within the applicable limitations periods or the lien will be extinguished. Contractors, subcontractors and suppliers facing non-payment should closely scrutinize the specific parties, facts and circumstances involved as early as possible so they may be fully informed about the requirements for proper lien perfection and whether they may avail themselves of any applicable legal nu-ances to salvage their lien rights and ef-fectuate payment. Whether or not a me-chanic’s lien has been perfected, unpaid parties involved in construction projects will typically have other viable causes of action including breach of contract.

West W. Winter is a partner at McNelis + Winter, PLLC. A LEED Green Associate, West serves on the board of the Construc-tion Law Section of the San Antonio Bar As-sociation and has been listed as one of the Best Lawyers in San Antonio for Construc-tion Litigation. West can be reached via email: [email protected].

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RCAT 40th Annual Conference & Trade Show“Still Going Strong”

REGISTER NOW TO ATTEND RCAT’S40TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOWRoofi ng Contractors and other Industry Professionals join us for a Texas-sized Convention with a two-day Trade Show featuring 80+ Exhibitors, Live Demos on the Trade Show fl oor, Awesome Door Prizes, Educational Seminars/Programs, and Golf Tournament.

Wednesday, September 16 thru Friday, September 18, 2015Fort Worth Convention Center - 1201 Houston St., Fort Worth,Tx 76102

Omni Fort Worth Hotel - 1300 Houston St., Fort Worth, Tx 76102

2015 Schedule of EventsWednesday, September 16

Thursday, September 17

RCAT Golf Tournament, Waterchase Golf Club, 8951 Creek Run Road, Fort Worth, TX 76120Golf Tournament Awards / Welcome to North Texas! Reception & Dinner hosted by NTRCA, Waterchase Golf Club Pavillion. Event Sponsored by: Thermafoam and Owens Corning

Seminars & Educational Programs, Omni HotelWinR (Women in Roofi ng) Luncheon, Bob’s Chop & Steak House in Omni Hotel.Event Sponsored by: Roofi ng Supply

Trade Show Open, Fort Worth Convention Center RCAT Annual Business Meeting / Awards Banquet / BIG 4-0 Celebration featuring local favorite Preston Scott Band, Omni Hotel, Texas Ballrooms F – J. Event Sponsored by: Southern Shingles

Friday September 18

Seminars & Educational Programs, Omni HotelTrade Show Open, Fort Worth Convention Center (Halls E & F)

*ABC Supply 205A.C.T. Metal Deck Supply 512Abba Claims Consultants, LLC 332Allied Building Products 118Alpha ProTech Engineered Products 431APOC 113Atlas Roofi ng 200Attic Breeze LLC 405CertainTeed 509Chem Link Inc. 225Coats Rose, PC 519Contractor Nation 424Cordeck 428Cutler-Smith, PC 409Dot Metal Products 105EagleView Technologies 425Eco Chief Products 233Equipment Depot 307*ER Systems 508Everest Systems LLC 133EVERROOF PRODUCTS 528Fabral 329FIRESTONE 407FlashCo Mfg. 132Franklin International 328*GAF 212Georgetown Slate 123

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BAFFIN BAY –– LAGUNA MADRE –– LAND CUTSPECKLED TROUT –– REDFISH –– FLOUN DER

FISHING AND HUNTING TRIPS

STEVE SCHULTZ OUTDOORS, LLC

(361) 813-3716(361) 334-3105

www.baffi [email protected]

U.S. Coast Guard &Texas Parks and Wildlife Licensed

Fall intoRedfish Action

by Capt. Steve Schultz

Sponsored by:Premier Yamaha Boating Center, Majek Boats, E-Z Bel Construction, Power Pole

Shallow Water Anchor, AggregateHaulers, ForEverlast Hunting and Fishing

Products and Columbia Sportswear.

As September rolls around, most sportsmen are starting to get the itch for shooting something. The

first of the month kicks off opening day for dove season in the north and central zones across the state and while a lot of folks will be lining up their sights on dove, we will be sighting in on redfish. This is the best time of the year for herd-ing schooling reds in the Laguna Madre.

Dan McCarty of San Antonio still getting it done with this 31-inch redfishcaught along the shoreline of the King Ranch. Great to see him on the water.

Photo by Steve Schultz Outdoors.

Typically starting in mid-to late Au-gust, schools of bull reds and drums can be found frequently along the banks of the King ranch shorelines chasing bait as they make their way to the Gulf of Mexi-co. These schools (some ranging from 20 to 300 fish), can make for a full day of rod bending, muscle aching action you only read about in magazines and on the in-ternet. After Labor day weekend, most of the vacationers are headed back north and this relieves a lot of pressure on our bays.

Catching redfish can sometimes be very challenging due to their very picky eating habits. I’ve seen reds follow a gold spoon for yards only to turn and swim away at the last minute. There are several different strategies when fishing for reds. Wading the shallow flats around shell reefs and grass beds is one of the most enjoying techniques and also my favorite. These areas can also be worked with a shallow draft boat rigged with a good trolling motor or a push pole.

When wading for reds I like using a 1/8 oz. Johnson Gold Weedless Spoon at-tached with a 20# shock leader and a swivel. This spoon is small enough to work slow in shallow water and won’t spook the fish like some of the bigger baits will. If the wind is up and stalking quietly isn’t a factor try using a topwater plug like a Top Dog Jr. or a Super Spook. These baits will more than likely trigger some larger redfish as they imitate a mul-let in distress. When working topwater lures for reds, remember to work them slow and don’t jerk too soon when you get a blow-up. Redfish mouths are on the bottom of their heads and they must turn sideways or attack from the top to inhale the surface bait.

Live bait is another effective tech-nique for producing big boxes of redfish. Local marinas have gone to great lengths to catch and keep bait alive for guides and sport fishermen. Croakers and Piggy Perch are the main live baits during this time of the year. Shrimp will be making their way back into the bay system as the waters get cooler. Fall marks the start of a new fishing season with fewer boats on the water and less pressure in your favorite fish spots. Come down and enjoy the cooler weather and some of the best fishing Texas has to offer. To schedule your next bay fishing trip give Capt. Steve Schultz a call at 361-813-3716 or 361-334-3105 or e-mail him at [email protected]. Good luck and Good Fishing.

SEND IN YOUR PHOTOS . . .fishing, hunting, skiing,

biking, racing, orany outdoor activity or sport.


Model helpersSubmitted to Construction News

Perhaps you’ve seen the LEGO® model of the entire Cook Children’s Campus on display inside the Fort Worth hospital. But did you know SkiHi Enterprises is sponsoring its

update? When ground broke in 2014 on the hospital renovation, SkiHi Enterprises did more than just begin the project’s plumbing and mechanical work. The company teamed

up with Cook’s, LEGO® and the young hospital residents to support the LEGO® replica’s “new construction” for the next two years. –mjm

Half or Full Day Fishing Trips

All Bait, Tackle & EquipmentFurnished

Your catch Filleted andBagged for You

Furnish your TPWD FishingLicense & Refreshments,

and WE DO THE REST!

Ken Milam Guide Service(325) 379-2051

www.striperfever.com

Ken Milam’s Fishing LineSince 1981, Ken Milam has been guiding fishing trips for striped bass on Lake Buchanan in the Texas Hill Country,. You can hear Ken on radio on Saturday and Sunday mornings, 6-8

AM on AM 1300, The Zone – Austin, or http://www.am1300the zone.com

If you spend much time on the water you may have noticed something new happening in the fishing community.

Kayak fishing is really taking off! You may have seen these guys slip-ping silently across the water at dawn in what look to be one man battleships. They have a strong looking sleek hull with all kinds of arms and appendages sticking out of them and some even look like floating UFOs outlined in bright col-orful fish attracting LED lights. Most im-portant they are able to quietly access the most remote and tricky fishing spots without any fear of damage to their boat or motor. They can be paddled, pedaled or have their own custom trolling motor.In short, kayak fishermen are often fish-ing where you want to be without fear and for a fraction of the money it may have cost you to get there! The financial upheaval that we went through a few years ago caused some-thing of a revolution in the boating in-dustry. It became difficult for anyone to get financing for a boat and an awful lot of us found ourselves less willing to pay as much for a new boat in our new econ-omy as we used to. It was a hard wake up call. We all know what a resourceful lot fishermen are. It didn’t take long for peo-ple to start adapting recreational kayaks to be used for fishing! Look at the advan-tages. If you can walk down to the water, you can drop in your kayak. No more finding a boat ramp and waiting your turn. You can slip your rig into the back of your pick-up or just car-top it. No more maintaining and dragging a trailer – the money you save on gas can buy you a room! Best of all you can get a fully rigged, (fish finder, gps, baitwell, rod holders, lights and you name it) for a frac-tion of the cost of a conventional boat! All of these things make kayak fishing a very attractive option for beginning an-

glers just starting out and seasoned pros alike. It’s not a problem if your fishing buddy can’t go, and if he can go, he can have his own kayak and end the competi-tion for who gets what part of the boat.Kayak fishing works for any kind of fish-ing you want to do. It is easy to learn about. You can go online and find fishing forums pertaining to whatever you want to learn. It doesn’t matter if you like crap-pie fishing along a quiet freshwater shoreline or you want to shark fish at the coast. It is being done! Go check any lo-cal kayak shop and you will see the latest in fishing innovations. There are even several good tournament trails with nice pay outs out there! Best of all, if you want to get started, this is a good time to do it. You know fishermen, there are always a better boats and better gear on the horizon, so people are always upgrading their equip-ment and selling what they have to trade up. The price is right, so you can often get top notch boats and accessories. Even if kayak fishing doesn’t turn out to be for you – bear in mind there are more kayaks sharing the water with you, so keep a watchful eye out while you are running across the water.

The new wavein fishing!

Kayak fishing

Kayak fishing at the falls


Go ahead and ask Don Young Co. Windows and

Doors’ Mike Loter and Overhead Door’s Rob-ert Deisher what they are having for breakfast, lunch, and yes, even din-ner for the next few months. Then try not to smile knowingly when the answer is “fish.” Loter, who says he “always wanted to go offshore and fish,” had his wish come true and then some. On a “bucket list” fishing trip to Alas-ka’s Kasilof River and Seward in July, Loter and Deisher reeled in three halibuts respec-tively weighing 110, 120 and 130 lbs. “We will be eating halibut for some time!” Loter conceded. When they tire of halibut, Loter and De-isher can also try to put a dent in the 500 lbs. of sockeye salmon, lean cod and rockfish filets their group brought back from the trip. Might be a nice time to invite yourself over for a feast of fish.–mjm

Not just for the halibut

DYC’s Mike Loter (right) with a day’s limit of sockeye salmon

The boat crew holds up Loter’s and Deisher’s halibuts.

Ahern Rentals’ Irving branch team offers rentals, sales, parts and service with a smile. –mjm

A-TeamConstruction News ON LOCATION

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(972) 459-4749www.pclbonds.com

Building suretyrelationshipsfor 30 years

PARTNERS IN CONSTRUCTION.BONDED BY TRUST.

Masons rock the Riverwalk

As part of its annual conference, the Texas Masonry Council (TMC) held its 2015 Golden Trowel Ban-quet Aug. 7 at the Westin on the San Antonio Riv-

erwalk. –mh

Residential Single Family Texas ResidenceContractor: W.W. Bartlett

Architect: Curtis & Windham ArchitectsChapter: Central Texas Masonry Contractors Association

(CTMCA)

Residential Multi Family - 3 Eleven BowieContractor: Brazos Masonry

Architect: HKSSuppliers: Christopher Stuart Cast Stone, Continental Cut

Stone, Blackson Brick Company, Featherlite, Hohmann & Barnard

Chapter: Central Texas Masonry Contractors Association (CTMCA)

Governmental InstitutionalSt. Peter Chancery – Our Lady Walsingham

Contractor: W.W. BartlettArchitect: Jackson & Ryan Architects

Suppliers: Amerimix/Oldcastle Architectural Texas, Mustang Metal & Supply

Chapter: Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston (AMCH)

Industrial Commercial - The Gates BuildingContractor: Rick Stone Masonry

Architect: Drewry MartinSuppliers: I-10 Stone Source

Chapter: San Antonio Masonry Contractors Association (SAMCA)

Hardscape Landscape - Centennial GardensContractor: Camarata Masonry Systems

Architects: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, White Oak StudioSuppliers: Mezger Enterprises, Revels Block, Brick Co.

Chapter: Associated Masonry Contractors of Houston (AMCH)

Block/CMU - The Robert M. Rogers Nursing and Health Sciences Center

Contractor: Skinner Masonry; Architect: Smith Group JJRSuppliers: Acme Brick, Featherlite, Headwaters Construction

MaterialsChapter: United Masonry Contractor Association of DFW

(UMCA)

Education (K-12 - Mohammedi Masjid ComplexContractor: Camarata Masonry Systems

Suppliers: Mustang Metal & Supply, Upchurch Kimbrough, Siteworks, Headwaters Construction Materials, Hohmann &

Barnard, Acme Brick

Education (College, University) - Texas A&M University San Antonio – Central Academic Building & Auditorium

Contractor: Shadrock & Williams MasonryArchitect: Munoz & Company

Suppliers: Acme Brick, Featherlite, Siteworks, Kirby Stone Co.Chapter: San Antonio Masonry Contractors Association

(SAMCA)

Restoration - City of Fort Worth Public Safety Training CenterContractor: J&E Masonry; Architect: Komatsu Architecture

Suppliers: Acme Brick, Builders Equipment & Supply Co., Hohmann & Barnard, Quikrete, Texas Building Products

Chapter: United Masonry Contractor Association of DFW (UMCA)

Many associations are fortunate to have even one building avail-able for its members’ use. The

Regional Hispanic Contractor’s Associa-tion (RHCA), however, recently acquired its third building as a complement to its Dallas headquarters and Fort Worth of-fice. The RHCA Women’s Center for Con-struction, Architecture and Engineering will be available for young women who are in school or who desire careers or business ownership in construction, ar-chitecture and engineering. Associations

Building women’s futures

The RHCA Women’s Center for Construction, Architecture and Engineering

and groups benefitting women can also utilize the center to hold meetings, train-ing and provide mentoring. “Part of the RHCA’s strategic plan is to serve our growing membership,” RHCA president John H. Martinez-D. ex-plains. “Women have continued to play an ever growing influence in the con-struction industry and the United States is graduating women in engineering in larger percentages than in previous gen-erations. “Woman have also served on the RHCA board as board chair, and play a

major role in the development and exe-cution of the annual Luna Awards and RHCA Women’s Business Conference for women in construction, architecture and engineering,” Martinez continues. “The new building will give the RHCA an op-portunity to focus on women through-out the year in an environment that nur-tures women of all ages and backgrounds who have an interest in the construction industry and professions.” The 3,468-sf building, located at 3918 North Hampton Rd., will be avail-able for use this fall. –mjm

Want to appear in Construction News? Call or Email us!

There is no charge for stories or photos.

[email protected](817) 731-4823

Check this out


Stand out builds

The Texas Building Branch of Associ-ated General Contractors traveled to beautiful Squaw Creek Resort in

Lake Tahoe July 28-31 for the 2015 con-vention. Twenty-two projects were given Outstanding Construction Awards from the annual competition. –cw

2014 Outstanding Construction Awards

B1 Building ($0 - $2M) Nolan Creek Pedestrian and Bike Trail Ex-tension, Barsh Company (Centex) B2 Building ($2 - $5M) Mary Couts Burnett Library West Façade,Linbeck Group LLC (TEXO) B3 Building ($5 - $10M) McGregor ISD New Primary School, Ma-zanec Construction Co. Inc. (Centex) B4 Building ($10 - $30M) Parc Binz One, Linbeck Group LLC (Hous-ton) B5 Building ($30 - $75 M) The University of Houston Student Cen-ter Redevelopment, Tellepsen (Houston) B6 Building (Over $75M) Tobin Center for The Performing Arts, Linbeck Zachry Joint Venture (San Anto-nio) DB1 Design Build ($0 - $10M) KSAT12 Television News Station Head-quarters Addition & Renovation, Bartlett Cocke General Contractors (San Antonio) DB2 Design Build ($10 - $30M) The Treehouse Memorial City, Anslow Bryant Construction LTD (Houston) DB3 Design Build (Over $30M) Parkland Logistics Center, Byrne Con-struction Services (TEXO) HC1 – Health Care ($0 - $10M) Parkway Surgical & Cardiovascular Hospi-tal, Skiles Group Inc. (TEXO)

HC2 – Health Care ($10 - $30M) Texas Healthcare Outpatient Center Wil-low Park, Ridgemont Commercial Con-struction (TEXO) HC3 – Health Care (Over $30M) Sky Tower at University Hospital, Zachry Vaughn Layton Joint Venture (San Anto-nio) Historical Renovation TAMU Jack K. Williams Administration Building Renovation, J. T. Vaughn Con-struction, LLC (Houston) IF1 – Interior Finish-Out ($0 - $500K)Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine Southwest Fort Worth, Skiles Group, Inc. (TEXO) IF2 – Interior Finish-Out ($500K - $2M)University of Texas, Active Learning Class-rooms Renovation, McCombs School of Business, Sabre Commercial, Inc. (Austin) IF3 – Interior Finish-Out ($2 - $5M) Vogel Alcove, MAPP Construction (TEXO)IF4 – Interior Finish-Out (Over $5M)Francis Hall Renovation, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc. (Houston) IW1 – Industrial/Warehouse ($0 - $5M)VA Energy Center, Mazanec Construction Co. Inc. (Centex) IW2 – Industrial/Warehouse (Over $5M)Greens Crossing Tract A – HD Supply, Dyad Construction LP (Houston) RMF – Residential Multi-Family EastTexas Baptist University Centennial Hall, JE Dunn Construction (TEXO) RSF – Residential Single Family Malone Cliff Residence, Sebastian Con-struction Group (TEXO) SC – Specialty Construction Dock & Deck Additions on Lake Brazos, Barsh Company (Centex)

Skiles Group Inc.IF1 Interior Finish-Out ($0-$500K)

Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine Southwest Fort Worth

JE Dunn ConstructionRMF Residential Multi-Family East

Texas Baptist University Centennial Hall

Linbeck Group LLCB2 Building ($2-$5M)

Mary Couts Burnett Library West Façade

Byrne Construction ServicesDB3 Design Build (Over $30M)

Parkland Logistics Center

Skiles Group Inc.HC1 Health Care ($0-$10M)

Parkway Surgical & Cardiovascular Hospital

Ridgemont Commercial ConstructionHC2 Healthcare ($10-$30M)

Texas Healthcare Outpatient Center Willow Park

Readin’, writin’ & renovatin’Submitted to Construction News

With school about to start, more than 30 McCarthy Building Companies Texas Division employees and their families donated time Aug. 7 to make over Mi Escuelita Preschool’s

St. Matthews campus. The volunteers stained, painted, landscaped and repaired the school’s interior and exterior and built new playhouses for the students. –mjm

Equipped to helpConstruction News ON LOCATION

L-R: Need a ride? John Stroup and Bill Carpenter of Six & Mango Kubota in Frisco sell new and used construction equipment and offer rentals, replacement parts and

service, too. –mjm


Green Building

Healthy materials,unified codes coming

Beth Brant, AIA, LEED AP BD+C,Architect and Director of SustainabilityDSGN Associates Inc.Dallas, TX

From promise to performance: the LEED Dynamic Plaque

Gautami PalankiU.S. Green Building CouncilWashington, D.C.

Since its earliest days, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has pushed

the boundaries of green building design, construction and operation with a com-mitted team and expert volunteers from across the industry. Known for develop-ing the Leadership in Energy and Envi-ronmental Design (LEED) building rating system, USGBC’s mission of market trans-formation is alive and well. LEED is used by 65,000 projects worldwide. After 15 years of growth and evolution, the indus-try is ready to embrace performance measurement, adding to the promise of lower impact. The LEED Dynamic Plaque offers this dimension, measuring out-comes from sustainable strategies imple-mented in buildings. The LEED Dynamic Plaque helps properties gather building data to visual-ize a robust, yet simple, LEED Perfor-mance Score on scale of 1 to 100. The score updates as often as new data is provided and reflects the building’s en-ergy use, water use, waste management, indoor air quality, occupant satisfaction, and carbon emissions. Any building or commercial interior space can receive a

performance score, by manually or auto-matically submitting measured data (e.g., kilowatt hours of energy, gallons of water, interior carbon dioxide levels, etc.), and any LEED-certified project can use it to recertify to LEED every 12 months. Recertification follows the famil-iar LEED certification levels, i.e., a score of 80+ reflects Platinum. Project teams using the LEED Dy-namic Plaque give it high praise. The JBG Companies, Akridge, and the Tower Companies led the adoption of the LEED Dynamic Plaque in Washington, D.C. To-gether, they represent approximately 20 million square feet of LEED registered and certified space in the District. The companies use the platform in select properties to manage holistic building performance and collaborate with build-ing users, demonstrating leadership and innovation. Jessica Long, sustainability manager with The JBG Companies, is a key player in the development and adoption of the JBG Commercial Sustainability Program. She sees sustainability as a growing con-cern for investors, a means to improve

the value of assets, and take responsibili-ty as environmental stewards in a com-munity they own and develop buildings in. The sustainability group continues to engage building users, the primary drivers of resource use, in lowering the environmental impact of the building. Long says, “The LEED Performance Score provides a succinct way to communicate information beyond energy and strategi-cally identify areas for improvement.” At Akridge, corporate leadership, in-ternal policies, and community involve-ment are the building blocks for goal achievement as they endeavor to lead the industry in innovative sustainability practices. Kaitlin Brokaw, senior property manager at the Homer Building, an out-standing combination of new develop-ment and historic preservation, describes a “commitment to a long-term vision that entails using new technology and consci-entious planning to minimize negative environmental impacts on the city, the region and the planet.” The organization’s efforts to increase visibility and transparency are evident from the publicly available key perfor-mance indicators on their website. The LEED Dynamic Plaque proactively sup-plements these ongoing efforts, provid-ing up-to-date scores for participating properties and annual recognition through LEED recertification. Communication and collaboration are as important as implementation when it comes to sustainability efforts and special projects, agrees Eugenia Gre-

gorio, director of Corporate Responsibili-ty at Tower Companies. The LEED Perfor-mance Score provides a tangible metric that resonates with stakeholders and en-courages action, while making it simple to aggregate data through automation and increasing visibility into the portfo-lio. Gregorio says, “When making busi-ness decisions, we always consider the triple bottom line—people, planet, prof-it—and find ways to make all three align to yield successful projects that have a positive impact on the environment, our stakeholders and the overall community, and make business sense with viable eco-nomics.” Tower believes sustainability is not only a responsibility but also an opportu-nity to improve building operations, re-duce operating costs, train staff, and at-tract and retain like-minded clients who have their own corporate sustainability goals and values that align. JBG, Akridge, Tower, and other orga-nizations worldwide are aligning opera-tional metrics with strategic corporate goals and taking steps to improve ongo-ing building performance, lower costs, and enhance user experience in new and existing projects. Are you ready to take the next step and begin your perfor-mance story? Gautami Palanki is a Building Perfor-mance Consultant for the U.S. Green Build-ing Council. She will discuss LEED: New Ap-proaches for Building Performance at Greenbuild 2015 in Washington, D.C.

How would you describe the current state of the green building indus-

try? With the adoption of the more strin-gent energy codes, and with the City of Dallas’ adoption of the green code, green building seems to be a little more main-stream and many people do see it that way. But there are programs out there that are continuing to push the envelope in the green building industry, such as the Living Building Challenge (living-future.org/lbc) and LEED v4 (www.usbgc.org). Both certi-fication programs are totally voluntary but they both step it up to the next level. For example, if your team plans to design for and achieve a Living Building Challenge certified project, the building is essentially designed and built to be both net zero wa-ter and a net zero energy while also look-ing very closely at each and every material going into the building.

Have you seen an increase or decrease in the work you do because of green building? In our office, every building we work on is designed to be sustainable in a ho-listic way. More in general for the D/FW

market, it seems that the clients going after the voluntary green certification programs have decreased a bit, perhaps, simply because the codes are getting more stringent. What are the “hot button” issues in the green building industry? Some of the buzzwords you might hear are “carbon neutral,” “net zero” and “regenerative design.” Those terms are centered around the idea of generating on site at least the same amount (or more) energy than your building uses over the course of a year. For the design industry, this stems from the “Architec-ture 2030” Challenge (architecture2030.org) in which people in the industry have committed to and are working towards the challenge of designing more efficient buildings that use less energy and less carbon. The ultimate goal is that we would be designing carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. The topic of healthy materials has also become really important lately as some scientists are getting a better un-derstanding on how materials affect your health. While perhaps still in its infancy,

there are good resources coming in which designers can use when working to select healthy interior products (www.healthybuilding.net). One other hot topic, which is also re-lated to sustainability, is the idea of resil-iency. There is a program pioneered by the Rockefeller Foundation that is work-ing to help 100 cities become more resil-ient (100resilientcities.org). These cities and their selected Chief Resilient Officers are beginning to work together to make their cities more socially, economically and physically resilient in the 21st centu-ry. I find their work to be very exciting and look forward to seeing how the ini-tiative continues to progress. What are the major changes that you’ve seen in green building relating to your work? We’ve been working on doing more energy modeling in-house. As architects, the earlier that we can start to do energy models on our building designs the bet-ter. By running quick and simple models, we can explore and evaluate various op-tions, to can get a better idea of how our designs are affecting the overall energy efficiency of the building.

One of the acknowledged disadvan-tages of green building has been the additional cost. Is this statement still true? In general, I believe that sustainable buildings don’t have to cost any more than typical buildings. Passive design principles and standards are always where you should start, and they don’t

cost anything extra. Beyond that, when you start to build in active measures – if you wanted to have a more efficient me-chanical system or solar hot water – when you bring in those types of things is when the costs tend to increase. But, if you’re doing it intelligently, you should quickly get a return on investment.

How do you balance indoor air quality issues against energy efficiency? In Texas, you have to look at both of those. For example, in LEED you can get one credit for bringing in more outside air, which would increase the indoor quality. But when you’re doing that, you’re using more energy because of our hot, humid climate; you have to dehu-midify it and cool it back down. So it re-ally depends on what the building own-er’s goals are.

What is on the horizon for green build-ing? It would definitely be changes in the codes. The ICC is working to unify the green codes out there into one green code in 2018, and the energy codes and the green codes are stepping up each time. That is making it more mainstream. I also see healthy building materials on the horizon; it’s not mainstream yet but it’s out there and we’re all learning and adapting to it. DSGN Associates Inc. provides archi-tectural, planning, interior design and graphic design services to multi-family resi-dential, retail and mixed-use centers, offic-es and workspaces, civic facilities and ur-ban planning. –mjm


Green Building

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Green and getting greener

Scott Gerhardt, Acting ChairU.S. Green Building Council Central Texas-Balcones ChapterAustin, TX

In your opinion, what is the current state of the local construction indus-

try? The last five years have brought sus-tainable building practices into both the commercial and residential mainstream. Commercially, there are many financial case studies now showing the financial benefits of building green with the LEED metric: 1.) LEED Certified projects oper-ate at greater efficiency and thus lower cost; 2.) LEED Certified projects have greater long term value and command higher lease rates because of this, and because people want to be in these envi-ronments. Simply put, whether the building is for living, working, learning or playing, green buildings are more productive for people. Texas and our Central Texas area are lead-ers nationally, with 650M plus square feet LEED Certified or LEED registered. If Texas were a country, we would be

number four in the world for LEED Certi-fied space. Local leaders like the cities of Austin and San Antonio, Austin Green En-ergy, Dell Childrens Hospital, UT, and homegrown corporations like HEB are us-ing innovative practices with LEED to green their properties. Our chapter has created the Texas Green Building Market-place as a resource for developers, own-ers, architects and engineers to find green building professionals and prod-ucts.

What sparked your interest in green building? I have always been passionate about conservation and environmental sustain-ability principles. Growing up in the country instills you with love and respect for water, land and air. I was then privileged to work for Milliken & Co for many years, one of the environmental leaders of American in-

dustry. It was through Roger Milliken's commitment to environmental excel-lence and carbon footprint reduction, and his support of a fledgling US Green Building Council vision, that I was able to meet Rick Fedrezzi and help charter the first USGBC chapter in Florida. I saw firsthand the incredible waste involved in our commercial construction industry and the "throw away" mentality of our practices. I wanted to help change that.

What are a few trends you see in your industry in recent years? My specific part of the pie is com-mercial interiors: flooring, furnishings, etc. I have been involved with many large projects as well as ongoing corporate campus operations, and the following trends are evident: • There is organizational commit-ment to green buildings and operations (from the top!) • The use of technology such as real time metering and smart HVAC con-trols has improved. • There is more training of staff in green practices and integration of con-servation techniques. • In addition, there are reclama-tion/reuse options for many materials traditionally sent to landfill. • Product suppliers are raising the bar with greener product design and manufacturing.

What are the rewards of the industry? Our reward in championing green development practices is to know that we are making very significant strides in practice and in awareness. We are mak-ing a difference for the future.

In your opinion, what is the most sig-nificant challenge your industry fac-es? As in every pursuit, hard work and persistence pay off. But also, the need for creative thinking has never been greater, and the wonderful perspective of asking "Why not?" is a great motivator to posi-tive change. One of our local treasures, the Center for Maximum Building Performance (Pliny Fisk and Gail Vittori) have trained interns for years in asking "Why not?" and many of these former students are now doing fantastic work. Any student wanting to work in this field has great resources locally to learn and grow, and great educational pro-grams at UT, Texas State and other col-leges to take advantage of. Many offer concurrent LEED accreditation.

What advice would you give for a young person interested in working in your industry? Seek out the best mentors you can find, and soak up knowledge from them. Always ask "Why not?" Keep your curiosi-ty and grow your network! –ab

Cleaner water through greener design

Steve Lin, Senior Project ManagerBig Red Dog EngineeringSan Antonio, TX

Amanda Saldivar, Project EngineerBig Red Dog EngineeringSan Antonio, TX

In Texas, rain is precious. After the last several years of relentless drought, the

spring brought record levels of precipita-tion across the Lone Star State. When we finally get rain, it can have its drawbacks, including some problems that can be re-duced through green building – or green engineering. Every day, contaminants build up on the concrete and pavement, and then rainwater washes them all away. That storm runoff we see with an oily rainbow film floating on the surface gets washed into creeks and rivers. This is just one of the environmental issues Low Impact De-sign (LID) aims to address. “It’s what we refer to as best man-agement practices (BMP),” says Steve Lin, senior project manager at Big Red Dog Engineering. “There are some municipali-ties that require LID as part of their proj-ects, such as the City of Austin. It is cur-rently optional in San Antonio, but we feel it’s going to be more prevalent here in the coming years.” Many LID features are associated with water quality and the treatment of stormwater. One technique uses bio-swales, which capture stormwater runoff

and aid in filtration so that anything washing off the pavement of a parking lot, for example, can be filtered before the harvested rainwater is discharged into a nearby creek. With San Antonio sitting on top of the Edwards Aquifer zone, development above the aquifer has requirements to treat and filter the water, but Lin points out that the southern half of the city does not have a water code along those lines. Lin observes, “Most of the LID fea-tures are an option and above and be-yond your standard developer’s intent, but we do find these LID features are more predominant in downtown San An-tonio – projects that use rainwater har-vesting and they’re integrated within an irrigation system, and a lot of bioswales.” Other features that LID uses towards water quality improvement include planter boxes and sand filtration. Divert-ing stormwater through a planter box al-lows the soil to act as a filter. The same is true of sand. And in particularly urban settings, putting a garden on the roof-top, or a “green roof,” where the garden acts as a filter and the underlying drain-age system captures the water, the runoff

coming out of the gutter system will be relatively cleaner. These filtration methods actually clean the water, removing contaminants from standard litter to oil and coolant drippings. Also, when developing an un-touched site, these LID features might be able to offset some of the tree mitigation or tree replacement. “The City of San Antonio has its spe-cific tree requirements,” explains Aman-da Saldivar, project engineer. “If we were developing on a completely green site – undeveloped with several trees – when trees are knocked down, the city requires that a certain ratio gets replanted [tree mitigation], or there is a fee that you can pay instead of having to plant those trees.” She notes that it is possible to incor-porate some of the previously mentioned LID features as an option in lieu of mitiga-tion, and having a LID feature would be considered eligible for LEED points, but since it’s not in the city’s code yet, these credits are determined on a case-by-case basis.

Engineers are one of three primary parties involved in the LID process. Archi-tects and, in many cases, the landscape architect, work together with the engi-neers to make these features part of the design. Lin notes that some of these fea-tures require what they call “engineered soils” because the soils have to meet some sort of permeability range, and in that case, the design team may also enlist the help of a geotechnical engineer to achieve the proper utilization of the LID feature. “I personally feel that LID is going to be introduced into code in the future, and I believe, the way development is headed, that you’d see more LID features being utilized and integrated in projects,” predicts Lin. Saldivar adds, “And in the long run, we’re helping ourselves, especially when it comes to [issues of] water contami-nants and polluting of local streams and rivers.” Big Red Dog Engineering is a civil and MEP engineering firm based in Austin with offices in San Antonio, Houston and Dallas. –mh


Association CalendarContent submitted by Associations to Construction News

ASA North TexasAmerican Subcontractors Association

Sep. 24: Lunch meeting, Las Colinas Country Club, 11:15am

ASCE -DallasAmerican Society of Civil Engineers

Sep. 14: Dallas branch meetingSep. 30 – Oct. 2: Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON). For more informa-tion: www.texascecon.org

ASCE - Fort WorthAmerican Society of Civil Engineers

Sep. 21: Fort Worth branch meeting, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, 813 Main St., Fort Worth, noonSep. 24: Panther City Dodgeball Tourna-ment YM, 5pmSep. 30 – Oct. 2: Texas Civil Engineering Conference (CECON). For more informa-tion visit www.texascecon.org

CSIConstruction Specifications Institute

Sep. 8: Membership meeting, Pappas Burger, 2700 West Freeway, Fort Worth, 5:30pm

DACADrywall & Accoustical Contractors Assn.

Sep. 16: Membership meeting

FEDOTFire Equipment Distributors of Tx

Oct. 9: 1st Benefit Golf Tournament for Children-Burn Care at Shriners Hospitals, Plum Creek Golf Course, 750 Kohler’s Crossing, Kyle, TX, 11:30am registration, 1pm shotgun start, raffles & contests, din-ner/awards to follow, for more info: www.fedot.org

IEC - DallasIndependent Electrical Contractors

Sep. 10: IEC Dallas/Fort Worth Electrical Trade Show, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, 1000 Ballpark Way, Arlington, 3pm

IEC - Fort Worth Independent Electrical Contractors

Sep. 10: IEC Dallas/Fort Worth Electrical Trade Show, Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, 1000 Ballpark Way, Arlington, 3pm

NARI - DallasNat’l Assn. of the Remodeling Industry

Sep. 8: Monthly meeting, The Pirch, 6pm. Sep. 25: 2015 NARI Annual Golf Tourna-ment, Firewheel Golf Course – The Olde Course, 600 West Campbell Rd., Garland, noon

NAWIC - DallasNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Sep. 17: Clay shoot, Dallas Gun Club, 3601 South Stemmons, Lewisville, 8am.Sep. 21: Dinner meeting and board of di-rectors Installation, MCM Elegante, 2330 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas, 5pm.

NAWIC - Fort WorthNat’l Assn. of Women in Construction

Sep. 17: Meeting, Colonial Country Club, 3735 Country Club Circle, Fort Worth, 5:30pm

NTRCAN. Tx Roofing Contractors Assn.

Sep. 16: Welcome to North Texas party (after RCAT golf tournament), Water-chase Golf Club, 6-8pm. Cost is free to registered RCAT convention and/or golf tournament guests, $25 for NTRCA mem-bers and $30 non-members. Register at www.ntrca.com

NUCANat’l Utility Contractors Assn.

Sep. 9: Cookout Extraordinaire, Box In-surance: Hege Headquarters, 1201 Mur-rell Road, Grapevine, 5:25pm. Members $20, non-members $30. Contact Deana Butorac at (817) 657-1993 or [email protected]

PDCA - DallasPainting & Decorating Contractors of Amer.

Sep. 24-27: Destin Fishing Trip, Destin, FL.

PHCC Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors

Sep. 15: Lunch meeting, Brookhaven Country Club, 3333 Golfing Green Drive, Farmers Branch, 11:30am

PMI- DallasProject Management Institute

Sep. 10: Dinner meeting, Crowne Plaza North Dallas/Addison, 14315 Midway Road, Addison, 6:30pm.

RCATRoofing Contractors Assn. of Texas Sep. 16-18: 40th Annual Conference & Trade Show; Fort Worth Convention Cen-ter and Omni Hotel in downtown Fort Worth; two-day trade show with 80-plus exhibitors, live demos, door prizes, edu-cational seminars, golf tournament and welcome to North Texas reception; WinR luncheon and annual awards banquet followed by a celebration for the 40th featuring Preston Scott Band

RHCARegional Hispanic Contractors Assn.

Sep. 10: RHCA Member Appreciation Day, 2210 W. Illinois Avenue, Dallas, 11:30am-4pmSep. 25: Annual Sporting Clay Classic, Elm Fork Shooting Sports, 10751 Luna Rd., Dallas, 8am

TEXOThe Construction Association

Sep. 15: IMPACT Networking Series, 417 Fulton St., Fort Worth, 5pm

TGA-NTDTexas Glass Assn./NGA Chapter

Sep. 21: Golf Tournament, 9am

TSPE - Fort WorthTexas Society of Professional Engineers

Sep. 10: Monthly meeting, Fort Worth Petroleum Club, 777 Main St., Fort Worth, 11:45

Hot dates

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To keep up with the scorching sum-mer temperatures, TEXO hasn’t let its social calendar cool down one

degree! On Jun. 22 at Trophy Club Country Club, TEXO members took advantage of the finally-dry weather to compete for valuable TEXO Cup Challenge points. TDIndustries’ David Bates, David Fultz, Isaac Henson and Justin Tubb won the morning round of the open golf tourna-ment with a score of 61. ValleyCrest Landscape’s Matt Fisher, Austin Com-mercial’s Ben Austin, Kimley Horn’s Brad Moss and Terracon’s Drew Landis won the afternoon round, shooting a 58. On July 23, TEXO teamed up with the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA)

Dallas chapter to host the “Bark + Build” Kick Off Party. The associations are pre-senting the first annual “Bark + Build Doghouse Design/Build Competition” to benefit SPCA of Texas’ Home for the Holi-days event, with the finished entries to be on display in November. The association showed no signs of slowing during the dog days of August. On Aug. 18, TEXO hosted an Impact Meeting at the Ranch at Las Colinas, and then sponsored a “Bring Your Boss” meet-ing as part of the Young Constructors Council (YCC) the very next day. TEXO members representing a diverse range of companies served as panelists and dis-cussed the importance of relationships in the workplace. –mjm

L-R: TDIndustries’ David Bates, David Fultz, Isaac Henson and Justin Tubb won the morning round.

Afternoon round winners

ValleyCrest Landscape’s Matt

Fisher, Austin Commerical’s

Ben Austin, Kimley Horn’s Brad Moss and

Terracon’s Drew Landis.


continued from Page 1 — Stucco-ed together

continued from Page 1 — Big changes

continued from Page 1 —Delayed gratification

Many local roofing industry mem-bers attended a

mini tradeshow hosted Aug. 12 at Arlington’s 1010 Collins. Fifty-five vendors showcased the latest roof-ing products and services at the annual event, host-ed by the North Texas Roofing Contractors Asso-ciation (NTRCA). –mjm

Moment of roof

ABC Supply Co. inc.

Independent Insurance Group

Southern Shingles Eco Chief Products

Lone Star Safety and Supply

A boulder move

Michael Thalasinos wasn’t always a rock star. Before he got into the signage business, he owned oth-

er companies related to healthcare, sports facilities and gifts. But he literally saw the writing on the rock two years ago when he came across a manufactured “boulder” that helped businesses mark their territory in a unique way – by displaying the compa-ny’s graphics on the surface. “I sold my last business and I was looking to do something else,” Thalasi-nos recalls. “I looked at other opportuni-ties but I was impressed with the Boulder Designs® product.” Thalasinos started Boulder Designs® of DFW in 2013 and although there was a learning curve when it came to the manu-facturing process, assuming the roles as owner and president came easy to him thanks to his extensive business experience. “In almost any business, there are nu-ances and differences, but in general, busi-

ness is business,” he says. “You have to keep your customers and employees happy!” Thalasinos is certainly happy with his employees. Manufacturing manager Gary Grubbs is a recently retired 22-year Army veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan. Donald Nucharnat and Josh Bain (also a veteran) work in manu-facturing and Josh’s wife Grace Bain is responsible for the company’s graphics. Thalasinos says his company has the capability to create, deliver and install boulders up to 15,000lbs but that, re-gardless of the signage’s size, the cus-tomers’ eyes are always huge when they see the final product. “I really like it when we deliver a boulder and the customer goes, “Wow!” It’s the same reaction every time,” Thala-sinos says. “That doesn’t get old!” Boulder Designs® of DFW creates, de-livers and installs 100% solid boulder-like signage for commercial applications throughout the Metroplex. –mjm

Mike Thalasinos (left) and his Boulder Designs® of DFW staff

Charlie Sr. says that not only does his family work together in the company, but another family does as well: Ware-house manager Benjamin Sanchez, who has worked with the Meador family since the beginning, works side-by-side with two brothers-in-law. With so many blood relations under one roof, Charlie Sr. devised a foolproof formula for those too-close-for-comfort moments. “Leave your baggage at the curb; you can pick it back up when you leave!” he says with a smile. “It’s business when we’re here, and we try to keep it that way.” For his part, Blake is quick to offer a “yes” when asked if he enjoys working with his father and brother, with Charlie Sr. chiming in with the words “Most of the time.” “From my sons, I‘ve learned to be more patient than I was earlier in my ca-reer,” Charlie Sr. says. “And there’s a ca-maraderie; it’s an intense business some-times and there are a lot of components

to what we do. We have a really good rap-port amongst us and the staff; we do just about everything in-house, so it’s like a big family.” Staff members bond over annual Christmas parties and demo events, but the rest of the time, they are diligently working. The Meador family is careful not to overstaff the company and make sure every employee knows how to do every-one else’s job. “And,” Charlie Sr. adds, “no one is too good to do anything. Everybody does what needs to be done. It works really well.” Blake and Charlie Jr. have been groomed to take over when the time comes, but Charlie Sr. says that time isn’t coming any time soon. “I enjoy the people, and I enjoy the work,” he says. “It’s an interesting trade. I’ve been doing it for 36 years. I live it, breathe it, I love it.” Texas Stucco Supply offers stucco prod-ucts to the Metroplex. –mjm

Scaffolds is also under new leadership. Jay Rosen became the company’s new president and CEO in January of 2013 just as the third generation of this 70-year-old family-owned company took control of the enterprise. “Everything is very positive; we’re

moving in the right direction to help us grow and advance,” Rowland says. Through its four Texas offices, BETCO Scaffolds offers scaffolding products as well as scaffold rental, engineering design, labor and safety training. –mjm

hoping to build and occupy the building by September 2014. However, because their land was not technically inside Man-sfield’s city limits and was considered Fort Worth Extraterritorial Jurisdiction (ETJ), the city of Fort Worth wanted a plan review, which delayed the start of construction until October 2014. Then, Mother Nature, sensing that the Tutors were finally making progress, made her own contribution. “We had a bad winter,” Diana laughs, shaking her head. “The exterior walls are Styrofoam and steel, a product of Ther-maSteel, so Bobby and the crew were standing prefabricated wall panels in De-cember in the freezing cold. Through winter, he was trying to get the slab in and worked diligently through the holi-days to try to get the building up and running. Then we hit the rainy season, which started with the ice and the cold, but then warmed up and stayed rainy. It was very difficult to try to put a roof on the building and get it done.” The rain finally stopped long enough for the crew to apply brick over the 5½ in. compressed Styrofoam panel and com-plete the interior finishes. The staff moved into the 10,182-sf building June 1. The silver lining in the delays is that the Tutors were able to adapt the design as the staff grew over the years. Had the Tutors built in 2001 as originally planned, their current staff of 40 would have al-ready outgrown the space. Now, there are 10 occupied offices with two vacant offices to allow for future growth. In addi-

tion to extra offices, the facility boasts a conference room, break room, a “war room” for foremen to examine plans, a docking area and a 50-seat classroom boasting a 15X7ft. projector screen. The delays also allowed the imple-mentation of state-of-the-art technology to ensure energy efficiency. “We have the latest in technology in LED lighting and dimming, which allows us to preset light levels to control our en-ergy costs,” project manager Brian Brinkmann says. “We also have state-of-the-art wireless lighting control system with occupancy, daylight and vacancy sensors and wireless wall switches. That allows us the flexibility to program for all different kinds of features. “The wireless lighting controls are also integrated through our AV systems,” Brinkmann continues. “The same control interface can lower the shades and the projection screen and control the lights in the conference room with the push of one button. Our projection technology is wireless as well. We also have a fully inte-grated voice and data network that we didn’t have in the other building – it’s our brain.” With the building finally completed and occupied, the Tutors hosted an open house Aug. 21. The only smiles bigger than those of the guests were the grins on the Tutors’ and the employees’ faces. “We all love this space,” Diana says. “Now, we all have our own offices and the space that we need for concentrated fo-cus.” –mjm

State-of-the-art technology takes spaces like the conference room to another level.


80 years moving forward

What began as a small firm in Houston in 1935 is Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam (LAN) to-

day. Now celebrating its 80th anniversa-ry, LAN has more than 300 employees in offices across the U.S., including San An-tonio, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Corpus Christi, College Station, San Marcos, Waco and its corporate headquarters in Houston. Mason Graves Lockwood and Wil-liam McIntosh Andrews started the firm and in 1946, Frank H. Newnam Jr., a civil engineer and classmate of William An-drews at Texas A&M, joined the firm as a partner. In 1956, the firm took on the name it is known by today. After incorpo-rating in 1961, the firm grew rapidly and established offices in several Texas cities. In 1991, LEO A DALY, an international ar-chitecture and engineering firm, ac-quired LAN, and expanded LAN’s servic-es and its horizons around the world. “Once I became the president in 1997, I diversified the firm into multiple

markets of water, wastewater, transit and transportation,” comments Dennis Pe-tersen, president. “The diversification was one of the key elements that I want-ed to implement. As we expanded into these markets, it gave us a pretty broad base to operate from. “Also, I wanted to ensure that when the bad times hit, and we all knew they would at some point, we would be able to keep moving forward. Since 1998, de-spite the recent economic recession, we have been profitable every year and have grown substantially.” In the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, LAN is the prime designer for Section 15-1 of the Integrated Pipeline Project, and TRACK3, a LAN-led joint venture team was selected as general engineer-ing consultant on DART’s Orange Line project. LAN is a full-service consulting firm that offers planning, engineering and pro-gram management services. LAN is a divi-sion of LEO A DALY. –mh

Employees at LAN’s Dallas office gathered in support of Earth Day.Photo courtesy of Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc.

Barricade bunchConstruction News ON LOCATION

L-R: Buyers Barricades’ Max Mulherin, Jessica Paredes, Eddie Harmon, Lauren Jones, Cole Benton and Courtney Jeffus help provide barricades, traffic control design and

planning and so much more at the company’s Richland Hills location. –mjm

Even though the sun beat down on them in the office parking lot, it was still a “chilly reception” for Pavecon

Ltd. employees on Jul. 31. Some screamed. Others gasped for air. One em-ployee, after catching his breath, scooped ice cubes out of his shirt pocket. The company’s Grand Prairie office hosted an “ALS Ice Bucket Challenge” event to raise awareness and funds to help beat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS, or as it is commonly known, Lou Gehrig’s Disease). For Pavecon, the cause hits close to home: The Pavement Net-work’s Kevin Gosnell, who trained Pave-con staff how to implement his Grid Iron sales program, was diagnosed with ALS earlier this year. In honor of Gosnell’s fight, guests bid in a silent auction, enjoyed a catered lunch and tried to stand still as buckets of ice and water were dumped on their

ICE for ALS

heads. Many sent best wishes to Gosnell via video and challenged other Pavecon offices to host bucket challenges. “Kevin is the most positive and up-lifting personality I have ever known and a real leader and fighter for what he be-lieves in,” Marty Murphy, president of Pavecon Ltd.’s D/FW division says. “Be-cause of this, we are joining him and his company to raise money and awareness for this disease and to show our apprecia-tion for Kevin and what he has done for Pavecon in such a short time. We will for-ever be indebted to Kevin for the time he invested in all of us and the knowledge he shared with us. We raise our buckets in honor of Kevin and in the fight to find a cure for ALS and all of the people it has affected.” Pavecon Ltd. provides asphalt and concrete paving services across the south-western and southeastern U.S. –mjm

L-R: A skidsteer dumps a bucket of brrr on Pavecon’s Tim Wegienka and Marty Murphy.Photo credit: Russell A. Harris

dallas/fort worth construction news september 2015

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