Masonry Magazine February 1995 Page. 54
President Larry Mitchell
President Larry Mitchell says, "We wanted to create a strong base to the building. The school has several metal buildings already, and the owner wanted to improve the character and feeling of the campus. Masonry creates more of a campus type environment. For maintenance and longevity, we used a similar design for the 72,000 square foot Wentzville Middle School project," says Mitchell. St. Genevieve Building Stone was the mason contractor. Interior partitions are all built with CMU.
One challenge Mitchell-Hugeback and the contractors discovered when working with two types of masonry was cleaning the wall, especially when the base is a lighter color and the masonry above is darker. "Chemicals were used when cleaning the wall, and it washed down the face of the red brick and streaked the lightly tinted base. We were able to correct it early in the project and apply what we learned to the next project," says Mitchell. They hung plastic over the block before the brick was laid, and the masons came back later, cut off the plastic and retooled the joint.
Charles E. Bell, principal of Charles E. Bell Architects, chose concrete masonry for a one-story office building in Bridgeton. Except for glass block covering one-half of the front wall, the entire building is of split face block. "We did a study to determine construction costs and it was close to several other materials," says Bell. "We could have chosen steel with brick veneer or used EIFS, but we guided the owner to select this product because of its advantages. It has a substantial look, low maintenance costs-repair is infrequent, and it is favorable for insurance rates because it will not burn." There are also several concrete masonry structures in the area, so CMU had the right look for the neighborhood.
Bell notes that because split face block is porous, there are some inherent problems with moisture. "You just have to recognize that and work with it by using sealer and proper flashing to correct it," he says.
For the Sumner Group Corporate Headquarters, Bob Teller, principal architect with the Phoenix Design Group, chose a ground face block design with bands of brick and limestone. The project was installed by masonry contractors, John J. Smith Masonry and Marvin Peebles Company as a joint venture.
The Sumner Headquarters building is surrounded by an abundance of brick buildings. Teller says, "Rather than competing, the CMU meshes and blends with the fabric of the urban neighborhood." The textural elements of the block are carried to the interior as well. "The rustic, ground face block has a smooth textured, tactile appeal."
Owners are often surprised by the way concrete masonry looks these days. Coffey of Kennedy Associates says, "A lot of times they do not even know that it is CMU on a building because of its variety. CMU is breaking into the aesthetic arena, and owners are more willing to accept it as a design tool."
WECK
Designer Shapes
Only WECK gives you all the options! New Allbend lets you turn arcs and corners in 22 1/2° increments, or combine two blocks to make 45°. They mix beautifully with 4" x 8" or 8" x 8" blocks, or the WECK corner blocks that give you a true bull-nose, 90° corner.
New DoublEnds and WeckEnds give you partitions with open heads and jambs, or step-downs with no other border materials. Designs you've only dreamed about are happening! Let WECK give you the edge.
Glashaus Inc.
Glashaus Inc.
415 West Golf Road
Suite 13
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
708/640-6910 FAX: 708/640-6955
Reprinted
REPRINTED, with permission from "Masonry," a publication of the masonry industry of St. Louis, by Ed Glock, Executive Director.
54 Masonry
54 MASONRY-JANUARY/FEBRUARY, 1995