Masonry Magazine October 2001 Page. 24
Discussion and rapport with the chief architect of Hilton Hotels led to a meeting to discuss masonry alternatives, rather than having Hilton Hotels get involved with a prototype using an alternative building system. Without asking enough questions, a presentation was prepared.
Using the new American Concrete Institute standard, it was clear that the Hilton Hotels were using an excessively conservative design. Twelve-inch load bearing interior walls were being used where six-inch walls would be structurally adequate. A detailed analysis was preformed to demonstrate to Hilton Hotels how they would be able to save money by cutting their wall thickness in half. With the data in hand, we're set for the meeting, let's go and show them.
Hilton's response to the six-inch corridor wall was that there was no reveal and the corridors will look like a dormitory rather than have the inviting appearance Hilton required. The quick response was we could turn the units in to form a sixteen-inch reveal for the doorjambs. Wrong! For security reasons, the recess could not be more than eight inches from the face of the wall to the doorjamb. With the eight-inch recess to the jamb, security personnel could simply look down corridors to see if anyone was lurking about or hiding. The sixteen-inch long returns would create too large a recess and individuals could hide in the doorways.
The only solution for the use of the "cost saving" six-inch interior walls would be to cut all the returns or have specialty units to provide the required reveals. Plus there was concern that the return corners would not be as strong for supporting the doorframes as the twelve-inch wall. The costs for extra time placing units, extra cuts, and special units were far more than the original twelve-inch wall design. The door-frame attachments would not have been as sturdy and there would have been additional costs for finishing the returns on the six-inch wall. Needless to say, an appropriate alternative to the twelve-inch wall was not presented that day and the post and beam precast concrete prototype was used.
The effort did result in discovery of what the customer's needs were, but only after considerable time and effort was expended on developing an inappropriate "solution" (as illustrated in Figure 1).
Stephen S. Szoke, P.E. formerly the Manager of National Accounts for the Oldcastle Architectural Products Group has recently accepted the position of Director of Codes and Standards for the Portland Cement Association. Steve has been in the masonry and related products industries for twenty-five years. Steve was Federal Construction Liaison and Senior Engineer for the Brick Institute of America, now the Brick Industries Alliance; Design Adviser of the Glen-Gery Brickwork Design Centers in Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland, Manager of National Accounts and Director of Market Development for the National Concrete Masonry Association, and Executive Director of the Southeast Cement Promotion Association. In each position, Steve has had direct contact with the ultimate consumers of masonry products and the information provided in this article is based on direct feedback from that interaction.
MASONRY WALL SCRAPER
• Removes excess mortar from block or brick
6 foot pole
Removes fins and burs from concrete wall form joints
WALL SCRAPER PAYS... CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME "DOES NOT PAY"
Using our wall scraper keeps your people on the job.
Less standing on Scaffold Rungs
• Less Reaching
• Less Dropping of Rubbing Block
• Less Down & Up by Dropping Block
• Can Clear Room & Hallways of Scaffold
Can Clean Up and Allow Other Trades to Resume Their Work
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24 MASONRY OCTOBER, 2001