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Naples Daily News - By KATHRYN HELMKE
October 14, 2003

Builder goes to the wall for concrete


In Southwest Florida, homes aren't made out of wood. But even with concrete walls, hurricanes pose a problem to the area's homes and offices.

Contractors and builders have another option an insulated concrete wall system. Instead of building a block-by-block concrete wall, an envelope of insulation allows concrete to be poured in forming a solid wall.

Around 30 builders in Southwest Florida use the insulated system to build homes, but until Monday, no commercial developments in the county were built with a solid wall concrete system, said Timothy Alvaro, a partner in Efficient Wall Systems of Florida. He hasn't built any commercial developments in Lee County.

David Feinberg, president of D and D Realty, LLC, decided to use the system on his latest commercial development, My Gym Retail Center.

"It's structurally sound," Feinberg said. "It's fast. It's clean. It gives you additional insulation."

Nestor Garcia, project manager for Henning Construction, the contractor for the project, brought his camera to the site Monday. He clicked away pictures as workers moved from panel to panel pouring in the concrete.

The heat wasn't the only reason to keep moving.

A cut-out strip of foam allows workers to pour concrete into the bottom half of the wall while another person uses a vibrating tool to push the air bubbles out of the concrete. After the bottom layer of the structure is finished, the missing pieces of foam are installed. Workers then start pouring from the top.

By the time workers get around a project once, said Don Jones, project superintendent from Henning, the concrete is already drying. All About Construction Inc. is a subcontractor on the job. Alvaro manufactured and helped install the walls, which can withstand 250 mph winds. Four years ago, he started developing the wall system, which is now under patent. He's used it in projects across the country and in Mexico.

The problem the system can cost up to 15 percent more than it would to build a block by block wall, Jones said.

But it saves on construction time.

The wall construction on this project will take three weeks. On a normal project, that construction time would last at least a month.

The cost is competitive, Feinberg said, and he doesn't regret his decision. Construction on the entire project should be completed by Dec. 15.
 

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