The Importance of Planning your next project

ParsCo Construction Topic: Planning

ParsCo professionals understand the importance of planning. Without the planning process, there is no way to ensure that building project will be in accordance with established plans. "When planning a project, you always must pre-plan the plan" states Amir M. Fooladi, President/CEO of ParsCo Construction. 

The project planning process requires a clear understanding of the project, the process involved, the activities involved jn completing the project, and the agreed upon project goal.  ParsCo begins the pre-planning process and once the program requirements are determined, ParsCo sets up a meeting of the various players involved in the building of the project. This includes the Owner, Design consultants, and contractors. This may also include local building officials and a Financing institutions if necessary. The planning process involves that all parties work together, as a result all parties will have a vested interest in the project's successful completion.

"We all need to understand the importance of the interests of the parties involved in the planning process" explains Amir, "and it all starts with the Owner, the interests of the design, and most importantly the end product. By understanding the outcomes and interests of each party in the planning process, we can better understand how the building process is approached to meet the needs of everybody, especially the Owner". 

The Owner's interest in the project planning process stems from his or her desire to see the project built. The Owner has a desire to take occupancy of the project at some future date. To do so, the Owner participates in the planning process to ensure that schedules are set in order to build the project on time. The Owner uses the information in the planning process to determine the length of time needed to set up and pay for arrangements as well as schedule the purchase of furniture and other necessities.

The Design team needs to establish certain timelines for the building of the project. These schedules are set forth in the project process and agreed upon with the Owner. The architect's plans incorporate the timeline for the project into the design plans in order to help the Owner and ParsCo meet their deadlines. If the planning process does not take place, there is no way to determine the best approaches for incorporating the design elements that are envisioned in the plans.

The project planning process helps ParsCo determine the expectations for the completion of the projects construction within the design elements that are set forth in the design. All parties are dependent on the project planning process to schedule and meet the ultimate goal. 

No building project can be successful without the discussions that need to take place in order to properly plan how the project will be built. By engaging ParsCo and starting the planning process, the team can be assembled so that all the information from all of the parties can be gathered, organized, and make the common goal of a successful project a reality. The project planning process is an important part of the building process that must be incorporated. 

For more information on how ParsCo can help make sure your next project is properly planned, call (850) 776-6265. 

Pensacola General Contractor

Pensacola General Contractor specializing in custom homes and commercial construction. 

 

ParsCo offers general contracting services for new construction, remodels, renovations, and additions.  Give us a call at the number below.  We look forward to working with you. 

 

 

ParsCo, LLC

850.776.6265

Visit us on the web at www.pars-co.net

 

Wood deck design and deck failure prevention

It is Spring Break here along the Gulf Coast and recently here in the news there was a story about a beach house that had a wood deck fail due to being overloaded with spring breakers. 

http://www2.wkrg.com/news/2013/mar/12/s-ar-5783789/

http://www.kvue.com/news/UT-students-injured-in-Alabama-deck-collapse-197315751.html

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/baldwin_county/deck-collapses-on-west-beach-blvd

http://www2.wkrg.com/news/2013/mar/12/s-ar-5783789/

With as many as 200 people standing on the wood deck, the question might be asked how large was the deck and what was it designed to support?

Just like any structure, wood decks should be designed for dead load and live loads. These are the two simple types of loads that engineers use to factor and determine structural loading and required supports. 

ParsCo professionals have not visited or seen the actual deck to determine or assess the causes of failure but this incident should remind us all how proper design and construction is critical in every type of construction. 

So if you are constructing a deck and you don't want this to happen to you, you might be asking yourself "how strong should I build my deck?"  Of course, how strong you decide to build a deck depends on the anticipated loads you expect to have on your deck. And there can be quite a range, especially if you are anticipating a hot tub or large gatherings of people (like the alleged 200 people in the news story links above)...

Many people are intimidated with trying to figure out the load capacity for a deck and this is why it is always best to enlist a ParsCo engineering professional to assist you in doing the calculations. 

Many contractors aren't sure where to begin so they just over build – which may be entirely unnecessary and cost you more money. Another problem that can arise from over building is a sinking deck. ParsCo professionals are thorough and if required will conduct a soils report to assist in determining the loading as it relates to the soils. 

But even if you build a strong deck it can gradually sink into the soil if you don't take into account the size of footings in respect of the load for the deck. Once your deck starts sinking it can rip the ledger board away from the house or you will have to jack up the sunken area, excavate and pour a new larger footing. All of these situations will cost you even more money!

These issues cost money and when you consider the potential failure and replacement costs, the extra cost on the front end to do things right with ParsCo far outweighs the alternative. 

So for those do-it-yourself type of people that might be interested in building a simple deck for you and your family (not 200 people) you should always consider and utilize the following logic when designing and constructing a deck. 

The load that is placed on your deck is expressed in pounds per square foot (psf) and the total load or more appropriately, the design load, is comprised of the dead load and the live load.

Dead load is basically the load created by the weight of the deck itself. This is usually about 10 psf depending on the material you use. The live load is created by all the extras like furniture, planters, and people. This is usually about 40 psf (special consideration should be taken though). So using these figures as an example, the design load would be 50 psf.

Of course, if you expect a lot of snow to sit on your deck over the winter or envision an 8,000 lbs hot tub on the deck or 200 Spring Breakers even, this could increase the required load capacity of your deck up to 100 to 200 psf or more!

In order to be able to determine the amount of force that is exerted from the deck surface to the footings, it helps to conceptualize the path that the forces travel from their source to the ground.

The deck itself and anything on top of it exerts downward force which is transferred to all the beams and any ledger boards that are connected to the house. This is an axial load.  The force on the beams is then transferred down to the posts. The force on the posts is then distributed into the concrete pier and ultimately spread over the surface area of the footing which is then displaced over the soils. The larger the footing the more the force is spread out and the less chance of your deck sinking. This is all dependent on the soils though. 

If you can follow and understand this information then you may be interested in the AWC publication for deck construction. 

http://www.awc.org/publications/dca/dca6/dca6-09.pdf

ParsCo recommends that you leave design and construction to professionals. The information contained is in no way a guide or instructional how-to-build a deck. 

For professional construction assistance, contracting, design, engineering, and consulting expertise contact ParsCo at (850) 776-6265. 

Nature Trail Pensacola Builders

Call ParsCo at (850) 776-6265 for the highest quality construction services in one of Historic Pensacola's newest and most elite neighborhoods, Nature Trail Subdivision Pensacola.

 

Nature Trail is a residential community designed through 750 acres of forest environment in Pensacola, Florida. It is conveniently located on the west end of Nine Mile Road, just one mile west of I 10, Exit 5. Nature Trail is unique with a community lodge, pools, tennis courts, playground features, and multiple natural parks throughout. Guard house and gated entries will greet owners and visitors. Residents will be able to enjoy a series of walking trails amongst the 400 acres of Nature Conservancy.

Visit NatureTrailBuilder.com for more information.

Construction Feasibility and Cost Engineering Reviews

Cost Management and Construction Feasibility Reviews are critical components in design.  Unfortunately, many design professionals and Owners don't recognize the benefits until it is too late and their project is either shelved or undergoes a complete redesign. It is frustrating for Owner's, Design Professionals, and even Contractors when money is spent on a design that doesn't meet the budget. That is why a ParsCo professional is essential to the equation. 

Our cost engineers participate in the program from its inception, evaluating financial considerations from the planning phase through close-out. We work with the client to ensure the program budget is based on accurate funding estimates and expected program costs. Our estimators and schedulers work together to anticipate when program milestones will be met, and what monies will be coming in and going out as a result. In addition, we regularly conduct risk and cost analyses to determine the probability that a project or effort will stay within budget.

Cost Estimating and Cost Engineering for Designers

The early establishment of a quantified, accurate and structured project budget, coupled with ongoing interactive budget monitoring and reporting, leads to a cost conscious design team capable of responding to budget constraints without adversely impacting the project or wasting precious time and the Owner's money on a design that can't be built. 

Our cost engineers are experts at developing all types of cost estimates, at all stages of design, including:

• Order-of-magnitude/program estimates
• Conceptual estimates
• Schematic estimates
• Alternative design cost analyses
• Design development estimates
• Construction documents estimates
• Bid analyses/contract negotiations

CASE STUDY:

Most recently ParsCo was contacted to provide a last minute construction feasibility estimate for a small new project in Gulf Breeze, FL. The design team recognized the value in knowing prior to bid time whether the design would meet the County's limited budget constraints. ParsCo helped this customer by providing an overall price based on unfinished and incomplete design drawings which allowed the design team to modify and steer the design to meet the budget constraints. 

Photo renderings by STOA

Tiger Point Community Center

• Location: Gulf Breeze, Florida
• Cost: $1,097,000
• Square Footage: 10,388
• Client: Santa Rosa County

Project Description: STOA Architects partnered with Atkins Global to design a state-of-the-art community center and stand alone concessions for the Tiger Point community. STOA worked closely with the County to design a modern, functional, low maintenance design for the county and its residents. ParsCo provided cost engineering to assist the design team in making this beautiful design a reality for the customer. 

Selecting Superior Granite and Marble

ParsCo professionals have constructed multi-million dollar projects and when working on a high-end project most owners want top of the line finishes. One of the best materials that you can use to get the "wow" factor are granite and marble. Having worked with companies all over the Gulf Coast, ParsCo can confidently endorse and recommend Superior Granite in Pensacola, FL. (www.superior-granite.com)

Superior Granite is a fabricator of natural stone for the Gulf Coast area, servicing Florida, Alabama and Mississippi. Their scope of work involves everything from residential kitchens, countertops, and fireplaces to large scale commercial bids and contracts. They have one of the only "true" state of the art facilities where they are able to maintain impeccable quality control standards. They are also one of the only natural stone fabricators that use the most precise and best programmable equipment to fabricate all of their stone. 

Superior Granite also has one of the largest and widest selections of natural stone products along the Gulf Coast.