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Getting To Know The ETC Team #10
Luke Valentine | Staff Engineer
10Things You Didn’t Know About Me….
1) I played the paperboy in the movie Runaway Bride which was filmed in my hometown of Berlin, MD. I also got to eat lunch with the star, Julia Roberts.
2) I am an Orioles season ticket holder.
3) I understand the importance of job site safety; when I was 17, I cut part of my finger off with a circular saw.
4) I played flanker for the UMD Rugby team for two years in college.
5) I have a chest where I save every card/note anyone’s ever written me.
6) I’ve walked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
7) When I was a baby I was nicknamed Diesel after Redskin’s running back John Riggins. I think it had to do with me weighing over 10 lbs at birth.
8) My favorite color is black.
9) I have three siblings and we all have biblical names: James, Luke, John and Rachel.
10) I can’t sleep without the sound of a fan blowing.
Patching Decorative Stone
ETC recently attended a hands-on training seminar in which we learned how to patch decorative stone and terra cotta facade elements using Edison products as well as color match the patches so they would blend into the surrounding stone.
The two-day seminar was held at the impressive International Masonry Institute Training Center in Bowie, Maryland where we learned side by side with members of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers who came from around the country to be trained by the experts. Terra cotta, which is Italian for baked earth, is a man-made clay material that is fired in a kiln and was popularly used on building facades in the early 1900’s. Often the terra cotta pieces are very ornate and glazed similar to tile and require a high level of skill to make equally ornate repairs. This was great training for our most recent historic terra cotta, stone, and natural cement rehabilitation projects in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania and Takoma, DC. This is just another way that we keep up with the latest repair technologies and methods.
Upgrading a Community’s EIFS System
Queen’s Landing, a condominium community on Kent Island in Chester, Maryland, was in need of significant repair and ETC has happy to assist.
Please read more….
http://retrofitmagazine.com/a-condominium-communitys-eifs-system-is-upgraded/
Getting To Know The ETC Team #9
Bobby Radcliff, PE | Structural Engineer
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me….
1. I have been married going on eight years and have been blessed with three amazing children (2, 4 and 6 yrs old).
2. As some of my clients know, I prefer to talk on the phone rather than send a text or email.
3. I grew up in southern Maryland on the Patuxent River where daily activities included fishing and crabbing.
4. I tested the laws of gravity in second grade by trying to fly out of my tree house. Unfortunately, gravity won and I was awarded with a compound fracture in my wrist.
5. My hobbies are playing billiards and drums as well as coaching little league soccer.
6. I have been involved with various trades of construction since I was ten years old.
7. I am a Redskins and Orioles fan.
8. I spend about 20 hours (1,000 miles) a week driving in my car or sitting in traffic.
9. My great great grandmother was Betsy Ross who made the first American flag.
10. Growing up, I rebuilt a 1965 Mustang, which I later sold when I had kids…..
All About Clay
Clays are among the most useful and versatile materials on earth. Next to wood, it’s been the most common building material across the history of mankind. There are few households on earth that aren’t filled with products made of clay, from coffee mug to toilet bowl. It’s used in medicines and cosmetics. Industrial uses of clay include waterproofing and hazardous material containment. The slick texture of glossy paper is courtesy of a clay slurry. There’s no lead in a pencil lead, but there is clay (and graphite).
Many of the attributes that make clay so useful in those contexts also make it highly undesirable in others. Clays are hydrophilic and plastic, meaning they readily absorb water and in doing so, are easily deformed. Plasticity is necessary to form bricks and mold dinnerware, but it’s not what you want when you have to support a house or a roadbed. Clays are also expansive in the presence of water, some (such as marine clay) to an extreme degree. The expansion can be sufficient in some cases to displace overlying structures.
Because they tend to absorb rather than pass water, clays do not drain well. In construction, it’s generally advantageous to move water away from most elements. If water is held near enough to the surface to freeze, ice formation can exert enough pressure to dislodge or break overlying materials (like asphalt and concrete).
There are a number of ways to deal with clay in construction. The most effective way is to remove it entirely, but that’s not usually necessary and often impractical. In some instances (such as asphalt or concrete placement), it’s often sufficient to remove clay to a depth of several inches and replace it with a material that can be compacted and drains readily (such as gravel, stone dust, etc.). For deeper deposits that might affect foundations, underpinning by helical piers, grout injection or other methods can be successfully employed to stabilize the structure.
Clays, particularly in the Washington-Baltimore region, are inescapable. Their composition and attendant problems can vary substantially from one square yard to the next and the methods for dealing with them are equally varied. If you’ve noticed unusual movement, inexplicable cracking, displacement or similar conditions, clay might be at the root of it. In most such cases, the prudent approach is to have the condition evaluated by a qualified professional
PMA EXPO 2013
Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hello at 2013 PMA Expo last week!
We always enjoy the chance to talk ENGINEERING. Please give us a call or send an email if we can be of any further assistance . We’d be happy to come by and check out your building concerns.
(703)450-6220 Virginia
(410)740-2233 Maryland
(610)660-6698 Pennsylvania
Getting To Know The ETC Team #8
Cookie Shuffleton | Accounting
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me….
1. I grew up without a mother and I never missed what I never had. I think my dad and two brothers did a great job raising me!
2. As a child, I was always reading or playing with my paper dolls. (Since I lived on a farm, walking barefoot in fresh horse manure was lots of fun too!)
3. My favorite relaxation spot is my back porch, especially with a cat on my lap.
4. I always have at least 5 quilts “in the works.”
5. I met my husband Tweetie in 7th grade, couldn’t stand the flirt, but everything changed junior year of high school. (And, as is said, the rest is history!)
6. I drink water and black coffee, not much else.
7. I re-read the Harry Potter series every 2 years.
8. My favorite TV show is Star Trek: Voyager.
9. My nickname has nothing to do with food. When my dad came to see me in the hospital after I was born, the nurse brought me out and said, “My, what a fat little cookie you have!”
10. I have 2 antique cars, neither of which is fast.
2013 PMA EXPO
WE invite you to visit ETC, at the 2013 PMA Conference and Expo. We look forward to seeing you there!
Date: Thursday, April 18, 2013
Time: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Place: Prince George’s Sports
& Learning Complex
8001 Sheriff Rd.
Landover, MD 20785
Booth: #307
Common Code Violations – Asphalt Shingled Roofs
When we visit a job site to inspect an asphalt-shingled roof, we often see the same typical code violations:
- Flashing must be installed in such a manner as to prevent moisture entering the wall through the joints in the coping, through moisture-permeable materials, at the intersections with the roof plane, or at parapet wall penetrations.
- The code requires that, at a minimum, the number of fasteners required by the manufacturer must be followed. For a normal application, no less than 4 fasteners/strip shingle or 2 per individual shingle can be used.
- Asphalt strip shingles must have a minimum of 6 fasteners when:
- The basic design wind speed is 110 mph or greater and the eave height is greater than or equal to 20 feet.
- The basic wind speed is greater than or equal to 110 mph and the importance factor is 1.15.
- The basic wind speed is greater than or equal to 120 mph.
Getting To Know The ETC Team #7
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Me….
1. The main loves in my life are family, food, wine and golf.
2. Other things I also enjoy are music, art, talk radio and New York City.
3. Music is in my family….I sang on a record when I was just eleven. I think I have confiscated and destroyed all copies, except for my father’s copy.
4. My IPOD has everything from classic (Bach) to Broadway (Les Miserables, In the Heights, etc.) to rap (mostly old school) to pop (Michael Jackson) to rock (Journey, ACDC, etc.). I even have some country tunes.
5. My favorite movie is Braveheart – I love the stories (loyalty and love).
6. I have a son that is 6’-7” and he thinks I dance funny.
7. I grew up in West Virginia and the little I have watched of Buck Wild, I will say it is close but yet so far off.
8. My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Ah, family and food!! (see #1 above)
9. I have very specific political beliefs, but I try and listen to all sides. I think that is what is missing in our country these days.
10. I am a social network fan! I like twitter, but don’t necessarily know how to use it like others do.
Attack of the Road Salts!
Parking garages in this region are attacked by road salts and water throughout much of the year. The cost to repair deteriorated concrete can be quite high and the project can cause significant inconvenience to garage users. So, as part of a parking garage restoration project, we recommend and our clients tend to include, application of a vehicular-traffic-bearing membrane on the structural slabs to help protect their investment and extend the service life of the garage.
There are two basic classes of products commonly used to protect garage slabs, one of which is penetrating sealers. Penetrating sealers include materials such as silanes and siloxanes, which are silicone-based water repellants. These compounds penetrate into the concrete and react with the silica to create a water repellant barrier that also retards chloride migration.
Penetrating sealers are breathable so they do not create a vapor barrier and are relatively inexpensive. However, they do not seal cracks and require frequent reapplication as their effectiveness decreases with wear and time. These materials usually need to be renewed on a three to five year schedule.
The other class is traffic-bearing membranes, which are liquid-applied materials in several layers of cementitious, epoxy, or urethane compounds. These systems are all relatively thick (up to about 90 mils) and are designed with the properties needed to withstand the destructive forces imposed by vehicles tires.
Cementitious products are generally robust, breathable, and well suited for on-grade or elevated slabs, especially those with steel decking supports.
Epoxies are very durable and offer outstanding abrasion resistance, but are not breathable and are less flexible. So they are prone to cracking when slabs move/crack over time. They are well suited for on-grade slabs and areas where chemical and/or extreme wear resistance is needed.
Urethanes are softer, non-breathable, and more flexible so they have the ability to bridge cracks, which makes them ideal for elevated, reinforced concrete slabs. Some systems include an epoxy primer so that the urethane can be applied to on-grade slabs. Systems from reputable manufacturers are generally warranted for five to ten years and can remain serviceable longer, if properly maintained. Most membrane systems offer fast-cure and low-odor formulations, if the project has special requirements.
Consult your trusted restoration engineer before embarking on a garage coating project, as picking the right coating system can make the difference between a successful and not-so successful result.
This Is For The Birds!
Alfred Hitchcock had bird issues (especially seagulls), but in the Baltimore-Washington area, the most common pest birds are pigeons, house sparrows, and starlings. These birds are undesirable if they land, roost, and nest on or in our buildings because they bring unwanted noise, odor, and often disease. Plus, no one likes their deck, patio, lawn furniture, or other belongings adorned with bird droppings.
If you’ve ever tried getting rid of pest birds, you probably know that they annoyingly adapt to many control methods and won’t go away without a fight. After all, they’re called “pests” for a reason. So how do you win this battle and get them to leave for good? You have to think like the bird. Birds seek flat, unobstructed roosting surfaces and they are looking for food. If you take these two things away, they’ll find somewhere else to go.
To reduce or eliminate surfaces on which pest birds roost (i.e. ledges, railings, parapets, awnings, etc.) you should consider installing one or more physical barriers, which typically include spikes (plastic or metal), netting, and electric barriers. Physical barriers are humane, eco-friendly and cost-effective solutions that have high success rates. Spikes and netting are inexpensive and easy to install, but are best suited for hidden areas or where building aesthetics is not a priority. Wires and electric barriers (low-voltage, non-lethal) are less obtrusive and often virtually invisible.
Another great way to make flat roosting surfaces unavailable is to cover them with wood or metal sheathing at a 45° or steeper slope. If you are considering a roof or façade repair/replacement project, this would be the perfect time to implement these methods.
Other bird control systems like sound, traps, aversion chemicals and killing are inhumane, expensive, temporary, and/or ineffective options. We and the Humane Society do not recommend them. As for plastic owls and hawks, they only work on the stupid birds. Savvy city birds aren’t fooled.
The last thing to do to keep birds away is limit availability to food. Implementing better trash management and asking residents to not feed them are two ways to encourage birds to inhabit other areas.
Since every building has its own unique roosting sites and bird access, there is no “one size fits all” bird control option. Be sure to have a qualified professional discuss with you which options are the most appropriate for your building and goals