by Christy Heitger-Ewing
Improving the Building Process Through Technology
Remember the old telephone game where one person whispers a sentence to their neighbor, and they, in turn, pass the communication onto the next person and so forth? By the time the sentence has been repeated a dozen times, the message often is completely transformed. The same can happen when it comes to sharing builder prints, which is why several years ago Custom Concrete developed their customized print process.
“When you start handing original prints out in the field to crews who work with dozens of builders, it can get confusing because architects have their own language, making interpretation difficult,” says Chris Stormer, Vice President of Residential Sales. “As a result, there’s a possibility for deviation.”
To remedy this situation, Custom Concrete started redrawing builder prints to create shop drawings. The shop drawing templates offer consistency in color coding, note styles, and phase approvals.
“Owner Tim Carr Sr. always says that the CAD department filters out all the non-foundational items allowing our crews to solely focus on the foundation,” says Valerie Brown, the CAD Department Manager.
To eliminate confusion, accurate points and neat shop drawings must be provided to the crews. Through their AutoCAD technology, Custom Concrete creates 3-D foundation renderings. Custom Concrete uses a proprietary Custom CAD program that runs on top of the regular AutoCAD.
“When we have our wall heights and brick ledge heights determined, we can push a button and give the customer a 3-D model that shows how the brick ledge will blend together and match the grade for their specific lot,” says Brown.
“That’s what crews use to go out to the job site and lay out all of the points for footings and walls,” says Brown.
In addition, the program can output cubic yardage for concrete, providing accurate estimates. “This allows our team to save customers money by cutting excess concrete waste” says Stormer. Very few concrete contractors operate in such an efficient, cost-effective way.
Custom Concrete strives to always have the newest technology to serve their customers. Learn more at customconcrete.com.
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17241 Foundation Parkway
Westfield, Indiana 46074
