The Perlo Podcast

“This is The Perlo Podcast. We talk construction – it’s people, it’s challenges, it’s opportunities. We talk to industry and trade experts, movers and shakers, and people who get buildings built right. Join us. You won’t regret it.”

Welcome back to Episode Seven of the Perlo Podcast! Podcast host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by Superintendent George Trice and Project Manager Nate Brown, two members of the project team for one of Perlo’s current projects in Ridgefield, Washington.

Overview of Ridgefield Industrial

Ridgefield Industrial is a 480,000 SF core and shell concrete tilt-up warehouse on a 50-acre site being built for Specht. Project teams are about three-quarters of the way through the project, with the total duration spanning about eleven months.

George Trice, Project Superintendent at Perlo Construction, explains that the walls have already been tilted and the roof is about 70% completed. In this specific project, project teams are waiting to pour the truck loading docks until the last minute to allow time for a potential tenant to come in, as they are hoping to do some tenant improvements later on. The team is currently ahead of schedule, and they expect to finish the project a month ahead of schedule.

George explains that although they are now expecting to finish the project a month early, this wasn’t always the case. Times were tougher over the winter, but the crews were able to tackle a few critical items early, such as the truck aprons, that pushed the project schedule ahead.

Nate Brown, one of Perlo’s Project Mangers, states that he’s learned quite a bit since being out on the site. As a visual learner, being on the site in person a few days a week to see what’s going on has allowed him to learn exponentially about building in commercial construction.

General Process of Concrete Tilt-ups

The process for concrete tilt-ups is generally straight-forward. From stripping the site and concrete-treating the soil to digging footings for the slab, the end goal is the have the panels come off the ground when it is time to tilt.

One unique factor of concrete tilt-ups is that you don’t run the slab where the wall is going to be. As panels tilt up and sit on footings, there is about a 10-foot gap between the wall and the slab. Once the roof is tied in, project teams start backfilling and do a pour-strip around the building. This is critical, as both the rebar that is coming out of your panels and the roof system all have to tie into the slab perfectly.

Site Challenges

George and Nate explain that the biggest challenge on this site was the rain. Every pour that the team conducted was followed by rain, which meant that bond breaker couldn’t be added to the slab. Bond breaker is what keeps the newly poured panel layers from sticking to the slab and is a necessity for panel tilts. The project team and field crews had to take a more innovative route to solve this problem by working over the weekend when the weather was nicer to get as much water off the panels as possible.

Final Thoughts

Like what you hear? Check out the full podcast to see a tour of this in-progress project!

In this highlight episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by Perlo’s expert team in education settings: Drew Carter, Senior Project Manager; Stephen Alger, Senior Project Manager; and John Tompkins, Project Superintendent.

So, what makes construction in a K-12 space so different than a normal private construction project? The first part comes down to K-12 spaces being public projects, so teams must be more cognizant of being good stewards of public money by maximizing the construction budget. The second part is sticking to the outlined budget, so teams must know how to find the most cost-effective solutions for a project.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this highlight episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by Perlo’s expert team in education settings: Drew Carter, Senior Project Manager; Stephen Alger, Senior Project Manager; and John Tompkins, Project Superintendent.

One of the biggest adjustments on K-12 sites is keeping the students and our construction workers away from each other. There is a balancing act when trying to get kids off a site safely while being cognizant of who is communicating with them. Most of the time, teachers are eager to get back into their spaces, so it is critical that project teams communicate the current progress and whether or not it’s safe for occupants to come back.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this highlight episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by Perlo’s expert team in education settings: Drew Carter, Senior Project Manager; Stephen Alger, Senior Project Manager; and John Tompkins, Project Superintendent.

In construction, the only constant is change. As a given project progresses, project teams have to be communicating with the users of the facility to let them know what the plan is. There is a constant effort to understand that we have a job to do while also recognizing that it doesn’t give project teams full access to what we may want to do because, at the end of the day, the kids come first.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

“This is The Perlo Podcast. We talk construction – it’s people, it’s challenges, it’s opportunities. We talk to industry and trade experts, movers and shakers, and people who get buildings built right. Join us. You won’t regret it.”

Welcome back to Episode 6 of The Perlo Podcast! Host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by Perlo’s expert team in education settings: Drew Carter, Senior Project Manager; Stephen Alger, Senior Project Manager; and John Tompkins, Project Superintendent. In today’s episode, we’ll being going over K-12 projects and what makes them so unique.

What Are Some of the Factors That Go Into Planning Summer Projects?

Education projects often take place in the summer, when students are no longer in school. During the shortened summer construction season, we often see remodel projects that include anything from re-roofing upgrades and siding repairs to a “fluff and buff” on interior finishes. A lot of the time, these are projects that can’t be done while the campus is occupied when students are in school.

Drew notes that the biggest consideration when defining the scope and timeline to complete a project over the summer is, “Do we have enough time to actually do the work on the plans?”  He remarks that although there is a lot that can get done in the summer months, it comes down getting on the campus early to look at the existing conditions and ensuring the construction documents are the same as what is actually on the ground.

John agrees, and adds, “The sooner you get into the building and get things opened up, the sooner you can get the District involved to figure out next steps.” This concept is something that the team learned first-hand, as John reminisces on one example where project teams opened a wall on a school project and discovered significant siding and structural issues that equated to about $100,000 worth of extra work.

Another option for project teams is to get into the building during a spring break or Christmas break period, which allows teams an early start to what they can tackle in terms of existing conditions, purchasing materials, getting a plan in place, and knowing who to contact. According to Stephen, the real key is what you can get done ahead of time, as “one week in advance is massive for a summer project when it is only 10 or 12 weeks long.”

Construction Strategies when Spaces are Occupied

Elissa kicks off this topic by asking the team what changes in our strategies when a project can’t fit into a summer time frame and you must remodel a campus over the course of a school year.

According to John, the biggest thing that changes is safety. “We know how to keep our workers safe, and we take it all seriously, but when it comes to having kids in your work area, it takes it to a whole other level,” he remarks.

In one recent Perlo project, project teams put up barricades to cover demolition and used a material called ‘core ply’. Teachers ended up making murals on the material and, closer to the removal, Stephen came up with the idea of letting the kids in each class draw on it, as well. The goal for this innovative idea was to make the construction less intimidating for the students while still keeping them safe.

“The safety part is really the toughest aspect on an occupied site when trying to make sure it accommodates the school and allows them to be operational. The communication with the school to explain what we’re doing, how we’re doing it, what we need from them, and what they need from us is critical and is a challenge because of how many stakeholders we have,” explains Stephen.

With constantly changing expectations from the District, the general contractor, the school, the principal, and the facilities, there is always a constant struggle to find out who makes the final decisions.

In this short highlight reel, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo, is joined by two Perlo team members, Adam Smelley, Project Manager, and Kyncade Hardy, Superintendent, on the site of True Terpenes, a tenant improvement currently underway in Hillsboro, Oregon. Adam and Kyncade explain the unique ‘pop-up’ spill barrier used in the containment rooms to protect the facility from any spills and preserve the ease of entry and exit of any necessary equipment across the barrier.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this short episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo, is joined by two Perlo team members, Adam Smelley, Project Manager, and Kyncade Hardy, Superintendent, on the site of True Terpenes, a tenant improvement currently underway in Hillsboro, Oregon. Kyncade and Adam walk us through the current progress of the site, showing the process piping and ‘roughed-in’ state of the building. The project team also touch on the strategies used to protect the existing concrete from any potential chemical spills.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this short episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo, is joined by two Perlo team members, Adam Smelley, Project Manager, and Kyncade Hardy, Superintendent, on the site of True Terpenes, a tenant improvement currently underway in Hillsboro, Oregon. Adam and Kyncade share their knowledge of the current processes for the buildings, as well as the innovative strategies they’ve taken in regard to the project’s ceiling cloud, which had to be moved from it’s original starting point to keep out of the way of the building’s ductwork.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this short highlight episode, host Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo, is joined by two Perlo team members, Adam Smelley, Project Manager, and Kyncade Hardy, Superintendent, on the site of True Terpenes, a tenant improvement currently underway in Hillsboro, Oregon. Adam walks listeners through the basic foundations of this project, including the addition of a mezzanine, a new process room with process piping throughout, and the incorporation of added space for storage of the mechanical units. The team highlights the challenges they’ve faced and overcome while building through the winter, adding more insulation, and finding innovative ways to store the mechanical systems.

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!

In this short clip from Episode 4, Elissa Looney, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Perlo Construction, is joined by guests George Trice and Mark Helling, two of Perlo’s superintendents. When asked what is necessary to know before following this career, Mark touches on advice he received in high school: “If you’re going to be in construction, you need to be prepared to work with some rough people and develop a thick skin. It’s a career, but the job is not the career - the trade is the career. Every day, you’re working yourself out of a job by completing it.”

Want to know more about Perlo? Visit our website at perlo.biz or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube!

Subscribe now on your favorite listening platforms to keep up with the Podcast.

And finally? Work hard, build it right, and have fun!