If you’re a structural, civil, or geotechnical engineer in Texas, you probably know of Pieresearch. Pieresearch serves the deep foundation and earth retention industries, offering structural engineers rebar reinforcing alignment and centralizer products for every construction need.
When we spoke to Pieresearch President, Stan Agee, we asked him how the structural engineering community could best utilize and benefit from Pieresearch’s products.
“That’s easy,” said Agee, “Structural, Civil, and Geotech engineers benefit most by specifying our products as part of the building project. A General Contractor won’t use a part unless it’s specified by engineers.”
We inquired as to why structural engineers wouldn’t inherently specify the products they wanted to use on a job? Stan then pointed us to a video on Pieresearch’s website (www.pieresearch.com) by Walter Scarborough (an architect and a specifier with 40 years of architectural experience, 25 years as a specifier) on the importance of specifications and the issues surrounding them.
According to Scarborough,
“To almost everyone involved in the construction of buildings, specifications seem to be a strange and mysterious world. Massive amounts of technical information, references to obscure standards, no graphics, just thousands of incomprehensible words. We have to understand that everyone associated with the design and construction of a building has an obligation to spend the owner’s money wisely and efficiently. The owner determines the quality of a project by first controlling the cost of the work. Second, determining the extent of the work. And third, establishing the time required for the work. This is all accomplished by the project team that results in drawings and specifications.”
His explanation made logical sense, so, naturally, we had to ask, what’s the difference between a drawing and specification? Scarborough goes on to explain,
“Drawings show products and materials many times. Specifications specify products and materials one time. Products and materials are shown generically on drawings, products and materials are specifically identified and detailed in specifications. Drawings indicate quantity. Specification specifies quality. Drawings show context. Specifications specify content. Size, dimension, shape, and relationships are shown on drawings. Descriptions, properties, characteristics, and finishes are indicated in specifications. Drawings indicate the locations of things. Specifications specify the installation provisions. Drawings and specifications are complementary of each other and what is stated in one is as stated in the other.”
After listening to Scarborough’s explanation, it was clear that there is a distinction between drawings and specifications and the importance of each.
So what, then, should structural engineers be specifying in their products as it relates to Pieresearch? Among their many products, Stan Agee was keen to highlight their new ADJUSTABLE QUICK-LOCK® UNIBAR® CENTRALIZER for Augercast piles.
In order to achieve proper design strength in any drilled shaft and/or bore hole the rebar cage and/or tendon must be centered in the drilled shaft or bore hole to assure proper grout or concrete coverage throughout the design length of the element. The ADJUSTABLE QUICK-LOCK® UNIBAR® CENTRALIZER can be used to ensure uniform spacing requirements across a wide range of diameters for augercast pile, micropile, soil nail, and tieback installations.
If you’ve read this far and are still captivated, call 817-277-3738 (ask for Stan) and receive a gift card to Landry’s restaurants (limited quantity available), then specify the Quick-Lock® wheels, boots and Unibar® centralizers in your next building project!