IMI has our BACk

JOURNAL: ISSUE 1 - 2015

IMI Indiana Director Dave Collins often drops in on architectural offices to see if there are any current or upcoming projects they’d like to discuss. During a past visit to Schmidt Associates, Inc. Dave met Chuck Thompson, project team leader for the comprehensive renovation of the area’s 47-year old Lake Central High School.

At the time of their meeting, the project was slated as structural steel frame with tilt-up wall panels. Collins suggested the team take a look at structural masonry as well as masonry veneer options. IMI was invited back to meet with the entire project design team including architects, mechanical engineers and structural engineers to investigate structural masonry solutions that would  replace both the structural steel frame and the tilt-up panel walls.

A team led by IMI Director of Engineering Diane Throop that included Collins and consultant Dr. Mark McGinley shared a recent holistic building energy analysis study on school construction that demonstrated the energy cost savings with masonry as well as a life cycle cost analysis comparing traditional masonry and tilt up.

Also in attendance was LHB, Inc., an engineering firm with experience in using structural masonry software and training. When the architect asked if switching to structural masonry would affect the timeline, LHB assured that it would not. LHB also added specification language to their notes requiring all project craftworkers be certified in grouting and reinforcing. 

“The original project design had less than 150,000 masonry units to be used as a veneer to tie the panels together. After IMI and Indiana/Kentucky Structural Masonry Coalition’s intervention, over 1 million masonry units were used significantly increasing BAC’s work hours” says Local 4 President, Ted Champ.