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Monday, 05 November 2007 17:00 |
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While every client and every designer would probably love to make every fence a hand-laid version of the finest brick, stone or block available, the reality of budgets often says that’s not possible.
Enter the precast-concrete fence.
Depending on the forms used, most suppliers offer panels that mimic the looks of several different natural-stone and brick walls in panels 1’ high by a variety of widths that can easily be slid into the manufacturer’s post system.
Again, depending on the manufacturer, the panels may be cast in a range of colors, or left gray for the customer to finish.
However, their most-attractive feature may be how quickly the panels can be assembled. With the high amount of linear feet installed per day, the savings in labor costs can make this a welcome option for many projects – especially larger ones.
GROWING MARKET
Precast-concrete fences aren’t a new product, but they’re an evolving one for which demand is growing.
Todd Sternfeld, CEO of Euliss, Texas-based Superior Concrete Products , says he started in the business 26 years ago, pouring panels in his backyard in California. However, the business really took off after he relocated to Texas more than two decades ago.
Today, he calls precast-concrete fences close to being a commodity product, although he notes that it isn’t yet being marketed through the big-box suppliers of many construction products: Lowe’s and Home Depot.
“It’s still pretty much a localized product,” says Sternfeld. “It’s a lot like stone suppliers; you’re not going to find a lot of guys who are mining stone in one location and shipping it around the country.”
In the same breath, Sternfeld says his company is something of an anomaly because it does just that. For example, Superior is currently working on a design/build project with a large engineering firm for an electrical substation in Connecticut.
Still, it’s a product that’s at least as easy to load on a truck and ship as other masonry options, says Christopher Miller, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Artisan Precast Inc . in Los Angeles. (However, as with Superior, Artisan also works coast-to-coast.)
At least as common is the situation where a company that makes the forms for these precast products seeks out fence suppliers and others to license the designs and provide the systems on a localized basis.
“We developed the apparatus that makes the product,” says Dennis Kleinman, vice president of sales and marketing for Salt Lake City-based AFTEC . “Now, we’re expanding through a network of manufacturers who make the product for a local area and supply fencing products on a local basis.”
Shipping weight is a distinct issue with AFTEC. Its StoneTree system is a product where the wall section is manufactured with the column and panel as one piece; while it requires a foundation only every 15’ and can easily go up to 24’ in height, its wall sections can weigh several thousand pounds.
Jim Avery, vice president of Amelia, Va.-based East Coast Precast , says his company opted to license its product from AFTEC as a way to expand its existing business.
“We were looking for another product that was comparable and would fit well with what we were doing,” he explains. “We were already precasting concrete walls for basements in new construction. This is another product we can work with using similar resources.”
PRETTY FACE
Just as manufacturers and suppliers come at the market from different directions, not all precast products are exactly the same. The end product can vary considerably from company to company.
A good case in point is Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Hurricane Precast Fence Inc. Although the company has molds for three different faces, because of high demand – it has jobs already scheduled through next March of next year – it’s only running two patterns on one side only.
“Our rock patterns are our biggest sellers,” says Al Perez, Hurricane vice president. “From time to time we get somebody wanting a brick pattern, but right now there’s no way we can stop to do any custom work.”
He says the company has also stopped casting colored concrete, although demand isn’t entirely responsible for that decision. After finding that every batch came out with a slightly different color, Hurricane now offers an acid-wash coloring system, which he says can match almost any color.
Perez adds that Hurricane casts a slightly larger panel than some companies: 6’ wide and 1’ high. The 1’ height is fairly common, but widths vary.
“Our panels are approximately 5’ wide and 1’ high,” says Artisan’s Miller. “Each panel is also approximately 2” thick and weighs 85 lbs.”
Of course, the main idea with these systems is to install H-beam posts and then slide in the panels. Miller says his company’s posts begin at a 5” X 5” size, which will easily handle a 6’ wall. However, by installing thicker posts, the walls can go as high as 20’.
“Each panel is either a tongue-and-groove system or an interlocking system, depending on which design you go with,” says Miller. “They don’t need any mortar or grout between panels.”
Artisan also offers a marked contrast to Hurricane in terms of products. Artisan has a brick pattern, a stone pattern and two wood patterns, with a broad color selection.
“We have an array of 30-40 colors to choose from,” says Miller. “Then, we also do custom colors. If you need to match something on a jobsite, we can custom-match your color. We can give you just about any look, including a smooth wall with no pattern.”
The ability to have a texture on both sides of a cast panel can be particularly important when neighbors may want to share the cost of a project, says Superior’s Sternfeld. And, for a truly custom product, some companies offer custom forms.
“We have the ability to make custom lines,” says AFTEC’s Kleinman. “However, we’re very particular about the form liners we product. When we produced the master for our dry-stack design, it took us about four months. You can even see the grout lines.”
Sternfeld admits to being biased about his product, but he says one thing that may surprise people not familiar with precast-concrete fences is the versatility of appearance.
He cites the ability to work materials such as wrought iron into fence designs, the ease of adding gates, and the openness afforded by the precast rail fences offered by many manufacturers.
“If you want to do a massive entrance to a subdivision, this isn’t necessarily the product,” Sternfeld says. “But, you can make your splash with fountains and gates and natural stone, and then tie the material into a precast perimeter fence.”
BUILT TO LAST
For the designer or client who opts for a precast-concrete fence, the biggest attraction may be the speed with which the work can be done, and the resulting decrease in labor costs. There are other advantages, though.
Despite being made of concrete, the walls offer a degree of flexibility that a brick, rock or block wall can’t.
“You can put drainage underneath it,” says Sternfeld. “Because it’s really built like a suspension bridge, there’s also some flexibility of movement. The posts act as expansion joints to allow for movement.”
That can be especially attractive in prime earthquake areas, notes Artisan’s Miller.
“You just don’t have the problems you have with a standard block, brick or stone wall when the earth will shift,” he says. “A continuous foundation system wall will crack, but you don’t get that with our system.”
That flexibility also adds to another attractive feature: the ability to meet wind-loading requirements.
“We typically go into the earth with our posts 5’, and that’s due to the hurricane season here,” says Hurricane’s Perez. “Our walls are built to withstand 140-mph winds.”
Certainly setting the posts for these systems is a critical part of achieving success, and while these fences don’t require continuous footers, they still need to meet permitting requirements – which can vary by locality.
That, and the overall construction of the product, delivers a great deal of durability. For instance, Perez notes that not only is each one of his posts sunk in more than 800 lbs. of poured concrete, but his panels are made with #3 rebar that’s welded with 10” crossbars.
Other companies utilize different types of reinforcing systems in their panels, and with good reason. Quality control is a must and these companies are regulated by the Indianapolis-based National Precast Concrete Association .
“They have a certification program for manufacturers, they come out and do an audit, and there’s a pretty high standard of quality control,” says Superior’s Sternfeld. “You have to follow their procedures and their processes and they make sure you’re doing everything they want you to do.”
Just how durable is the product? Well, people such as Sternfeld and Miller, who have years of experience in the business, say walls they put up more than two decades ago are still standing and in good shape.
“Concrete’s built to last,” says East Coast’s Avery. “The life expectancy is tremendous. As long as you maintain quality control in the plant, people shouldn’t expect any durability issues at all.”
WHEN PENNIES COUNT
Durability isn’t really the issue with any masonry wall, though. What counts for many people is cost, and that’s where precast-concrete fences offer a particular advantage.
Hurricane’s Perez, for instance, says the cost of a linear foot of his fence is less than half of a comparable block version.
“We find a block wall goes for about $160-$180 per linear foot right now,” Perez says. “My fence will go from $65-$85 per linear foot, and we can easily install 400-500 linear feet a day.”
At the same time, Perez adds that his fence is only about $20 more per linear foot than a wood or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) version.
AFTEC’s Kleinman quotes a figure of $70-$80 per foot of 6’ fence, and $90-$100 per foot for an 8’ wall.
“It depends on where you are in the country, what your access is like and how big your job is,” he says. “All these things affect the price.”
Artisan’s Miller stresses that when it comes time to do a cost comparison, the material costs of a precast-concrete fence aren’t much lower than other masonry materials.
“You’ll save some money on it, but not a great deal of money,” Miller says. “Where the big savings come in are on the installation costs. They install so much more quickly.”
That’s probably the biggest reason why these systems haven’t made a big splash in the residential market. Smaller jobs mean less savings.
“If we’re doing 1,000 linear feet or 100 linear feet, the setup and preparation is about the same,” says Kleinman. “The costs associated with doing that don’t really change. However, to amortize the cost of 1,000 feet is obviously less than 100 feet.”
That’s not to say these companies don’t do smaller jobs, though.
“We do a lot of perimeter walls around subdivisions, but people also call for their personal residences,” says Miller.
The most-common uses for these fences are for subdivisions, to separate commercial areas from residential ones, and as sound barriers along busy roadways.
As for smaller residential projects, well, that’s where companies such as Artisan and Superior offer what Miller calls, “homeowner projects.”
“They buy the product and install it themselves,” he says. “It’s just like installing a heavy wood fence, and we have a pretty detailed step-by-step installation guide that we supply to customers. Sometimes we’ll install them, but it’s out of their budget to mobilize a whole installation crew.”
Superior’s Sternfeld says his company offers an installation manual in both English and Spanish, and installation usually only requires one skilled individual.
“I have a vision that eventually this product could be for do-it-yourselfers if it was manufactured in lightweight concrete,” he says.
Even if it doesn’t become a DIY product, cast fence is likely to catch more attention in the near future – including for residential work.
“There are numerous opportunities for this product, just because people want security,” says East Coast’s Avery. “There are residential applications we haven’t done too much with yet, and I believe people in higher-end custom homes offer enormous potential just because of the speed of it. People can choose what they want and we can install it fairly quickly.”
Artisan’s Miller agrees. He says interest has really ramped up in the last four or five years – and with good reason.
“A lot of projects are doing value-engineering,” he concludes. “They’re trying to cut costs on projects and still provide the client and the community with a high-quality product. That’s why our products are moving right now.”
This article first appeared in the November/December 2007 print edition of AS&LD. ©2007 Western Business Media Inc.
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