Nielsen Builders Harrisonburg Virginia

Daily News Record
Friday, October 26, 2007

Prospects Looking Up For Tilt-Up Building

Nontraditional Method Offers Buyers Alternative

By Dan Wright

Harrisonburg-Once used only for warehouse and manufacturing buildings, tilt-up construction is finding new applications in the industry.
Tilt-up construction in the United States has grown more than 50 percent ovet the past five years, industry sources say.
Much of that growth is due to non-traditional uses in smaller projects, according to Tony Biller, president of Harrisonburg-based Nielsen Builders Inc.
"Building that were 50,000 square feet and up have been traditionally in the tilt-up realm." Biller said. "Now we're doing tilt-up in smaller buildings."
Nielsen has been doing tilt-up construction for six years, Biller said.
The technique involves pouring the walls on the building floor or other flat surface, then tilting them with a crane from horizontal to vertical. They are then braced into position until all wall panels are secured.

Time & Money
Tilt-up is cost competitive and can cut 20 percent off the construction time required to frame a building, Biller said.
The larger the project, the more cost savings and efficiencies come into play, said Wayne Witmer, vice president of business development for Harman Construction Inc.
"When you do all your assembly on site, that saves money too," Witmer said.
Harman has been doing tilt-up construction for 13 years, but moved slowly and built experience, he added.
"Tilt-up has been one of our focus markets." Witmer said. "We've built 1 million square feet of tilt-up, about 15 total projects."
Harman projects include an expansion for Packaging Services Inc. in Weyers Cave and a new building for Valley Fertilizer & Chemical in Mount Jackson, Witmer said.
A different set of skills is required for tilt-up construction, according to Garry Haney, Harman's director of operations.
"You're lifting very heavy panels and safety is important," Haney said. "There's a lot of risk."

Sector Growth
The tilt-up sector of the construction industry has seen substantial growth in recent years, according to James Baty, technical director of the Tilt-Up Concrete Association.
Last year, 772 million square feet of building space used the tilt-up process, the association said.
That's up 52.9 percent since 2002.
Baty projects 5 percent growth for 2007. He also expects fewer big-box projects and a surge in smaller projects such as schools, offices and civic buildings and housing.
Growth in smaller buildings is due to an increased use of architectural features, including brick and stone embedded logos, Baty said, rather than just flat concrete.
"There is no other building system out there that offers as many form and finish options," Baty said. "Its a virtual palette to the designer."
The effect, Biller said, "is to make an industrial building look non-industrial."
That look has made the process appealing to nontraditional users, such as churches and retail sores, he added.
"Tilt-up has been around since the 1940s in manufacturing and warehouse [types] of building," Biller said. "Now it's being accepted by other sectors."

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