By Gregory A. Kirkman, Commercial sales Manager, Pavestone Company, Lee?EUR??,,????'???s Summit, Missouri

The number one issue raised in the meetings with architects and engineers was?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???until the industry can provide us with a way to identify and quantify the quality of the contractors installing these systems, the growth will be limited.
Photos courtesy of Pavestone Company

Imagine this scenario, you are late to the airport in downtown New York City and you jump into a cab with a driver who has no driver?EUR??,,????'???s license, not a very comfortable feeling. On one hand you need to get to the airport. Do you trust him to get the job done?

For a long time architects, engineers, specifiers and owners sometimes have had that same uneasy feeling any time someone brought up the possibility of using concrete pavers or segmental retaining walls. The idea in principal is sound but are there contractors out there to get the job done? The myth always existed that good contractors were available to install these projects, but how do you identify these guys and verify of their qualifications?

 

While the certification classes do not test or insure the actual installation capabilities of the contractor, they set up minimum standards and guidelines for the installation of the products. The more certified contractors there are, the higher the bar is raised for the industry.

Knowledge is Power

Two industry associations, The National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) and the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) and membership manufactures started programs certifying contractors for being educated in the installation of pavers and segmental retaining walls. These classes are held all over the country and are taught by trainers who have been certified to teach the educational course. In addition to the NCMA, ICPI, and manufactures involvement, certified contractors also participate in the classes. This gives the new contractors access to their peers who are well versed in the construction process and proper installation techniques to help build their confidence and capabilities. The classes are one and two days in length and require a minimum score on a test at the end to receive the certification. In the last five years, thousands of contractors have gone through the classes and as a result of this effort, the quality of the workmanship has never been higher.

The architects and engineers have started to take notice. More commercial projects than ever are utilizing concrete pavers and segmental retaining walls. This is a direct result of the expanded work force if you ask Joe Howell, one of the principals at Howell and Vancuren, Inc., a large landscape architectural firm in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Joe says that as the pool of qualified contractors has risen so has his firm?EUR??,,????'???s ability to specify and design with concrete pavers and segmental retaining walls. ?EUR??,,????'??It gives us standards and guidelines for construction that can be specified into a project and then measured during construction.?EUR??,,????'??

Certified contractors are a valuable asset to the design team because they are better problem solvers in the field and will often times have better ways of doing an application than the architect.

High Standards Mean High Quality

State and city municipalities are also seeing the change in quality and are allowing more of these products to be used on their projects than ever before. Ultimately, it always comes back to the issue raised in the many meetings between design professionals and manufacturers. If the industry can provide us with quality contractors and a way to specify the construction process into our projects we will use more of the products. Tim Shoemaker, part owner with his wife Sandy, of The Pave-Stone Store of Oklahoma, says that he has seen a direct correlation between the amount of public and private work he is working and bidding on and the number of certified contractors he has at his disposal. Mr. 49 Percent as Sandy calls him says ?EUR??,,????'??Three years ago when we opened our distributorship we had maybe two certified contractors we could call on for commercial projects, now we have over 30 and the list is growing all of the time?EUR??,,????'??. As Tim says, it allows him a comfort level with the contractors that he recommends to his customers and since the middle of 2005 he and Sandy will not recommend any contractors who are not certified. Their contractor list is made up totally of contractors who are ICPI and NCMA certified.

For the first time in a lot of situations, cities are replacing the old stand-by of concrete and steel with the new aesthetic look and superior performance of concrete pavers and segmental retaining walls. This is also a direct result of the higher level of sophistication and expanded capabilities of these certified contractors.

A Trend Worth Setting

Joe Howell echoes that sentiment, ?EUR??,,????'??It is my hope that some day the owners and developers of commercial projects will allow us to include in our specifications that only certified contractors are allowed to bid on their projects?EUR??,,????'??. He goes on to say that this will give not only the architects and engineers a better feeling about the outcome of the projects but will help to ensure the long term performance of the products and in the end result with a better project for the owners. This is a trend that has already started. All of this helps to ensure the quality and performance of the pavers and walls and is a win-win situation for everyone. Everyone who rides in a taxi cab wants to be comfortable that the driver is certified and capable of doing his job. Now we can hold the contractors to the same standards.

Little by little more commercial owners and city officials are buying into the notion of setting up strict guidelines and qualification requirements for the contractors who are installing pavers and segmental retaining walls. This will allow the architects and engineers to include certification requirements into their specifications and to know the owners are going to hold the contractors who are bidding on the projects to those requirements.

These products are proven and do work in many applications, just ask the Europeans, where roughly 20 times the amount of pavers installed in North America are installed every year. The time has come for concrete pavers and segmental retaining walls to take their rightful place in the construction industry with other proven products that have expanded the scope and design abilities of the architects and engineers. These professionals are always looking for new ideas and different design details to set their projects apart. The myth is gone, no longer is the qualified contractor something only talked about at AIA meetings or during box lunch presentations. You have his contractor certification to rely on. No myth?EUR??,,????'??? just truth. While Europe still installs many more square feet of pavers per person per year than the U.S. does, the popularity of pavers is growing rapidly here. The beauty, economy, strength and durability of concrete pavers makes them a smart and aesthetically pleasing choice for developers, home builders, and home buyers.

As in Europe, we are discovering that pathways, driveways, sidewalks and streets need not be bland and boring; they can be elements of design that bring beauty and value to our communities and neighborhoods.