Concrete Masonry Testing at NC A & T

CCMA along with Cemex and Holcim recently supplied the masonry materials to Dr. Mark McGinley, Engineering Professor at NC A&T.  Dr. McGinley recently was partially funded by the NCMA Foundation to research the Project: Spacing of Rebar in Partially Grouted Masonry. The test panels were built by McGee Bros. This type of research is needed by our industry to be able to justify future Building Code Changes which ultimately will help make masonry construction more cost effective.  If your schedule permits we should try to have a good showing of support for his work.
Dr. McGinley is a true ally for the masonry industry.

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Residential Masonry Framing Seminar - Charleston, SC
 
CCMA recently hosted for the 3rd consecutive year, Residential Masonry Framing Seminar at the North Charleston Emergency Operations Services Center.  An audience of over 75, comprised of building contractors, architects, engineers and building officials listened intently to Jim Gulde, Masonry Information Technology, Altamonte Springs, Florida.  Mr. Gulde presented the complete package dealing with the many positive attributes that Concrete Masonry Framing brings to the builder and consumer.  Mr. Gulde fielded many questions from the how too details to proper stucco techniques.  Architects and engineers received continuing education units as CCMA is a recognized provider of continuing education units.  Most contractors received credits as well through the the South Carolina Master Builder Program.

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Eastern NC Masonry Contest

On May 6th, Adams Products Company in Kinston hosted the 25th Annual Eastern North Carolina High School Masonry Contest. For the first time in the competitions’ history, there was a separate contest for women. Winners in the men’s division were, First Place Brandon Barton, Pender High School, Second Place Markeitveon Williams, North Pitt High School, and Third Place Justin Ellenberger, Swansboro High School. Winners in the women’s division were, First Place Mary Jones, White Oak High School, Second Place Sawyer Smith, Clayton High School, and Third Place Stephanie Oklejwicz, White Oak High School. Pender County High School won the Team Competition.

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North Carolina Skills USA Masonry Competition:


Regional Winners NCMCA, Brick SouthEast and the Carolinas Concrete Masonry Association will present $1000 to the respective masonry programs to honor the regional winners of the 2006 NC Skills USA Masonry Contest.
Left to right, instructor Mark Warlick with student Aaron Warlick, Tuscola high School, instructor Doug Drye with student Joshua Kimrey, Mount Pleasant High School, instructor Roland Dixon with student Brandon Barton, Pender High School, instructor Scott Settlemyer with student Jacob Townsend, South Caldwell High School, and instructor George Braxton with student Wesley Hancock, Northwood High School.
South Caldwell High School won the over-all masonry program and will receive an additional $1,000 from industry for that achievement.


2006 NC Champs State Winners of the NC Skills USA Masonry contest at the Greensboro Coliseum in April were: left to right, instructor Rodney Harrington with student Tyler Bussard, Fifth Place, West Rowan High School, instructor Tim Kidd with student Marcus Hefner, Fourth Place, West Stanly High School, student Joshua Kimrey with instructor Doug Drye, First Place, Mount Pleasant High School, student Brandon Pressley with instructor Tim Kidd, Second Place, Central Cabarrus High School, and Third Place finisher, Travis Greenly, Central Cabarrus High School. Kimrey will represent NC in the National Contest at Kansas City in the Summer of 2006. Heath Drye won the post-secondary contest and will also participate at Kansas City.

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NC State Blockfest & Student Design Competition:
 

On Saturday, April 8th, the 13th annual Concrete Masonry Student Design Competition, known as NCSU/CCMA BLOCKFEST, was held on the Campus of North Carolina State University's College of Design. Seventy students from Professor Gail Borden's AIA's architecture class, "Structures and Materials" participated in the 2006 NCSU/CCMA Blockfest. The day long event culminated a two-week design investigation concurrent with lectures and laboratory critiques regarding masonry design and construction by the instructor and others. Students also participated on a plant tour of Adams Products. Students, faculty and representatives from the industry gathered for a competition in two categories: Drystack and Unit Design. In the Unit Design competition, the winners, a team of both undergraduate and graduate students including Nicole Alvarez, Geoffrey Barton, Darryl Jones, Juliane Kuminski, and Justin Maples, designed an Serpentine shaped unit capable of multiple configurations. A series of well illustrated boards and a variety of scale models convinced the jurors of both the practicality and innovation of their design. A team of jurors consisting of the following: Hermes Illana, CLH Design, Albert McDonald, Cline Design Associates, Michael Simmons, LPS Enterprises, and Frank Werner, Adams Products Company, evaluated the entries in terms of several criteria, including innovation, attention to modular coordination, technical performance, and craft. CCMA and the local producers-Adams Products Company/Oldcastle, Johnson Concrete Products and Cemex coordinated and sponsored the event. Cash awards totaling $1000 were awarded to first, second and third place teams in both categories. The competition is an excellent way for architectural students to learn to design with the material, and to go beyond lectures and text to where materials really come to life, which is at full scale in a design application. In addition to serving as a catalyst for the students to learn about the material, the proposed designs sometimes have strong marketplace potential. The winners of the 2006 competition will be invited to the NCMA Midyear meeting in July to present their winning design and receive an award at the Product Development and Creative Concepts Forum.
  
Many thanks to our CCMA members who participated to make this worthy event a success.

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UNC Charlotte Blockfest

ON April 21 over 100 Architectural & Engineering students from UNC Charlotte convened at the Cemex Block Plant facilities in Charlotte, NC. CCMA and Cemex hosted the students to a day long series of live demonstrations compliments of McGee Brothers, the largest masonry contractor in the US, based in Monroe, NC. The students learned first hand from several journyman masons on the proper techniques for installing masonry units along with many details such as bond beams, masonry reinforcing, control joints, grouting and specialty block conditions. Students were also escorted on a complete tour of the production facility. Topping of each groups masonry activities was a few pizzas compliments of CCMA.

 

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South Carolina Skills USA Masonry Contest, Columbia, SC
Approx. 60 high school masonry students from across South Carolina competed in the Annual Skills USA Masonry Competition.  CCMA & Brick Southeast co-hosted the event.  This year also included two College Division students from Greenville Tech, Greenville, SC.

Randall King, Oldcastle Adams overseas the Official Scoring duties


Judges for the top twenty were both from Cherokee Masonry

L to Rt. Pete Cieslak, Brick S.E., Bill Behie, Holcim, Chairman CCMA Masonry Ed Committee, David Porter, Greenville Tech 1st Place College Div., Ben Stewart Masonry Instructor and Robert Creel, Greenville Tech  2nd Place College Div.