Mason Friendly

Benefits

At 2/3 the weight of a standard 12" block, the reduced weight plus a specially designed ergonomic center handle make OneStep easier to handle and install.

Over the past 40 years the concrete pre-casting industry has developed innovative building systems that have successfully been marketed on the basis of performance, speed of construction, and economy. For masons and masonry contractors, the ongoing success of the pre-cast industry has caused a significant loss of market share, losses which now exceed $3 billion annually. Indeed, because traditional masonry products cannot compete dollar-per-value with the pre-cast technologies, the masonry construction industry has been unsuccessful at reversing this trend...until now...

Thanks to the OneStep CFMU Building System, masonry contractors now have a product whereby they can beat pre-cast products in head to head competition, as evidenced by two recent projects in Aberdeen, SD. Aberdeen mason contractor Stub Hietman of B & H Masonry was angry to learn that a new gymnasium at an elementary school in his community had been designed as a pre-cast concrete structure because it would result in a loss of work for his company and his masons. Stub had used the OneStep Building System on prior projects, so he bid the gymnasium with the OneStep Building System as an alternate. To the delight of the school district, B & H Masonry was able to build the gymnasium in a manner which was more attractive, higher in performance, faster to build, and less costly than the pre-cast concrete design. B & H was able to land what would have been a lost contract while providing work for his masons to the tune of 11,500 CFMU.

Shortly after the elementary school gymnasium was complete, a new gymnasium for the local middle school came out for bid. Once again, B & H Masonry was able to use the OneStep Building System to replace the pre-cast concrete walls, resulting in another project for B & H and 10,000 CFMU for his masons to install. As before, the school district was very pleased with the two-tone colored split-face exterior of the building as well as the bright red split-face color bands on interior of the gym, which added color, texture, and acoustical benefits to the interior side of the walls. Because the OneStep walls are as strong as reinforced, cast in place concrete, the new gymnasium is the “safe room” for the school in the event of a tornado warning. To top it all off, the lead time and installation time required for the OneStep walls totaled only 9 weeks - from the placing of the purchase order to the completion of the walls – compared to a 20 week timeframe for the pre-cast design.