Author Archives: Chuck Sink Link

Happy Construction Crews Offer More to Build On

One of our business associates, an architect, recently remarked “I’ve noticed that your people are different from other crews… they always seem happy while working and eager to help you with anything.” This was obviously nice to hear and a strong validation of what Meridian has done over the years to recruit, keep and support valued construction employees in key positions.

For many if not most in our industry right now, the number one problem is finding and holding on to enough reliable people to keep up with all the demand.

Our conversation with this architect made us think further about the importance of not only finding but keeping good people once you have them on board. This is vitally important in the skilled trades where your work is set apart from “good enough” in the construction business. It’s also critically important in every other department of our company because, even though buildings are tangible products, construction management is really a service business.

Clients, associates, contractors, vendors, media and the public need to interact with several different “points of contact,” i.e. people, in the firm. The service experience needs to be high quality and consistently performed by every team member. So how do you get your people highly engaged across all customer touch points as well as focused on the quality of their work?

A Powerful Synergy

Companies that work hard internally (on their own people and processes) as well as externally (production quality and customer service) tend to have a strong human culture and a better identified brand in the market. It’s crucial to strike a good balance in serving both the people who pay you and the people you pay. The people you pay take care of the people who pay you – a wonderful synergy!

As an owner/senior manager, working hard internally means taking responsibility for more than the bottom line. It means sincerely caring about what’s going on inside each of your team members and doing your best to accommodate them in ways that help them grow professionally and personally. Mostly, it means leading by example and offering the willingness to support the team by actually following your own advice.

Building Trust in Your Team

The more confidence that owners or senior managers can have in their project managers and crews, the more things get done according to the high standards they set. Meridian Construction has been able to build a loyal core and keep adding excellent people as we’ve steadily grown over the years. We have also developed highly collaborative relationships with enough contractors and subcontractors in every profession and trade in our industry to respond quickly to growing client demands.

We’re pleased to share a few of the ways we’ve been able to build and keep a winning team.

Have a Unique and Real Company Culture

How do you define “culture” within a company? It has something to do with the kind of people you want to attract; their values, attitudes, goals and general outlook on life and work. Company leadership has the unique opportunity to define the culture in a way they can demonstrate themselves and continually strive for every day.

Instill Positive and Collaborative Attitudes

Part of our culture at Meridian is enjoying our work and showing it. One of the ways that comes out is in how we work together to solve tough challenges. Nobody is afraid of asking questions and everyone is encouraged to simply do the best they can with what they have at the moment. They know that help is there for the asking when they need it and as leaders, we’re never more than a call away.

Genuinely Care about Your People

You know this has to come from your heart. You feel for the wellbeing of your employees because they become your second family. Maybe they are your only family. Sincerely caring can be shown in a number of ways and sometimes it means stepping up in a significant manner to help someone who’s struggling and deserves all the help they can get. It’s also important to give your team the appropriate tools they need so they can best apply their skills.

Appreciate and Reward Quality Work

Your unique company culture and relationships can help connect you with some of the better talent in your market. Look for people in each trade or specialty that really love what they do and enjoy the esteem earned in their accomplishments. Keep reinforcing their good work and watch it keep getting even better. Compensating properly and on time is crucial.

Recognizing success and offering positive strokes as they’re earned goes a long way in winning loyalty as well. In addition to our core team, Meridian is fortunate to have strong relationships with many of the finest specialty artisans in New England.

We’re not claiming to be recruiting or HR experts by any means. We have, however, come up with a formula here at Meridian Construction that has served our clients extremely well. It all stems from the four recommendations above.

Appreciation from happy clients spreads like wildfire throughout our company and that includes every partner, subcontractor and vendor. Continually hearing the gratitude from clients and company leadership for their successful work keeps spirits high and quality excellent on the job site.

Building on Hope Project Builds on the Love in Our Community

Every two years, the non-profit community in New Hampshire teams up with designers, architects, construction companies and contractors to donate time, money and materials to build or renovate a selected non-profit facility in need of renovations or new space. The 2018 Building on Hope project has been very special to all of the many participants as we clearly witnessed.

Let the good tears roll…

Emotions are flying in a very good way as a few project leaders had to choke back tears of love and gratitude at the ribbon cutting ceremony known as “the big reveal.”

In the video, at about 45 seconds in, you begin to see the genuine, warm and deep emotion in Co-Chair Johnathan Halle as he makes brief remarks and he was not alone! You can see the gratitude in the faces of the women who walk into their new living space. It’s just fantastic!

Building it Forward

Opportunities like this make construction one of the most rewarding professions because of our ability to physically transform real estate, which can potentially save lives. In this case, Meridian Construction worked with designer teammate, Jenn Rowe of Goedecke Decorating in Bedford, to fully renovate a bedroom. We also donated 11 brand new beds.

We’d like to share a few comments from some of our project team members, starting with Jenn who wrote us, “…I can’t say enough about the over the top effort Rob, Sheldon and the team put forward on site all week. They truly went above and beyond, working in a very challenging (and cramped!) environment! I wish you could have been there to see the faces of the Crisis Center staff as they walked through the finished space on Sunday. They were beyond excited and shocked at the transformation, and so grateful for everyone’s efforts.” Here is a look at the actual result:

Karen Van Der Beken, Senior Advancement Officer, Easterseals NH also writes, “Words cannot describe the feeling of accomplishment after yesterday’s Big Reveal of the Crisis Center’s newly renovated building for survivors. We are grateful to each one of you who contributed to this effort, and the tears and smiles on the faces of the staff and other guests said it all!”

Whether you’re a non-profit that needs building rehab or are interested in donating time, money or materials to New Hampshire Building on Hope, you can contact the organization or one of the steering committee members found online here.

The Quest to Build Safer Schools

Recent events have shattered our view that our schools are safe places for teaching and nurturing our young. Reality forces us to face the truth. Evil and destruction are not restricted to news reports from other parts of the world. Right here in New Hampshire we must do more to ensure that our schools are fortified against all possible threats.

Natural Disaster or Man-Made Mayhem

A Security failure is unforgiving. Whether natural or man-made, disasters threaten our way of life. This includes our schools, from the physical facility to the staff and students. How can we proceed to ensure our schools are constructed to not only withstand tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, but also the hard-to-believe attacks of terrorists and lunatics of the world?

The solution must start with public awareness that there is currently a gap between our existing school security policies (e.g., FEMA’s primer for designing safe schools) and how they are implemented to deal with today’s threats. But awareness is not enough.

People in our community are asking many questions and want answers. For example, MarketWatch.com reported architects were fielding such questions as:

Should the school be built on higher ground?
Should bullet-proof glass be installed?
Is it worth installing safe rooms, or adding layers of zoning and locked doors?
Will fool-proof alarms improve certainty of success?
Will fortress-sized fences and walls create safety, or simply produce a suppressed prison mentality?

Construction and technology experts must step up to the challenge of providing answers and strategizing the best ways to implement a remedy. The challenge is how to balance design that continues to promote a more nurturing educational student environment with security methods that detect and prevent ever-evolving threats.

Looking Beyond Conventional Wisdom

Your construction advisor should not only be able to answer these questions based on expertise in established construction delivery methods, but also be willing to look beyond what has been done in the past. This means assessing and identifying the gaps where conventional strategies may fail in the face of today’s threats, and suggesting a viable construction plan that will achieve its objectives.

For many years, Meridian Construction has been building elegant, functional and secure spaces where institutions and businesses can grow and thrive. This includes many school projects such as Spaulding High School, Mount Washington Technology Village and Education Center, Gorham Middle/High School and Ed Fenn Elementary School, Exeter Elementary School, Amherst Elementary School, Central and West High Schools, and Chateaugay Central School District in New York State.

Investments in Safety and Technology

To continue providing innovative construction solutions for today and into the future, Meridian continually invests in its people, education, safety, equipment and technology. We strive to stay current and ahead-of-the-curve in workplace safety, as well as in advanced construction technology. Central to this commitment is working with planners, engineers and architects to construct safer schools and other mass-gathering spaces.

Our mission is to make you comfortable at every phase of the construction process, whether you need design direction, end-to-end construction management or simply a reliable and financially strong general contractor to deftly execute your project.

For information on how Meridian can help you harden your school’s security to threats – natural or man-made – while continuing to promote a nurturing and comfortable learning environment, call us today at (603) 527-0101.

When Health & Safety Lead Your Priorities

Health and safety leadership means that you never need to catch up with best practices and new regulations governing the proper care of your employees and the safety of their working environments. By making an investment in worker protection and safety, you lower your risks and insurance costs while increasing employee morale and productivity. It’s a win-win-win proposition.

As part of our mission, Meridian Construction continuously innovates to stay current or ahead of the curve in workplace safety as well as advanced construction technology. For example, OSHA made a significant rule change last year to toughen the standards on “Respirable Crystalline Silica” for construction sites. We immediately decided to get out front and address this health and safety issue head-on.

“Clearing the Air” on Silica Dust Issues

Potentially harmful silica dust is caused by various construction activities such as:

Stone cutting and grinding
Concrete drilling
Concrete grinding and polishing
Joint cutting with handheld or walk-behind saws
Tuckpointing
Shot blasting

Excessive or long-term exposure to inhaling air that contains silica dust can cause chronic respiratory problems and severe lung disease. According to OSHA’s Fact Sheet on Silica Dust Control, “respirable particles can travel deep into workers’ lungs and cause silicosis, an incurable and sometimes deadly lung disease. Respirable crystalline silica also causes lung cancer and other potentially debilitating respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and kidney disease. In most cases, these diseases occur after years of exposure to respirable crystalline silica.”

As we clearly see, the silica dust problem on construction sites must be mitigated to remain at safe levels, especially considering the prolonged exposure of multiple work days in certain construction environments.

Bust the Dust for Better Worker Health!

Keeping true to our commitment to employee health and safety, we recently became the second construction firm in the entire state of New Hampshire to fully adopt and implement OSHA’s stringent new standards on respirable crystalline silica in the workplace, which took effect in September 2017.

Meridian Construction worked closely with Hilte North America’s dust control division, a unit that makes dust control products for construction tools, to assure that we meet or exceed all requirements of the new OSHA rule.

Image from Hilte.com

Hilte Happens to be a leader in design, manufacturing and marketing of state-of-the-art line dust control systems for certain construction equipment. Some of these systems are fully adaptable to much of the machinery already in use. We appreciate their help in showing us how to properly fit our various drilling, sawing, and cutting tools as well as guidance in ventilation and the proper use of the dust control and collection systems.

Tackling the silica dust problem head on is one of many examples of our commitment to quality and safety innovation. It’s good for our people and it also enhances the cleanliness of our client’s projects.

As we’ve stated elsewhere, Meridian Construction renews our investment in people and quality through education, safety, equipment and technology applications. We’re happy to report that, regarding overall safety, Meridian just scored 100 percent on our Workers Comp annual safety review.

While some may feel that more stringent environmental and safety rules only add more cost to engineering and construction projects, we believe differently. Taking a leadership position by continually investing in the future of our people, we not only lower risks but we continually experience higher employee morale and productivity which results in lower costs and higher quality work.

Supporting Our Communities One Small Project at a Time

It’s always nice for regional businesses to get engaged in volunteer work and offer donations where they’re clearly needed. Construction companies are in a unique position to give back to their communities. When you consider the high level of skills combined with their economic influence, buying power and business connections, you can see how valuable construction industry people can be to their neighbors. Offering some of our resources to help needed structures get built when they otherwise wouldn’t, can be very gratifying. Some of these projects are highly visible or promoted but many of them remain relatively obscure.

Marksmanship and Safety Kept on Target

A small yet notable volunteer project for the Daniel Webster Council of Boy Scouts of America was recently completed at the Griswold Scout Reservation in Gilmanton, New Hampshire. With a history of supporting Scouting in New Hampshire, Meridian Construction took an interest in helping to build a much-needed outdoor air gun range for safety training.

One aspect we love about this project is that it brought several organizations, both public and private, together. The collaboration resulted in an open-air gun safety training range for New England area Scouts to learn the fundamentals of responsible air gun and firearm use. Spearheading the project, attorney Kelly Gagliuso of Gagliuso & Gagliuso, PA in Merrimack, NH assembled a willing and collaborative team from a few diverse organizations across the state.

New Hampshire’s US Army Reserve 716th Engineer Company donated much of the needed labor and constructed the roofs over the loading/firing stations. Meridian Construction provided expertise, donated $1,500 cash and partnered with local building supplier, Winnipesaukee Lumber Company, to save an additional $3,000.00 in overall materials costs. This important little construction project was made possible only by combining all the efforts and resources of four local organizations. Now our New England area Boy Scouts have a better outdoor facility for practicing marksmanship as well as learning about the responsible use of guns and gun safety.

During the 2017 Holiday Season, a representative of the Daniel Webster Council of the Boy Scouts of America offered a note of appreciation on behalf of our Boy Scouts in New Hampshire: “Many thanks, Tim and Kelly, for your help! Here is the end-product of our combined efforts. The US Army Reserve 716th Engineer Company constructed the roofs this past weekend… Scouting has much to be thankful for because of you.”

Our sincerest thanks go to Attorney Gagliuso, the fine men and women of the US Army Reserve, Winnipesaukee Lumber and the Daniel Webster Council for being a pleasure to work with.

Interior Construction: Tackle it during winter!

Winter is an ideal time for projects in fully- or semi-controlled environments

Property owners in northern climates like New Hampshire, our beautiful “live, freeze and die” state, tend to put off construction projects during the dead of winter – generally December through March when the ground is frozen and a blizzard might be in the forecast any given week. While modern construction techniques allow for more winter work than in decades past, the harsh and sometimes extremely cold weather certainly affects productivity and can impede progress on numerous aspects of construction. But there is one area where construction can always be done efficiently and often for less money – indoors.

Scheduling your interior construction in winter is the natural way to prioritize your projects and there’s a huge benefit to looking indoors when considering investments in your real estate. Contractors slow down seasonally in winter and are sometimes anxious about keeping their crews working. Nobody wants to lay off valued team members and many GCs will consider pricing as a go-to device in their sales toolbox. Trimming the margins on certain bids can help fill in the seasonal gaps in steady work and keep the core team together.

Always Something Important to be Done!

There’s always a variety of valuable work that’s needed indoors, all the way from repairs to remodeling projects and even major commercial build-outs for expansions and new tenants. These projects tend to add a lot of value to both residential and commercial properties. You can take advantage of timing your interior projects during times when estimators are seeing fewer requests. Response times tend to be faster and you can more easily lock in a desired work schedule.

At some point in the year, often late summer and fall, business activity for many contractors transitions from going gangbusters to having project managers concerned about less work in the pipeline. More aggressive pricing will often be offered to help secure enough winter work to keep full-time employees and subcontractors on the job through all months of the year.

Take a look around at the interior spaces of your property. Has anything been glaring at you? Perhaps you’ve been considering how you can improve your business or home interior for better workflows and more enjoyable living. Winter is the time to focus on such improvement projects as:

Offices and executive suites upgrades
Production areas – workflow improvements
Kitchen and dining area remodeling
Mechanical systems and energy efficiency upgrades
Interior woodwork, fixtures, detailing and finishing

One thing to keep in mind is the temporary disruption caused by construction crews working in your buildings. It’s important for you and your builder to thoroughly discuss “work around” plans for the various phases of the project, especially in highly sensitive areas like medical facilities or “clean room” operations.

Even as we’re well into fall, it may not be too late to plan for and tackle an interior project this winter. You might be able to benefit from a more competitive pricing environment. Allowing more lead time might make better sense as you can develop a more comprehensive interior improvement plan. In that case, it’s never too early to start a conversation with your builder. Maybe the winter of 2018/2019 will be the time you finally transform the spaces inside your home or business into what you’ve been envisioning…

Geothermal Energy Systems: Clean, Free Energy Underfoot

It’s never too early or too late to think about how you are going to heat your home or business during the winter. Likewise, you are probably concerned about the energy you are using right now to keep your building cool and comfortable during these warm summer days. It may be surprising to discover that almost 50 percent of a building’s energy bills go towards heating, cooking, and hot water. Therefore, it’s crucial to consider the efficiency of your home or business heating system whenever you build or remodel. You might even want to consider installing a completely new heating & cooling system to replace what you’re using now.

Increasing concern among policy makers regarding energy security and environmental sustainability is one of the factors driving the global geothermal heat pump market. Geothermal heating systems utilize energy radiated from the sun and stored underground. Regardless of air temperature, the temperature below the surface stays around 53°. This constant is what allows geothermal HVAC systems to move heat to and from your home. As part of our commitment to staying at the forefront of construction industry innovations, some of the properties built by Meridian Construction utilize geothermal heating systems.

Most geothermal heat pump systems are built with a closed loop design which circulates antifreeze or a refrigerant solution through a closed pipe setup. Piping can be installed either vertically or horizontally underground. During the winter, heat is moved from below the surface into your house through a heat pump. The process is reversed in the summer, where warmer air is drawn out of your home and is sent underground to be cooled. The size and strength of any given system depend on the climate, soil conditions, available land, and installation costs for the property.

Meridian Construction recently installed a state of the art geothermal HVAC system for the Bedford Public Library. This project was made possible through generous grants from the New Hampshire Governor and Executive Council, Public Utilities Commission Renewable Energy Fund and Eversource Energy. Following their Geothermal System Ribbon Cutting on June 22, 2017, the Town of Bedford can now look forward to a year without high heating bills, reduced cooling costs, and lower electricity consumption with their new geothermal heating and cooling system!

Compared with conventional air-source heat pumps, geothermal units are quieter, last longer and need little maintenance. They also do not depend on the temperature of the outside air and have no negative environmental impact. Geothermal systems are incredibly efficient, offering savings between 40 and 60 percent in energy bills. System life is estimated at 25 years for inside components and over 50 years for the underground piping. These benefits make geothermal HVAC systems an attractive feature to potential home buyers and commercial building owners.

Even if your home or business was not originally built with a geothermal heat pump, conversions to geothermal are quite feasible and proving to be very popular as more people make long term plans concerning the market values of their buildings and their environmental impact.

Despite the overwhelming benefits that come from using a geothermal heating system, they are not necessarily for everyone. The initial cost of installing the array of piping is much greater than that of traditional forced air systems. A Canadian website calculates that the upfront cost for installing a geothermal home heating system can run between $20,000 and $30,000.

It is important to examine your construction budget carefully and calculate if the money you will save from lower energy use offsets the cost of installation, and how long that will take. In the case of the Bedford Public Library, the energy efficiency and cost savings of their geothermal system is calculated to offset the cost of a traditional oil or propane system within a decade and the building will be there indefinitely.

Geothermal systems are a worthwhile investment for environmentally conscious home or business owners who also plan on staying in the same place for many years. Federal and state governments may offer grants and tax rebates to help reduce the high cost of installation as was the case with the Bedford Library project.

Energy efficiency is a top priority in new construction today as is upgrading existing properties to utilize the latest energy efficient technologies. About 50,000 geothermal heating systems are installed in the United States every year. Meridian Construction’s trained and certified building experts are here to help you make the switch to clean and efficient temperature control for your home or business.

Deconstructing the Challenges of a Sustainable Lakefront Mansion

The house is spectacular, but it’s what you don’t see that’s truly remarkable!

Tasked with designing a commercial complex, or a unique, ultra-luxe home on the scale of 7,000-8,000 square feet, architects and owners rest easier when they identify a construction partner with a proven track record of overcoming challenges.

A stunning design is only the first step of creating a year-round sanctuary on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee, particularly when the clients insist on an environmentally friendly, extremely energy-efficient residence—incorporating the warmth of wood timbers and other native New Hampshire materials, including stone.

The magnificent lakefront home known as Blackey Cove Estate delivers on all counts, thanks to the inspired creativity of Christopher P. Williams Architects, PLLC combined with the ingenuity of Meridian Construction’s team. We surmounted numerous technical challenges by applying some uniquely ingenious techniques—and completed the project on budget and on schedule.

Before we uncover some details of solving the tough challenges, let the owners briefly describe their experience as conveyed in their appreciation letter: “We cannot thank you enough for our beautiful new home on Lake Winnipesaukee. It is everything we had dreamed of and more. Not only is the resulting house exceptional, but the process to build it was outstanding… from beginning to end… We were particularly impressed with how your team facilitated changes made along the way, changes motivated at times by your team’s insights and sometimes by our requests. They made us feel like no request was too trivial, and would skillfully accommodate changes in the plan.”

Earning the Accolades

The first challenge was preparing the site for this estate. Carefully chosen for its forested shoreline, ensuring privacy and breathtaking water views, groundbreaking revealed granite ledge which had to be exposed—with all the necessary permitting and neighbor notification before further work could begin.

Because the owners insisted on nestling their home within the existing forest and without cutting trees, Meridian built this home with only 6 to 8 feet of clearance between the natural soil and the foundation, working their way back from the live forest. The original framing design featured a metal connection with partially exposed wood beam with engineered framing members at the core. After the project started, the owners changed this to a true timber frame with traditional post-and-beam construction. Because some of the existing structural overlay roof items had to be integrated with the new timber-frame structural pieces, Meridian engaged a separate structural engineer for the building’s core.

One of the most remarkable features of the 7,600-square-foot luxury home is the latest in energy-efficient technology while allowing lots of natural wood to shine. Finished wood was integral to the design, as befitting its woodland setting. However, wood is vulnerable to the elements, especially moisture, and insects.

Meridian’s team worked with engineers and building material experts to incorporate double insulation and specialized thermal, air and moisture barriers to create a whole building “envelope” while showcasing the wood.

Building the most energy-efficient home in the region started with Intello membrane insulation. Highly adaptive, this temperature-sensitive membrane protects walls against condensation in winter by contracting and prevents walls from drying out in summer by expanding. Damage to walls from moisture and mold is greatly reduced, and the interior temperature remains stable and comfortable even during frigid New Hampshire winters.

Various barrier and sealing products were used to ensure this home would last for generations.

TREMproof 250GC was used at the footings to prevent wicking of water.
The foundation to the sill plate was sealed with Extoseal Finoc.
Solitex Mento 1000 with built-in rain screen was used for the air barrier of the exterior wall, then sealed with Vana seal tape.
Solitex Mento Plus was applied over the rafters, then dadoed out 2×4 on the top of the rafters as the roof air barrier, to prevent leaks at fasteners.
Intello Plus “smart” barrier material was installed over the 2×6 exterior walls, under the 2×4 strapping as the interior air barrier, then sealed with Vana tape.
Two layers of 2×4 strapping was applied in opposing directions to help with the thermal break. It also serves as a place to run wiring and plumbing without penetrating the Intello Plus air barrier.
Windows and doors were sealed with Profil Tape.
Contega caulk was used between layers of wood framing and in areas of dissimilar materials to reinforce the air-tight seal.

Another requirement was to have the “rafter tails” exposed. This posed a challenge because of the potential for air penetration. Meridian Construction solved this problem by running the exterior air barrier from the exterior wall right through to the roof. The exposed rafter tails decking and trim was added after, by having the roof strapping and plywood overhang the roof’s edge. This strengthens the assembly and maintains structural integrity, while looking as if the exposed rafter tails run through the walls of the house.

Plus, since zero to minimal VOCs were used for health and safety reasons, most typical insulation was out of the question, requiring Meridian to source new products. The result? From the exterior roofline to the soaring three-story hexagonal interior great room, the high-tech membrane is completely invisible.

Low Energy Use on a Grand Scale

You’ll see soaring timbers and arches reminiscent of ancient churches or sailing ships, as part of the true post-and-beam construction the clients required. The copious finished wood was sealed and protected with very low VOC lacquer to display its natural beauty without using potentially dangerous chemicals.

What the owners don’t see are high utility bills one might expect from a house with so much glass and wide-open space. Almost half of a home’s energy consumption goes toward heating and cooling, so maintaining a seasonally constant temperature saves thousands of dollars.

This lakefront gem sets an unparalleled standard for sustainable, energy-efficient construction, thanks to design and construction details devised specifically for this project. Meridian Construction brought the architect’s brilliant sustainable design to life in an eco-friendly, truly one-of-a-kind luxury property that will stand the test of time and the elements season after season for generations.