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University of North Carolina Charlotte – Student Union

One of our recent fiberglass cornice projects is now ready for the students returning to school.  We completed our work over a year and a half ago, but the first full year of service for the UNC – Charlotte Student Center is beginning.  The Student Union at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte in welcoming students for a new year.  We supplied the large fiberglass cornice, pilasters and columns in our Cornicestone FRP material.  This runs around the perimeter of the upper section of the building and around the centerpiece rotunda. 

While we are always pleased to work on a project of this scope, it was especially exciting to be working on a campus that is growing and reinvesting in itself.  Working for Balfour Beatty Construction of Charlotte, North Carolina, we supplied the Cornicestone FRP based upon a cast stone finish provided by the architect.  The exposed aggregate finish was to appear to be large pieces of pre-cast or cut stone.  The large parts could have only been done in fiberglass without redesigning the buildings structural support for all the unnecessary weight.  Cornicestone FRP allows the appearance of a stone with an exposed aggregate, but the large profiles only require light gauge framing to support.                   

The Cornicestone fiberglass cornice was over 7’-8” high at the 2nd levels with staggered false reveals and over 3’-6’ high at the upper cornice section.  The rotunda was configured of large radius panels, radius cornice and 11’ high pilasters.  We supplied over 1,005 separate parts.  All of this material totaled to 47,573 square feet of custom fabricated Cornicestone FRP.                        

As with all of our cornice projects, we detailed the exact profiles on our submittals but also identified the location of each of the parts on all levels of the building.  We indicated the location of the joints, the size of the factory assembled corners and the means for attachment to coordinate the installation.  This attention to detail not only helped identify field issues before they occurred, it also set an expectation level for the architect and the general contractor. 

While we produced this fiberglass cornice in our Cornicestone FRP material, we have produced other cornice applications using our GFRCnext material, our Echo-Stone material, and our standard FRP. So whether you are using an existing or custom cornice profiles, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making cornices for all types of architecture in the right material for your application.  Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/index.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/cornicestonefrp.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/products/index.aspx

Products: Cornice

Huntersville Town Center – Huntersville, NC

We have recently concluded another Cornicestone project, our aggregated FRP material, which looks like stone.  The Cornicestone FRP was used in lieu of cast stone or EIFS on a new building built for a city hall, community center and museum in Huntersville, North Carolina.  Working for Spectrum Interiors of Greenville, SC we supplied the fiberglass cornices and brackets based upon the design of the architectural firm Narmour,Wright,Creech of Charlotte, NC.

The fiberglass cornice was cast with an aggregate finish was made to match the precast stone on the building.  This is achieved by custom casting the cornice, brackets and recessed panels in an architectural fiberglass (FRP) with our proprietary stone finish.  Unlike cast stone or EFIS, we cast the radius shapes and complex intersections in large sections.  Since the parts are rigid, thin wall FRP and weigh only 2 pounds per square foot, the installation of the 15,716 square feet of material went very quickly and easily for such a large profile.

This is a good example of how a structure can get the upscale look of a cast stone, but with a huge cost savings by eliminating the need for a heavy supportive structure and stacked stone installation.  Since the architectural intent was for a dimensional stone appearance, Cornicestone can achieve this where EIFS would look too monolithic and featureless                 

The Cornicestone fiberglass cornice was over 4’-4” high at the upper levels and over 2’-6’ deep.  We supplied large recessed panels that were 6’-0” high and as long as 12’-0” wide and over 70 brackets that mounted on the underside of the cornice.  All of this material totaled to 15, 700 square feet of custom fabricated Cornicestone fiberglass cornice.                   

As with all of our cornice projects, we detailed the exact profiles on our submittals but also identified the location of each of the parts on all levels of the building.  We indicated the location of the joints, the size of the factory assembled corners and the means for attachment to coordinate the installation with Spectrum Interiors.  This attention to detail not only helped identify field issues before they occurred, it also set an expectation level for the architect and the general contractor, Rogers Builders of Charlotte, NC.                      

While we produced this cornice project in our Cornicestone material, we have produced other cornice applications using our GFRCnext material, our Echo-Stone material, and our standard FRP. So whether you are using an existing or custom cornice profiles, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making cornices for all types of architecture in the right material for your application.  Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/index.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/cornicestonefrp.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/products/index.aspx

Atruim Court, Fashion Island Shopping Center, Newport Beach, California

One of the more common questions we get about FRP is regarding longevity.  We have been producing architectural FRP for over thirty years and have many projects that were produced in FRP and continue to look great.  In fact, one significant project is located in Newport Beach, CA and was installed in 1985.  While the retail space has changed many times in the last 25 years, our cornice material has not been repaired or replaced, only repainted.

The building is part of the Fashion Island Mall called Atrium Court.  It now is primarily a Bloomingdales department store on the upper floor and many specialty shops on the lower floors. We provided the two large upper cornice profiles, the lower bullnose banding and the quatrefoil in FRP.  This project is within sight of the ocean so the corrosive salt air would have attacked either metal or wood if used on the cornice.  FRP is specifically used and formulated to be unaffected by corrosive environments.

So this is just one example of how durable and attractive FRP cornice can be on a building.  We are confident that this material will be performing just as well during the next twenty-five years and beyond.

While we produced this cornice in our standard FRP, we have produced other cornice applications using our GFRCnext material, our Cornicestone FRP material, and our Echo-Stone material. So whether you are using an existing or custom cornice profiles, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making cornices for all types of architecture in the right material for your application.  Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/index.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/fiberglassreinforcedpolymerfrp.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/products/index.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/products/cornices.aspx

One of our recent cornice projects is now in the final stages of completion.  Our work has all been installed but the final finishing touches are being completed on the Bavaro Hall at the University of Virginia in Charlottesburg, Virginia.  We supplied the large dentil cornice in our Echo-Stone GFRC material.  This runs at the upper section of the building, the gable ends and in a horizontal watertable band midway up the building.

While we are always pleased to work on a project of this scope, it was especially exciting to be working on a campus so well known for its architectural history.  “Thomas Jefferson’s University” as it is called was founded, originally laid out and designed by our third president and famous architect.  Working for Capital Interiors Contractors of Richmond, Virginia we supplied the Echo-Stone cornices and brackets based upon the design of the famous architectural firm Robert A. M. Stern Architects, LLP of New York

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The Echo-Stone cornice was over 3’-0” high at the upper levels and over 4’-6’ high at the mid-level cornice section.  These included a dentil band that ran the perimeter and over 500 brackets that mounted on the underside.  We supplied over 1,482 linear feet of cornice, 180 linear feet of handrail system for a total of 1,196 separate parts.  All of this material totaled to 11, 661 square feet of custom fabricated Echo-Stone GFRC. 

As with all of our cornice projects, we detailed the exact profiles on our submittals but also identified the location of each of the parts on all levels of the building.  We indicated the location of the joints, the size of the factory assembled corners and the means for attachment to coordinate the installation with Capital.  This attention to detail not only helped identify field issues before they occurred, it also set an expectation level for the architect and the general contractor, Donley’s Inc. of Richmond, Virginia office.  We supplied all the material needed to complete the project without a change order for any additional parts with the exception of few lengths of cornice that was damaged on-site.  This attention to detail in performing our estimate, as well as the exact scheduling on the building, translates to cost predictability to our customer.

While we produced this cornice in our Echo-Stone material, we have produced other cornice applications using our GFRCnext material, our Cornicestone FRP material, and our standard FRP. So whether you are using an existing or custom cornice profiles, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making cornices for all types of architecture in the right material for your application. 

Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/index.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/materials/echostone.aspx

http://www.decassociates.com/products/index.aspx

One of the most common items we fabricate at DEC Associates  are column covers.  We fabricate both custom and standard profiles in our fiberglass (FRP), Cornicestone, Echo-Stone, and GFRCnext.  What all these types of column material have in common is the ease of installation that you get with a lightweight reinforced composite material.  Our column covers are cast to size in half sections with either a lap joint, butt joint or reveal joint based upon the project requirements.  We offer a large variety of styles and sizes including custom fabrication. 

While there are a large number of distributors of column covers, we fabricate ours with the installer in mind.  If we provide a high quality product that can be effectively and easily installed, we will have a very satisfied customer.  Therefore, we do things a little different with this in mind. We fabricate the column covers in two halves to fit around structural members or supportive framing.  The column covers provide no structural load bearing strength for the building and are for decorative applications only.  We cast them with either the cap or base loose (depending upon style) so that they have some height adjustability for installation.  Both steps make it easier and cleaner to install resulting in a better final product.

Now on some projects require different qualities for the column covers and that varies by their use.  We offer our columns in fiberglass (FRP), glass fiber reinforced cement (GFRC), and in glass reinforced gypsum (GRG) depending upon your needs.  We can also offer the same columns in pre-finished Cornicestone and Echo-Stone.  Since the column covers are going to be custom fabricated to order, we can make sure that you get the right material for your application, even if that means we produce columns in all our materials for your project.  We are determined to give you the right product in the right material to make you a life long customer of DEC.

So either existing or custom column covers, we can fabricate them in a multitude of sizes for all types of architecture in the right material for your application.  Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

http://www.decassociates.com/products/index.aspx

FRP cornice , GFRC cornice , Cornicestone and Echo-Stone.

Here at DEC Associates, we fabricate a very significant amount of rafter tails each year.  We fabricate both custom and standard profiles in fiberglass (FRP), glass fiber reinforced cement (GFRC), and glass reinforced gypsum (GRG).  Typically, the rafter tails are cast with an integral wood grain texture on all exposed sides. These rafter tails provide the means to install a false rafter tail on most any soffit condition and since they are lightweight, they appear to be large pieces that can be installed on structures with a minimum of support.

On one hotel structure alone, we supplied over 2,400 false rafter tails that replicated a heavy timber beam.  Given the huge number of beams, a wood beam would have been more expensive to purchase and install while a cast product is so consistent that an installation team can preset blocking and install in a fraction of the time.  The contractor had originally anticipated an 8% rejection of the wood product that he received thus requiring over-ordering of material.  With the FRP rafter tails, they knew that each one would be consistent and predictably high quality.  Since it was less cost per unit and was so much faster to install, the decision to switch was very easy.

Using a composite rafter tails, a building gets a no maintenance rafter tail that will not rot, split check or peel over the buildings lifetime.  These lightweight versions of a rafter ends can be installed on new and existing structures with a simple concealed perimeter angle clip over conventional construction.  At 1.5 to 4.0 pounds per square foot, these durable parts can be easily installed by two men.  Unlike foam products, composites are not vulnerable to burrowing insects or nesting birds.

While exposed beams and rafter tails do not occur on all buildings, many of the styles that do use them are located by the ocean or often exposed to harsh weather such as snow.  Fiberglass (FRP) and glass fiber reinforced cement (GFRC) are both formulated to be immune to those difficult environments.  The glass reinforced gypsum (GRG) is so lightweight and non-combustible that we often convert more than just interior beams and rafter tails from wood to glass reinforced gypsum (GRG).

So either standard or custom rafter tail profile, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making wood beams and rafter tails for all types of architecture in the right material for your application.  Let DEC provide the solutions to your architectural vision.

Fiberglass rafter tails, GFRC rafter tails, and GRG rafter tails are all composite, false rafter tail materials. 

Please call us for our recommendation of material for your project.

http://www.decassociates.com/products/raftertails.aspx

We at DEC Architectural Composites,  fabricate a significant amount of cornices each year.  We fabricate both custom and standard profiles in our fiberglass (FRP), Cornicestone, Echo-Stone, and GFRCnext.  What all these types of cornice material have in common is the ease of installation that you get with a lightweight reinforced composite material.  The question we frequently get from our customers usually involves the cost for making a custom mold for their cornice.  The answer to the question is driven by two significant factors, the amount of material and the size requirements for the cornice.  This will determine the cost justification of making a mold or not.

Over the years of custom fabrication, we have refined the ability to create new cornice profiles quickly and inexpensively, so this has become a tougher call.  As a general rule of thumb, you only need about 15 parts to justify creating a new mold.  This is somewhat dependent upon the size of the profile, but is you have an 8’- 0” part length, you will need a requirement for 120’ lineal feet to cost justify the mold cost.  This is just a guideline and although we have created molds for a single item many times; it’s a good starting point.

If making a custom cornice mold is not going to be feasible, DEC has a huge inventory of existing cornice profiles that you can use for your application.  Many of these can be found on our website, but we have many more in storage.  Typically, we will research all of our proposals for existing molds including the use of multiple profiles to “build-up” a large cornice if necessary.  These can be very cost effective solutions when the project does not require a large amount of material.

On the other hand, if your project requires a significant amount of material, the cost for tooling your exact profile custom for your project may not cost you any more than an existing profile.  The cost for making the mold is spread out over the total amount of footage required and may add up to pennies per foot or on the very high volume runs, nothing at all.

So either existing or custom cornice profiles, use an expert with over 30 years experience in making cornices for all types of architecture in the right material for your application. 

Providing Solutions To Your Architectural Vision...........