Using a composite steel frame that is rebar free, The Erection Co., finished topping out its 850 square foot Rainier Square Tower in Seattle, Washington in just ten months. The building is scheduled for completion in 2020, but the “speed core” system used by the company allowed for the topping out faster to move more quickly and save more money.
The “speed core” utilized by The Erection Co., which they intend to next use on multiple buildings in California, is rebar free and utilizes a coupled steel-plate composite shear wall to increase seismic resistance and avoid any congestion of rebar. In the shear wall, the tiles are filled with concrete to accomplish that seismic resistance, which could be an even bigger benefit to construction on the California building projects.
The core also saved the contractor 2% overall when compared with the cost of building with a concrete-core model. The total cost of the construction is $370 million, so 2% savings go a long way and can help prevent budget overruns. Building with the concrete-core model also would have had other expenses as it would have taken longer, causing the contractor to have to absorb more administration costs over an extended period of time while using less cost-effective equipment that the speed-core did not require.
With new techniques, there are always dangers though, and that’s why bid, payment, and performance bonds are required in order to ensure that the contractor can take on the project at the bid amount, will pay for subcontractors and materials, and will complete the project satisfactorily.
So where can you purchase bid and payment/performance bonds for a project?
Colonial offers the direct and digital way to obtain bid and payment/performance bonds as well as any other surety bonds. We are the insurance company — which means no agent, no broker, and no middleman. We make it easy to obtain your bond. The steps are easy — get a quote online, fill out your information, satisfy underwriting requirements, and enter your payment method. Print your bond from your office. It’s that simple!
Colonial gives you an easier way to manage your bid and payment/performance bonds online. Having your single and aggregate limits in writing allows you to update your work on hand and adjust your bonding capacity in real-time.