:
(Taken from a letter written to a city concerning
skatepark design
and construction by Alltec Skateparks Inc.)
We need to have a phone meeting to discuss the
relationships between the City, the Contractors, and A.S.I.,
as well as to organize a meeting to discuss the options and
constraints of the project's budget, location, schedule,
and expectations of the finished product.
A.S.I. will fit the scenario which best suits
the city and will strive to please with a world class skatepark.
We will produce and work from a good design and excellent
set of drawings. The contractor is expected to satisfy the
Specifications for Construction.
To start with, a representative from A.S.I. needs
to be present at the pre-bid meeting to explain all the details
and specs so they know how to bid this particular job. For
this reason we need to agree on a scope of services that
establishes A.S.I. in a position of advisor or instructor
to the contractor.
A.S.I. methods are very open to the styles and
established techniques of the local concrete company we will
be working with on this project. A.S.I. listens to their
explanations of how they see achieving layout, excavation,
prep and pour strategy, and gets to know their crew. A.S.I.
employees spends any time that they are free to talk about
the most important details and what the finished product
will be. A.S.I. does not try to teach experienced concrete
crews how to pour concrete. A.S.I. does show them how to
create the specs that are defined in the drawings so that
the finished product is a world class skatepark that is both
safe and enjoyable.
Importantly, A.S.I. will show the crew custom
specialty tools, which only the best skatepark crews have
either copied from A.S.I. or developed on their own. Before
A.S.I.'s innovations, some individuals had made temporary
curved wood darbies or used pool tools but none had manufactured
either steel or mag tools. A.S.I. shows construction crews
how to use these tools to achieve the specs that are required
to create a safe and challenging skatepark.
The reason an A.S.I. representative needs to
be on hand during construction is that contractors who have
never made skateparks and have never skated professionally
are going to take shortcuts that are dangerous to the skaters
and could cause unnecessary injuries.
Our skatepark construction record proves that
working with A.S.I. on a project will save the contractor
money and the time that might otherwise have been spent fixing
errors. Having also contracted jobs, A.S.I. knows exactly
what to tell contractors to expect. Though A.S.I. does not
spend a lot of time finishing concrete, they do work with
their specialized tools enough to give the construction crew
a visual aid to apply to their own experience.
For example, an A.S.I. representative might put
on rubber boots and knee pads and get on the top deck and
show a construction crew what a ¹ä inch reveal of the coping
is. He will get on his knees and show the crew that the cold
joint needs to be smooth, if thatās the adjustment that needs
to be made.
Questions often pop up throughout the skatepark
planning and construction process and our designs often have
characteristic features that need explanation. A.S.I. representatives
make themselves available to answer these questions, and
look forward to working on another masterpiece with you.
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