March 28, 2008

ELAINE DELLA-MATTIA

Palmer Construction crews have been busy this winter servicing a site in the east end of Sault Ste. Marie that will house a small residential subdivision. Record cold temperatures and higher-than-average snowfall accumulations have been the largest challenge of the winter project. Construction on the homes, to be built by Sal Dan Construction, is to begin this spring.

Planning

Northern Ontario’s short construction season poses challenges

ELAINE DELLA-MATTIA

correspondent

Of all the differences between the north and the south when it comes to construction, one factor has the biggest impact on sewer and watermain projects – the north’s short building season.

Palmer Construction Group Inc. president Terry Rainone can rhyme off a handful of other differences, but the short construction season is always top of mind. “We usually don’t get to start until the mid or end of May because that’s when the frost is finally out and by the end of October we’re wrapping things up. Sometimes, depending on the weather, we get lucky and have until mid-November,” he said.

About 30 per cent of Palmer Construction’s work is sewer and watermain; most of that in Sault Ste. Marie. While the majority of that work takes place over the short spring to fall construction season, projects can be done in the winter, he said.

“Northern Ontario construction is more challenging than that in the south but if you keep your nose to the grindstone, you can make a success of it,” he said.

The company is currently working on a winter sewer project to service a small residential subdivision that will be developed by builder Sal Dan Construction this spring.

Rainone said that winter site servicing requires more effort than for a summer project. Shorter work days are colder and daily tasks often include snow removal before servicing work can begin, he said.

“The frost is something we need to contend with and it’s something that slows down the production as well,” he said.

While summer construction projects can mean stockpiling material and locking up machinery and equipment on site at the end of the day, winter projects differ. Materials targeted for use on any given day are brought in on a daily basis.

Mobile equipment is returned to the company’s yard to ensure it will start properly the next day, and larger equipment may face mechanical issues due to the cold and snowy nights.

“It drives up costs and it means more time, more work,” he said. Rainone said work crews must also be diligent when laying pipe to ensure it is properly placed in the bed and that frost or frozen chunks of earth are removed.

Since the company also runs snow removal operations, drastic amounts of snowfall often shut down construction sites for days at a time, he said.

Palmer Construction Group Inc. resulted from the amalgamation of Palmer Paving and Kember Construction in 2000, five years after Rainone was named president of Palmer Construction.

Palmer’s specialty was paving and site servicing while Kember specialized in commercial building construction and renovation. The amalgamated company allows for turn-key operations on all construction sites.

Rainone expects the construction season to be a good one for his company and its 55 employees this year while the city continues to bask in a construction boom.

“We’ve had a strong number of good years and a lot of company growth,” he said. “We’ve got new people, new equipment, but we’re keeping an eye on how much longer it’s going to last. What happens in the U.S. and southern Ontario are often indicators that we gauge.”

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