CM Commercial Dry wall, Inc.
Craftsman
Vol. 3 No. 10
August 1982
Oaks Plats®
Prestigious project g®@s w<bU foir ©DO “A beautiful project” is how supervisor Bill Shafer describes the Four Oaks Place, a prestigious office development in the Post Oak area. CDI craftsmen have been on the job at Four Oaks since March. CDI’s scope of work on the four-building complex includes core and lease work, door frames and hardware. Developed by Interfin Corporation, Four Oaks sits on a 20-acre site, a large portion of which will remain open in a park-like area. The 30-story central tower is flanked on the east and west by 25-story towers. A 12-story midrise building will house Interfin’s corporate headquarters. A parking garage, capable of holding more than 4,500 cars, is also planned. Most of the garage will be located underground, with only two floors above ground. "Everything is going fantastic. We are below budget on almost everything. We are looking good on all the codes," says Bill. The east and west towers are topped out, and CDI is 39 percent complete with its portion of the work on those buildings and 20 percent complete with its work in the central tower. The midrise building is just coming out of the ground. Lease work is scheduled to begin November 1 in the east tower. The biggest challenge in supervising the large complex is organizing sequences and maintaining schedules, according to Bill. To meet that challenge he and his foreman worked hard at the beginning of the project in order to develop the proper sequences for the work. “We took losses in the beginning and made them winners later,” Bill explains. In addition, Bill and the foremen meet once a week at the jobsite to
Four Oaks, the prestigious four building complex, rises just north of the Galleria. CDI is doing the project's interior construction which includes work in the 30-story central tower, the two 25-story highrises on each side and the 12-story Interfin building just getting started (far left).
discuss problems and find solutions together. Also on the job are CDI finishers. Mike O’Brien is the field superintendent and John Orlop is the finishing foreman. “I couldn't ask for two better people to work with. They are very cooperative,” says Bill. Bill believes that the key to the success of Four Oaks lies in good, effective communication. “I have the best men in Flouston—foremen and craftsmen. We are a family out here,” he asserts. “We communicate very well. The most important reason for our success is something you cannot put into a contract—faith, understanding and a good relationship between the men.” Dusty Lobb is the carpenter foreman over the east tower, with Johnny King as his labor foreman. John Ingram is the carpenter foreman over the central tower. Bo
Charles is the labor foreman there. In the west tower, carpenter foreman Nick Nunez heads up the work, with assistance from labor foreman Pete Rideau. “All six of these men are very well organized and help me tremendously,” says Bill. “They make my job out there easy." Bill also has praise for job site administrators Lee Jones and Brian Thulis. “They are very professional and do their job very well." In addition, Bill says the helpful attitude and concern of superintendent Glen Brabham, project manager Frank Scuillo and other administrators have been invaluable in the success of the project. “You're only as good as the people around you,” says Bill. “That’s what makes Four Oaks go. We have good people all around.”