Silver Spring, Maryland-based Build with Strength came to Wissinoming last week for a panel discussion on safe, sustainable building materials.
Build with Strength’s executive vice president for communications, Overbrook native Kathleen Carr-Smith, was joined by state Rep. Joe Hohenstein; Wayne Miller, the longtime business manager of Sprinkler Fitters Local 692; and Mark Wildsmith, vice president of the Mid-Atlantic District Council of Plasterers & Cement Masons.
The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council are on board with Build with Strength. Miller is the assistant business manager of the building trades, serving under John Dougherty.
The Block Gives Back and the Mayfair and Tacony civic associations are also part of the coalition.
The May 23 event, held at Moss Playground, also included representatives of the AFL-CIO, International Association of Fire Fighters and Paramedics Local 22, an affordable housing group and the steel framing industry.
Build with Strength, a coalition of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, seeks to improve fire and building codes to help prevent fires in wood-framed buildings. Members believe the use of non-combustible materials will minimize the risk of fires.
Build with Strength also claims concrete is cheaper than wood.
The coalition cites a study by Dodge Data & Analytics showing that, for buildings up to seven stories built in Philadelphia from 2014-18, concrete and masonry cost $112.33 per square foot while wood cost $152.75 per square foot.
RS Means estimated costs for a typical, four-story, 100,000-square-foot apartment building in Philadelphia. For a structure with 60 one-bedroom apartments and 32 two-bedroom apartments, the cost would be $19,260,220 using concrete and $19,744,498 using wood.
Build with Strength also contends that using insulating concrete saves on heating and cooling costs and risk and commercial property insurance, along with reducing sound between connected units.
Carr-Smith even cited the concrete used to build the centuries-old Parthenon in Greece.
“There are so many reasons to use non-combustible materials,” she said.
Miller said many city codes are the minimum for safety requirements.
“We want to expand that,” he said.
Miller, who has been around long enough to remember putting sprinklers in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, said concrete construction can be a “lifesaver.”
“It’s good for everyone,” he said.
Almost everyone in the room supported tougher building standards, though one woman wanted to know why a developer would continue to use wood if, as Build with Strength claims, it’s cheaper to use concrete.
“They have to be schooled in that,” Miller said.
Miller said the homebuilders lobby is a powerful one. Panelists expect opposition from some small business groups and the wood industry, and acknowledged that builders and developers are following the law.
Carr-Smith wants to change the law, and the coalition plans to approach City Council members. So far, the coalition says, Council President Darrell Clarke has given favorable early feedback.
“We’re very optimistic,” she said. ••
