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Project Information
Name: 24 At Bloomfield
Bloomfield Township, MI
Product: AB Fence
Size: 1,200 ft (366 m)
General Contractor & Wall Builder: Darren Yanke, Yanke Construction Inc.
Allan Block Manufacturer:
Consumers Concrete - Kalamazoo, MI
Adding Value to Luxury Living with AB™ Fence System
24 At Bloomfield is a brand-new luxury apartment complex located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. The community is made up of twelve residential buildings and several community spaces that include a pool, grilling stations, and a dog park. The campus prides itself on providing a beautiful space for its residents to call home. A 6 ft. (1.8 m) AB Fence installed on the eastern side of the property was instrumental in providing the comfort of privacy with an attractive finish.
Plan:
When choosing a fence product to border their community, 24 At Bloomfield was focused on two major features – privacy and beauty. Since the complex was going to be built beside an existing residential neighborhood, they found value in the ability to provide their residents with a greater sense of personal space that privacy fences make possible. With their focus on luxury living, it was very important that the product used would not only add to the aesthetics of the property but continue to look great many years into the future. Fortunately, an ashlar patterned AB Fence provided the solution to both requirements.
Design:
Once it was decided that AB Fence would be used on the project, Randy Vreeman, the local Allan Block representative with Consumers Concrete, understood the importance of having the fence be designed by a qualified engineer. Randy recommended that Kyle Huerd of GeoWall Designs, complete the design of the 1,200 linear foot (366 m) fence project. GeoWall Design ensures their engineers are properly trained on how to design AB Fence systems.
There are two key structural elements to any AB Fence project – Fence posts and panels. The fence posts provide a reinforced structure that the panel blocks are placed between. With the soils present on site and the wind loading classification of the area, the engineers at GeoWall Designs calculated that it would be best to set the reinforced post spacing to a maximum of ~14.5 feet (4.4 m). They also determined that a three-course bond beam at the bottom and a two-course bond beam at the top of each panel would be most appropriate to exceed minimum factors of safety for the design.
Not only did Kyle and the design professionals at GeoWall Designs do a great job engineering 24 At Bloomfield’s fence project in adherence to AB Fence design recommendations, but they also made sure that the construction drawings they were providing could be easily interpreted and implemented by the company installing the beautiful AB Fence.
Build:
Darren Yanke, Yanke Construction Inc. was chosen as the installing contractor for the project based on his company’s great reputation. Prior to this project, Darren had never built an AB Fence before, so he and his crew attended an AB Fence certification course to prepare and familiarize themselves with the system. Having attended the class and using GeoWall Designs’ detailed construction drawings, he said that it was very straightforward. His crew also had no issues getting the fence installed.
The first major advantage Darren found with the AB Fence system was the preset Ashlar patterns found in the AB Fence Installation Manual. They did not have to guess where the different sized blocks fit into the panel’s pattern, saving time and money. Darren and his team also found the fact that bond beams could be fabricated ahead of time and dropped into the fence panels as another major benefit of using the system. When Yanke Construction started on the project, the ground was still frozen. Instead of delaying the project, Darren and his crew were able to set up tents where they could assemble bond beams in the cold weather. Once the weather warmed up, the installation of the fence began. With the help of the provided drawings, the convenience of their pre-built bond beams, and the detailed Ashlar pattern instructions, Yanke Construction was able to efficiently build their first AB Fence project.