Terra-Petra going “underground” (aka below grade) in Denver and beyond…

at Haselden ConstructionWe are very excited about the new opportunities that have developed for Terra-Petra in the Denver area, as well as the state of Colorado, and other surrounding states including Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma as of late. One of our key contacts that we met with is working for Haselden Construction out of Wyoming. The company is working on the final stages of a hospital building project in Laramie. Terra-Petra is looking to take on some potential future waterproofing design consulting projects with Haselden. We would also like to plan to work with Haselden in the Wyoming area and support them with more below grade waterproofing, as well as some environmental consulting needs in the near future.

It looks as though the “wild-west” area is booming again thanks to certain industries – particularly with regard to below grade waterproofing needs. There are also many construction sites that are subject to some sort of contamination issue due to the fact that Denver, for one, is growing very fast. Multi-unit housing complexes going up in droves to support (population) growth in this area. The oil, mining, and legal marijuana industries, in particular, are driving this kind of speedy growth.

To that end Denver appears to also have plenty of waterproofing requirements, but they also have their share of environmental concerns. However, the Denver area still does not have a tremendous amount of regulations in place with regard vapor barriers and mitigation systems (like there are in cities like in New York or Los Angeles). So owners/developers in the Denver, as well as in many of the surrounding (Rockies/Midwest) areas, are now in a rush (or will soon need to be in a rush) to put these specific measures in place for current/older and new buildings —and this will become more and more of a necessity in order to maintain the clean environmental conditions in the area(s). We all know that there are many environmentalists residing in places like Colorado, so the consensus is that it is just a matter of time before tighter measures and regulations are put into place and owner/developers will be required to go down certain mitigation paths to better conditions.

Terra-Petra is looking to be the “go-to” environmental engineering firm as the construction industry (in the “wild west” area) continues to catch on to a growing environmental protection concern where building and land development is concerned. Yes, there are plenty of big environmental engineering firms located in Denver including URS and AECOM. This indicates that there is a market for larger scale environmental projects now and on the horizon. It’s going to be another wild ride in the west!

Terra-Petra awarded contract to perform methane and water intrusion inspections for Northern California project

Terra-Petra was recently awarded the contract to perform inspections at the Maple Street Correctional Facility site in Redwood City, California. The Northern California site requires excavation below the water table and is located within a region impacted by naturally occurring methane gas. As such, the future building is susceptible to the impacts of methane gas and water intrusion and requires a dual methane barrier/waterproofing system. Gergen Construction is in the process of installing the system which will consist of a membrane and passive venting system to adequately protect the building.

The inspections will be administered through Terra-Petra’s San Francisco office. Terra-Petra’s Deputy Methane Barrier Inspectors (DMBI) come prepared with diverse certifications and extensive knowledge of prevalent systems, making Terra-Petra a versatile choice for any methane/water impacted construction project. The Maple Street Correctional Facility site is no exception. For this project, Terra-Petra’s certified Hydroshield, Coreflex and Liquid Boot inspectors led to the selection of Terra-Petra as the best team to get the job done.The joint effort and long-standing relationship between Terra-Petra and Gergen Construction will ensure an efficient and reliable system to provide the project owners with an environmentally safe building.

 

 

 

Terra-Petera Methane begins mitigation system installation project for The Irvine Company in Playa Vista, California

Terra-Petra is excited to announce that the methane mitigation system installation is in progress on three new apartment complexes in Playa Vista being developed by The Irvine Company.

The Irvine Company selected the architectural firm of McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners (MVE) out of Irvine to realize their vision of bringing a premier apartment community to the west side of Los Angeles. MVE has designed three mediterranean style apartment complexes each having one level of subterranean parking with on grade parking and four levels of apartments above grade. The building footprints increase in size moving from west to east from 187,067 SQ.FT., 256,866 SQ.FT. and 333,827 SQ.FT. 

MVE’s design team for these three projects included the following prestigious firms:

Structural Engineer: Englekirk –  Los Angeles
Civil Engineer: Fuscoe – Irvine
Geotechnical Engineer: Group Delta – Torrance

The project are located in the City of Los Angeles Methane Zone, thus Terra-Petra was selected by The Irvine Company as the methane design engineer for these projects given our strong Terra-Petra personnel witnessing the installation of Treco Barrier Solutions Vapor Lock-M. Left to right Andrew Alvarran, Jesus Mora, Danile Valdez and Eduardo Rangelreputation as a high quality methane consulting firm as well as our ability to simultaneously design three large scale complex projects in an expedited fashion. We were brought on to the design team in February of this year. We completed the methane mitigation system design work along with all permitted systems by the beginning of October, and way ahead of schedule.

The construction phase of this development began under Western National, serving as the General Contractor on the project. All three buildings are being constructed concurrently and Terra-Petra will be responsible for carrying-out all Deputy Methane Barrier (DMBI) inspection work for each one. The arduous task associated with performing continuous inspections of the methane mitigation system for three projects being constructed simultaneously can only be achieved by Terra-Petra given that we maintain the largest and most experienced staff of DMBI Inspectors in the industry.  

We're looking forward to completing another successful methane mitigation project!

Related articles on the Playa Vista Development.   

http://www.ocbj.com/news/2012/oct/28/irvine-company-eyes-playa-vista/
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324784404578145572308360156
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/26/business/la-fi-mo-playa-vista-sale-20121121

INSPECTION UPDATE: 4661 W. Wilshire Blvd. Methane Zone Property

Terra-Petra is serving as the Deputy Methane Barrier (DMBI) and Waterproofing inspector for the Wilshire Condominium project at 4661 W. Wilshire Blvd. The condominium project was designed by Archeon Group Architects and is being constructed by Becker General Contractors, Inc. The methane barrier membrane installation is being performed by Ralph Ray Construction.

Terra-Petra’s DMBI Eduardo Rangel is serving as the projects inspector. Terra-Petra’s Daniel Valdez (Inspection Supervisor) is onsite today conducting a tutorial for the Terra-Petra office staff to bring them up to speed on the nuances of the Vapor Lock-M system, one of the many approved methane barrier membranes in the City of Los Angeles.

Terra-Petra is a big proponent of cross training our staff to provide them with an appreciation and understanding for each field of work that we can handle. This approach has proven to be invaluable in our success as a company as all staff members have a better grasp of each person’s roll with the company.

We've found that the guys are very supportive of one another and tend to “pull together" to finish projects and ensure a high quality work product for our clients.  

Grand Opening Of The New Terra-Petra San Francisco Office

Terra-Petra would like to officially announce the grand opening of its new office in San Francisco. We acknowledge the growing and highly consistent need for methane and vapor intrusion mitigation services in the Bay Area, and we are very excited to now have regular local representation to better serve our clients in a continued effort to offer superior and highly responsive services. 

The Terra-Petra San Francisco office is located at:

One Sansome Street, Suite 3500
San Francisco, CA 94104

Phone: 415.590.4890
Fax: 415.590.4891

 

Contact us for more details about our new San Francisco location, or schedule an appointment today.

 

Raul Ramierz joins Terra-Petra’s Deputy Methane Barrier Inspection (DMBI) Team

Terra-Petra congratulates Raul Ramirez who is now officially certified by the City of Los Angeles as a Deputy Methane Barrier Inspector (DMBI). 

Raul successfully passed both the written and oral examinations carried out by the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety Materials Control Section this past Monday August 5, 2013.

Terra-Petra maintains the largest staff of Deputy Methane Barrier Inspectors in the industry. The addition of Mr. Ramirez to the Terra-Petra team will provide additional flexibility to respond to inspection demands without delaying the construction progress.

Environmental Engineering Firm, Terra-Petra, Continues to Expand LA City Deputy Methane Inspector Team

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Most governing agencies require methane gas barrier inspections. Terra-Petra, an environmental engineering firm based in Los Angeles, has announced that it will continue to expand its current Deputy Methane (Barrier) Inspection team as methane barrier inspection services become more and more in demand and necessary in the City of Los Angeles. All methane gas mitigation systems should be inspected by a certified professional with experience in methane gas mitigation systems to insure that they have been installed properly.Terra-Petra's expanding Deputy Methane Barrier Inspection team will continue to provide this much needed service throughout the City of Los Angeles.

> > >Read more.

 

Terra-Petra Environmental Engineering Heads Up Methane Barrier Inspection for the Port of Los Angeles Port Police Department K-9 Facility

Terra-Petra has announced that it has been contracted to carry out the methan barrier inspection of the methane gas barrier membrane system for the Port of Los Angeles and Port Police Department's new K-9 facility.  Located across the street from the Port, in Wilmington, California, the new state-of-the-art facility will include fourteen indoor dog runs, a grooming room, storage and a climate controlled environment including air conditioning and central heating.

The Port of Los Angeles property lays within the City of Los Angeles' "Methane Zone" and must follow the City of Los Angeles Department of Building Safety's (LADBS) Methane Code within the Port's building requirements