Specialty Fabrics Review June 2019 - 46

ANATOMY OF AN

AWNING PROJECT
ne of the more ambitious projects undertaken by Heartland Awning &
Design in Omaha, Neb., was the Nebraska Crossing Outlets, a more
than 300,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall in Gretna, Neb.
Steve Moyer, one of Heartland's two owners, explains the opportunities
and challenges of the project:
"This was a relatively large-scale project on a pretty fast track. There
were over 100 awnings installed on that site, with a Black Friday opening
date. Due to the nature of construction, the awning and landscaping
companies are usually the last ones on the site. We had to manage that
project for months until we could actually do something. In the end, we
were given roughly 14 days to install over 100 awnings, with 45 days of
fabrication leading up to it.
"The first time they said 'go,' they stopped us almost immediately. They
were using a helicopter to deliver rooftop air handling units because there
wasn't time to wait for cranes. Of course, awning activities can't be completed
with a helicopter overhead. We understand these kinds of challenges. In
the end, it was a real opportunity to leave a positive impression. You can
do the same thing with awning designs and everything else along the way.
From the first communication with the builder to the final awning being
installed, every step is an opportunity to stand out as a valuable building
team member. Whenever an awning project arises to a builder/architect
we have worked with, chances are they're not calling anyone else.
"This project was also a great example of how the frame shop is the
heartbeat of an awning company. We were getting our field measurements
verified, communicating the information to our metal shop and building
the frames ahead of time so that when we got the go-ahead, all we had to
do was apply fabric and send them out the door."
ABOVE: Pictured are some of the more than 100 awnings in the Nebraska
Crossings Outlet project. Photo: Heartland Awning & Design.

46 REVIEW JUNE 2019

"It doesn't work for me to say another
building is not up to code," he explains. "We
need to get the customer to ask: 'How much
steel is going into the building? Is it enough?
How much does it weigh? Is it engineered
properly?' If the building they're thinking
about buying weighs half as much as ours,
they need to consider if they're getting a
good value for their dollar."
Rubb also emphasizes the hot-dip galvanization all of its steel receives, says Auger.
"After we fabricate the steel and build it
all to the size it needs to be, and punch all the
holes in it where the bolts are going, we send
it off to the galvanizer, where it's dipped in a
pool of zinc," he says. "It's an extra cost and
it's there for a couple of days, so it takes time
too, but the hot-dip galvanization is the best
protection against corrosion."
"If you don't do that," he says, "it will
end up like the spray-galvanized fence in
your backyard-moisture will get inside the
tube and it will rot from the inside out."
STRENGTH COSTS MORE
Daymon Johnstone owns Lakeside
Marine Canvas, in Buford, Ga., with his
wife, Joni. Along with other fabrication
work, Lakeside designs and builds party
tops for boats that are engineered for
strength and durability.
"We got into this when I saw that
the party tops on boats weren't strong
enough, in my opinion, for what they
were being put out there to do," says
Johnstone. "A lot of people were using
lighter weight and inferior structural
systems. I worked with an engineer for
eight months to design a structurally
sound, stable system that will hold up
more weight than almost anybody else."
Lakeside fabricates the party tops, all
in-house, in seven-foot sections and uses
marine-grade aluminum staples in its
extrusion tubes, according to Johnstone.
The trusses are welded for added strength
and the fabric is stapled in for durability.
PVC finishing trim conceals the staples.
Specialty Fabrics Review June 2019

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