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CONSTRUCTION
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The Industry’s Newspaper Chisholm Trail Crossing Park
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Volume 16
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Number 8
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AUGUST 2017
Basking in the sun
Still digging ditches
L-R: Twin brothers, Eric and Derrick Hoffman own and operate HE Solar LLC
Alma and Josh Phelps
y the age of 14, twin brothers, Eric and Derrick Hoffman were working summers doing electrical work with their father, gaining apprenticeship hours. When they were 18, they had both acquired enough hours to take their journeyman’s exam and by age 19, they had their journeymen licenses. With only four years to go to acquire the coveted Master Electrician license, the boys continued on their path, following in their dad’s footsteps. “We grew up in the industry. My dad is a master electrician and he put us to work during the summers and in high school and that’s where we started accumulating hours as an apprentice. We were able to become journeymen at a pretty young age and just continued
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with it. We started building a craft and we both really enjoy it. “We both got our bachelor degrees in construction science. We studied sustainability and it was a match with our electrical background,” said Eric Hoffman, co-owner of HE Solar LLC. While attending Texas State University, the two young men continued on their way while earning their Bachelor of Science degrees in Industrial Technology with a specialization in construction. As soon as they had their four unrestricted journeymen years behind them, they took their test and became master electricians. “Derrick and I were 24 when we got our master electrician status. We had continued on Page 17
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osh Phelps, owner of JL Phelps & Associates Plumbing and Mechanical LLC started working at young age for a plumbing contractor when he was 16years-old. Making $4 per hour, Phelps knew he was on his way to success. “The first two to three years I was working, I would saw concrete, break concrete up, and dig a ditch. Then another plumber would come in and lay pipe in, and then I’d come back and fill it in, cover it back up and pour the concrete back. That’s what I thought plumbing was. “Luckily the man I was working for, registered me as a plumbing apprentice at that early age. Thank God he did. By the time I was a year or two out of high school, I was eligible to take my journeyman test.
“At 19 or 20-years-old, I was a journeyman card carrier. They gave me a truck and a helper and off I went to plumbing. After about five years I was able to get my master license,” reflects Phelps. Just nine short years after first starting to work as a helper, Phelps found himself as a foreman on jobsites, owning his own house with five acres of land, two roping horses and a couple of trucks. “If it had not been for Mr. Servor who registered me as an apprentice, who knows? Now days, it’s a lot more political. I think you have to be a minimum of 18 years old to be an apprentice. Back then, you didn’t have to be. None of that was written into state law like it is now.” continued on Page 17
Alternative education
ounded in 1988 by Wayne and David Lott, Lott Brothers Construction Company LTD (LBCC) has constructed or renovated over 5 million square feet of space. The two brothers entered the construction business quite naturally by following family tradition. Their father, Wayne Lott Sr., worked as a commercial contractor in Austin beginning in the 1950s, and his work ethic, dedication to guiding principles, and core value of “doing things right the first time” were instilled in Wayne and David from a young age. Their father’s efforts inspired the brothers to pursue careers in construction after each obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. LBCC serves their clients with the simple commitment of working tirelessly to make every project absolutely right. Although highly experienced in healthcare construction, LBCC has a diverse project history including retail, corporate
and commercial offices, educational facilities, institutional, municipal, religious, multi-family and mid-rise condominiums, warehouse distribution and service centers. Their 20-year long history of work with HKS Inc., complimented the relationship between HKS and IDEA Public Schools. IDEA Rundberg’s phase 2-classroom addition is a two-story structural steel framed primary classroom building with associated site improvements. This phase provided the campus with an additional 32,000sf of classrooms and associated spaces. With the building site’s expansive clay with fluctuating rock and water tables, the building was built on a pier and beam slab. The exterior of the building was comprised of metal studs with Hardi Plank siding and metal panels. The project’s interior was constructed of light gauge metal framing and drywall with VCT tile flooring. Avadek canopy systems were conIDEA Rundberg Phase 2 Classroom Addition
continued on Page 17