COST-EFFECTIVE INSTALLATIONHaving been in the fabrication and installation business, Ward says his company focuses on making every job easy to install. By assembling various parts under shop conditions and minimizing the fieldwork, installation is much easier and more efficient. "After having installed waterjet designs, customers can't help but stand back and wonder why they haven't been doing this a whole lot longer,” says Ward. "Especially as the compliments start flowing and all the supplier did was draw on outside facilities and experience," he adds. PRE-ASSEMBLED DESIGNSIn cases where parts of the design are too fine to safely ship, or costly to install, the parts are pre-assembled into manageable shapes, blending in with the theme of each design. This enables the average design to be installed in minutes by any component installer. In cases where designs arc very complicated, or there arc many smaller tiles, for example: 2"-square ceramic tiles with intricate inlays, the designs can be epoxied to cement backing boards, leaving only a few larger boards to be installed on walls or floors. Generally, the face of the designs are never grouted, leaving the installer the freedom to use the same grout in the inlay as in the rest of the contract, giving the appearance that all the work was done on site. Should there be smaller parts of tile where the |
above technique is not viable, the pieces can be mounted onto boards using special adhesives, making it possible for the installer to peel pieces from the boards without having to be concerned about any numbering system. WATERJET DESIGN & CUTTING IN ACTIONThe evidence is in. Artists and designers no longer need to worry about the limitations of fabrication tools when creating elaborate designs, thanks to waterjet design and cutting technology whose end result can be witnessed in a recently completed residential project in Atlanta, GA. Jet Stream, Inc., a West Conshohocken, PA, fabricator brings designs to life with waterjet cutting. Jet Stream utilizes a waterjet system from Kent. W A-based Flow International Corporation. "Abrasive waterjet is a powerful machine tool that gives architects and artists freedom of expression," says Dave Surbeck, AIA, president of Jet Stream. With this residential project in Atlanta, Flow's waterjet recently demonstrated how it can assist in converting a computerized drawing into a fabricated part. Atlanta Tile & Stone, a distributor of ceramic and stone products also located in Atlanta, contacted Jet Stream concerning a local residential project which centered around a two-story foyer in a custom built home. Atlanta Tile & Stone's artist wanted to ensure the continuity of a scroll border woven into the custom made carpet on the stairway with a similar border inlay in the stone floor at the entry way. |
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