LoopTech in the News
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, reached substantial completion status for the final phase of the geothermal loop field installation for Ball State University located in Muncie, Indiana. The total project is the largest public geothermal system in the U.S. This phase took over one year to complete and included the installation 802 bores – 500’ deep totaling over 75 miles of geothermal drilling and loop installation, graphite grout placement, several monitoring wells, along with all of the manifold connections.
The flushing and purging was completed by PurgeRite and included cleaning the newly install field along with a previous field that was connected to the energy station. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said we are proud that our company was able to complete this complex project in spite of the challenges we encountered along the way such as some of the worst weather the area has experienced in two decades. The customer has been one of the best we have ever worked with and we appreciate the excellent direction of Mr. Jim Lowe, Director of Engineering, Construction, and Operations. This project places our company among the very elite in geo project installations in the U.S and furthers our depth of experience and expertise on these types of projects.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, in partnership with Greensleeves LLC, the company that designs highly efficient environmental systems which reduce heating and air-conditioning cost in commercial and public buildings by 30-50 percent, recently proposed a solution and it was accepted by th e design team for the new Conroe Police Station.
Russell Buras, President & CEO, said that although commercial geothermal has been around for over three decades this hybrid approach involves more intelligent design into the system and helps reduce up front costs and reduces risk performance issue over a traditional geo solution. We are excited about installing the first one in this region. “LoopTech will install 63 loops along with all of the exterior HDPE piping manifold to connect the loops and a closed circuit cooling tower. The company will also install HDPE piping for the interior ground source heat pumps."
The Conroe City Council approved a slight increase in the construction costs for the new police and municipal court building, but city officials said it won’t affect the bottom line. The original cost for construction of the new 76,000-square-foot facility was $20,309,000. However, the city budgeted about $25 million in its fiscal year 2013-14 Capital Improvement Program to include fees, furniture, fixtures and to ensure there were contingency funds. According to Conroe Assistant Chief Jeff Christy, the construction cost has jumped slightly to $20,909,000.
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After more than a year of construction, the Harford County Department of Emergency Services building in Forest Hill is set for a grand opening this weekend. The new facility, located across the parking lot from the old building, will house the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association, the Harford County EMS Foundation, the 911 center, Emergency Operations Center, emergency management and preparedness branch and others.
Creation of the new facility was one of the initiatives that County Executive David Craig laid out in his plans for his final two years in office. In 2012, Craig proposed replacing the current Emergency Operations Center, which he said was obsolete. At a grand opening on Saturday, Craig will join county executive-elect Barry Glassman, Aberdeen Proving Ground Major General Bruce T. Crawford, Harford County Director of Emergency Services Russell Strickland and Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association President Rusty Eyre. The grand opening will be at noon on Saturday, Nov. 8, at the new Emergency Operations Center at 2220 Ady Road in Forest Hill. The event is open to the public.
As executive chef of Bistro Menil, which officially opens Wednesday, Martin knows a lot of eyes and opinionated palates will be on the first full-service restaurant on the leafy campus that the Menils created. While he anticipates a positive synergy between the restaurant and the main museum and Menil neighborhood, Martin said his job definition is simple: "to provide an amenity for museumgoers, first, and the neighborhood."
That culinary amenity is housed in an Arts and Crafts-style bungalow set between West Alabama and Sul Ross. Extensive construction work was done to the building and the site, which originally was supposed to be a cafe under architect Piano's plans. Guests entering the restaurant first see a bar fronted by Carrera marble and mirrors where beverage director Sean Essex will offer cask wine and a craft-beer menu. The bar top is a single piece of rich, raw-edged walnut. To the right is the main dining area called the "Vue" room that seats 68 with windows that look across Sul Ross to the museum. The space is spare and white (deliberately planned without wall art) with a gray polished concrete floor. But there's warmth in the minimalist structure: The main dining room is lighted with an oversize blown-glass light fixture hanging from a suspended ceiling of blond wood. Dark wood tabletops, grey tweed and black microfiber upholstered banquettes, and chalkboard menus created by Matthew Tabor help break up the white-on-white expanse. Additional seating is found in the "Prive" room (a private dining room that can also be converted to overflow dining space) for up to 24 and a patio that can seat 40.
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New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Graves Mechanical and has successfully complete the exterior geothermal loop field installation at the new Bistro Menil in Houston Texas. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said that when people enjoy the fine dining at Bistro Menil most will never realize they the building is recycling energy via the earth. We installed the loops under the parking lot and if you look around the building it is perfectly clean as there is no external equipment or noise from required from heating and cooling equipment. This is another example of how geothermal hvac can operate in almost all kinds of commercial buildings.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Thermal Loop Corporation to assist them with this installation. The team has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation including the installation of a HDPE vault.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by WWRC and has reached substantial completion status of the geothermal install at James Bickley Elementary in Clovis, New Mexico. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said the drilling went well and we were able to use our top head rigs to drill the 300’ bores on this project. The manifold installed smoothly and included two separate HDPE vaults. The exterior is complete lacking only the flushing and purging which will be done in 2015 by PurgeRite.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company has reached completed the geothermal install at a new facility on Ft. Hood in Killeen Texas.
Russell Buras, President & CEO, said we have done multiple military projects across the US over the past several years. This was a good project for our company on the heels of the command center we completed at Ft Sam Houston in the previous year. We appreciate all hard work that went into making this a success and the great working relationship we fostered with the prime contractors.
J&S Construction broke ground in December 2013 on an $11.5 million contract for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. The contract will include the construction of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Maintenance Complex at Ft. Hood, just 70 miles north of Austin, Texas. This contract marks J&S Construction’s first project at Ft. Hood.
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Memorial City development group MetroNational revealed it’s brand-new eco-friendly office building — an aptly named structure called “The Treehouse” — Wednesday, July 23, at the corner of Bunker Hill Road and Gaylord Drive. Sustainability efforts for The Treehouse have earned MetroNational points for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Desaign (LEED) by the U.S. Green Building Council, according to Glenn Fuhrman, MetroNational vice president of development. Fuhrman said the building is currently sitting between 92 and 96 LEED points, which makes The Treehouse a platinum certified project — the highest LEED qualification.
“We wanted to be an example — something that we could use as an educational tool,” Fuhrman said. He said The Treehouse would be a model for future MetroNational projects, as its LEED rating is among the highest for sustainable buildings in Houston. The two-story, 14,700 square-foot facility features a geothermal cooling and heating system, solar panels, rainwater cisterns, and a wind turbine. Located in a rooftop garden, the solar panels produce 10-percent of The Treehouse’s energy. MetroNational’s daylight harvesting lights are also designed to acclimate with changing levels of natural light. Collected rainwater from the cisterns works to irrigate plants incorporated into The Treehouse, as well as supply greywater inside restrooms.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Gowan Mechanical Services and has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation at the MetroNational Treehouse in Memorial City. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said that obtaining the highest LEED qualification for a building is not an easy task but is made easier when you install the most efficient havc system possible with geothermal. We will notice the things they can see but it is what you cannot see that truly make these buildings remarkable. We are thankful we were able to participate on the construction of this notable building in Memorial City. Installing 400’ loops in a very tight area presented some challenges but I am proud of our drill and manifold teams for overcoming the obstacles and getting it done in a timely manner.
The project began in March, and as of Monday, has 80 percent of the footing poured and 75 percent of the geothermal wells complete. “You’ll be seeing floor slabs starting next week,” King said. The school, which is being built by Bradbury Stamm Construction, is slated for completion in March 2015 and is designed for students in grades K-5. The 50,000-square-foot facility will incorporate LED lighting and a geothermal heating and cooling system to reduce energy costs. The school will also make use of easy-to-maintain polished concrete floors and concrete walls in its corridors like those found in W.D. Gattis Middle School and Lockwood Elementary, King said. According to King, the $18.1 million project receives 20 percent of its funding from a $20 million general obligation bond passed in May 2013 while the other 80 percent comes from the State of New Mexico’s Public School Capital Outlay Council.
Money from the general obligation bond is also being used to renovate the science labs at Yucca Middle School, Marshall Middle School and the Clovis High School Freshman Academy, he said. The old James Bickley Elementary building is set to be demolished in the summer of 2015.
New Waverly, Texas – LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Miller Bonded and has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation at Southside Elementary and Nina Otero community school in Santa Fe, NM. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said we are thankful we continue to be selected by mechanicals and general contractors that require a geothermal installation on projects. The drilling was difficult at times on this project, but we are pleased we were able to complete the project. We accomplished a unique piping entrance on this project that connected to the geothermal loop field. Our field teams are excellent and they have the skill set to work with the construction and design teams to make things come together smoothly.
This project hosted a new construction of a 70,000 sq/ft two-story state- of-the-art sustainable high performance facility. This facility is intended to be a K-5 campus able to accommodate 450 students. There will be separate areas for bus and parent drop-off zones and service circulation paths. There are also plans for a 5,400 sq/ft gymnasium to be constructed with bleacher seating for school and community use. The infrastructure/site utilities will be on or adjacent to the site. New school to include all program space for pre-K-8 (inc. fields, playgrounds and parking) approximately 126,000 sf facility on 17+ acres in Tierra Contenta. Nina Otero Community School was named after Adelina (Nina) Otero Warren - suffragist, educator, politician, entrepreneur and writer.
New Waverly, Texas — Russell Buras, President & CEO of LoopTech, is to participate on a Panel Discussion covering the Design, Drilling & Equipment: How Does It All Work? at the Geocon II conference at Ball State University on April 10, 2014. “We are excited to discuss our approach along with the other outstanding geo companies at this event. Allowing us to provide a guided tour to the loop field under construction will be real plus to the participants’ in understanding what is involved in the geo installation process.” Russell Buras.
Houston, Texas — City employees and construction professionals recently gathered at a Greenspoint area construction site to gain an understanding of the GeoExchange HVAC plan being installed in the City’s new Fire Station 84. Since City Council adopted the Green Building Resolution in 2004, all new construction with more than 10,000 square feet of occupied space must be LEED certified. As part of this initiative to build more efficient, sustainable buildings, this is the first system of its kind on a project funded by the City of Houston. Laif Nilson, senior project engineer, with the selected contracting firm, JE Dunn Construction, says, “I have worked with the city on a few other projects. I am glad to see them embracing this energy-saving technology and am excited to be a part of this significant effort.”
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New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Thermal Loop Corporation to assist them with this installation. The team has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation and connected over 700 bores aggregated to a large mechanical room. PurgeRite completed all of the flushing and purging requirements.
Russell Buras, President & CEO, said we have participated on multiple projects with Thermal Loop and have install several schools and other public buildings in this part of the U.S. Thermal Loop provides the drilling and loop installation and LoopTech completes the connections to the mechanical rooms. We appreciate the teams that have worked on this large-scale project. Congratulations to Mr. Casey Skelton who was the Project Manager for Gaithersburg along with his Sr. Lead Technician, Matt McDaniel. The team under their leadership provided for another notable and quality installation.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Miller Bonded and has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation at Rita Marquez & Anton Chico Middle School in Santa Rosa, NM. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said our company has been successful in working on the largest geothermal projects in New Mexico such as Sue Cleveland High School in Rio Rancho but we also want to assist on the smaller schools as well so they can be insured a quality install. This project was similar in scope as the ones we performed in Tucumcari and Ft. Sumner. LoopTech remains committed to helping the market grow in New Mexico and intends on being the number one source for commercial and public buildings in the state.
New Waverly, Texas — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company, was selected by Bartlett Cocke and has successfully completed the exterior geothermal loop field installation at Lake Travis ISD number six elementary school.
Russell Buras, President & CEO, said that we continue seeing the educational market being really strong implementers of geothermal heating and cooling and this project is another prime example. This geothermal design is a good one and has unitary pumps along with designated loops that are on home runs to each ground source heat pump unit located in the mechanical rooms. We have installed many of these projects in central Texas and they always get very high energy star ratings. This project presented some unique elevation issues for our multiple drilling rigs and excavation crew but our team new how to adapt and overcome because of the years of experience on locations similar to this one. We are proud to say LoopTech can add this to our list of over 100 educational installations in the U.S.
Lake Travis ISD celebrated the start of construction for its sixth elementary school, set within the West Cypress Hills subdivision in the far end of the district. The April 30 groundbreaking ceremony highlighted the school’s unique design which provides common areas which can incorporate multiple groups of students learning together and foster collaboration, said Becky Burnett, LTISD Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and Student Support Services.
“It’s not just a building—it’s a new way to deliver instruction,” Burnett said. “It will allow for communities of students to come out and learn together.”
The school, designed by Austin’s Pfluger Associates Architects, was inspired by Leander ISD’s River Ridge Elementary School in Steiner Ranch and is part of a “team teaching concept a lot of schools are going to,” said Jim Ratcliff, LTISD’s Senior Director of Facilities and Construction.
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New Waverly, TX — LoopTech International, a premier full service geothermal installation company successfully completed the exterior installation for the Texas Governor’s Mansion. Russell Buras, President & CEO, said that even though we have done many exclusive type of mansions and residences this one is the crown jewel. To be a part of something with special historic value is very satisfying. We are pleased LoopTech was selected among our peers to be the company to do the geothermal drilling and installation. We installed the loops and piping all while under heavy security and avoiding historic trees and landscaping. It was tight is some spots but we managed to get it done without many issues. Even the dirt we excavated was checked for any archeological items. Now the Governor’s Mansion not only looks great but it can save significant energy as well.
Four years after an arsonist nearly burned down the Texas Governor’s Mansion, Gov. Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, stood a few feet from its iconic front porch and announced Wednesday that a painstaking restoration of the 156-year-old structure is complete. The governor flashed a broad smile when he walked up to the microphone on the hot July morning, telling reporters he had been looking forward to this day. “I get to say the six words I’ve been waiting a very long time to say,” Perry said. “Welcome to the Texas Governor’s Mansion.”
Standing behind Perry were three of the 100 or so firefighters who responded to the blaze in 2008, and Perry paid tribute to their bravery. He said they rescued the mansion from a “near-death experience” after an unknown arsonist tossed a Molotov cocktail on the porch on June 8, 2008.
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