Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading.
Thank you for reading! We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content.
Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Clear skies. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.
Jared Reigstad and Jason Reigstad along with father, Gordon Reigstad, are solving problems in the construction industry.
Pour strip zero is a mechanical rebar splicing system for concrete slabs.
Jared Reigstad and Jason Reigstad along with father, Gordon Reigstad, are solving problems in the construction industry.
Pour strip zero is a mechanical rebar splicing system for concrete slabs.
President of Reigstad Engineering Gordon Reigstad moved to White Bear Lake in 1989 with his family. Now, more than 30 years later, his sons Jared Reigstad and Jason Reigstad have helped their father expand the firm and develop a new product that will change the landscape of construction moving forward.
Gordon earned his Ph.D. in structural engineering from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and started Reigstad Engineering in 1979, a structural engineering company that works primarily in the design of commercial buildings. Since then, the firm has worked on projects such as both Grand Casino buildings in Hinckley and Mille Lacs as well as MGM and Hard Rock hotel project across the country.
Despite the firm’s success over the years, Gordon became curious about an overlooked construction issue that engineers deemed “a contractor’s problem” for decades. But after years of research and looking at items and resources from multiple different industries in new ways, Gordon and Reigstad Engineering have found a solution.
Large commercial buildings are often built using cast-in-place concrete. This is when concrete for the building is poured at the construction site. After the concrete has been poured, the structural slab or beams are post-tensioned, a technique that strengthens the concrete to withstand various forces — including tension — that it may endure under loading conditions. Post-tensioning involves the placement of steel tendons, or cables, inside plastic ducts or sleeves that are positioned in the forms before the concrete is placed. After the concrete cures, generally a period of weeks, the tendons are put in tension. When constructing a large building using cast-in-place and post-tensioned concrete, industry practice has been to leave a strip down the middle of the pour where concrete is omitted. This strip is often designated as a “pour strip.” These 3-to-5-foot-wide strips in the concrete are used to control and compensate for shrinkage, creep and elastic shortening in the concrete. The strips are left open for 30 to 60 days before they are finally filled in with concrete to complete the continuity of the slab. For decades, the pour strip method has been a norm within the construction industry, but as problems in efficiency, safety, quality and cost arise from this method of construction, Gordon was committed to finding a better solution.
“We are having fun,” said Gordon. “It’s just a different way to apply our engineering.”
His solution is called PS=Ø, or “pour strip zero,” a mechanical rebar splicing system used to eliminate pour strips while accommodating volume change in concrete slabs and providing structural continuity. The product provides a way to connect reinforcing steel, or rebar, from one side to the other of a concrete slab without the gap, while still allowing the concrete to move as it shrinks. After the concrete has finished shrinking, a high-strength grout is poured in before the entire slab is allowed to settle. This patented system is now approved by the International Code Council, the largest international association of building safety professionals, and permitted by the American Concrete Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to developing technical standards and certification programs.
The process began in 2014 during a hotel project in Gulfport, Mississippi, on which Reigstad Engineering was involved. Gordon began rethinking how items from other industries could be used in cast-in-place construction.
“I think the beauty of the product is that it's not a totally brand new concept. It’s a lot of people taking things from other industries and applying them in other places,” said Jared Reigstad, the firm’s engineering co-vice president. “It’s simple, but these pour strips just haven’t been dealt with. People have totally overlooked them.”
Despite its seeming insignificance in a large construction project, PS=Ø can help save a construction crew months of work and hundreds of thousands of dollars a month.
“It’s really something that causes a lot of expense and lack of productivity and safety issues in construction,” said Jared. “We are seeing this as changing the industry moving forward for this type of construction. Our goal is to have it used all over the nation and in 10 years from now, it is the only way pour strips are done because it’s such a good idea.”
In just a few short months, the Reigstads have already sold thousands of PS=Ø products. One of their clients, constructing a hospital in Overland Park, Kansas, reported back to say the device saved the company two months on the job just to complete the last few floors of the building, and saved them a half million dollars per month.
“We are engineers, we solve problems,” said Gordon. “Not only do you save money and save time, you actually get better quality.”
As the Reigstads expect an increasing demand for PS=Ø, they are hoping to use their momentum to possibly solve other problems within the construction industry.
“From revenues from pour strip zero, we have a lot of other ideas … we would actually like to start more of a development company, too, that develops more construction products that are going to solve more construction problems that have been overlooked,” said Jared.
Gordon added, “That’s the advantage of having two sons in the business, because they take on the heavy lifting in the design company so I have more time to think about all these things that have been challenges for me and my career.”
Jared and Jason both live in the White Bear Lake area within a 10-minute drive of their parents’ house, allowing grandkids to visit grandma and grandpa and families to spend time together on the lake. Their close-knit family bond allows them to work effectively together and, despite the occasional challenges, the family-oriented engineers are ready to tackle new and interesting challenges together in the future.
“It has its challenges. It’s not always easy. But we have found ways for everybody to have their own areas, but we also work together,” said Gordon. “Let’s fix some of these problems and maybe they’ll turn out to be pretty good financially, as well for the future and for our grandkids.”
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.
June 21 is the longest day of the year and official astronomical start of summer. There are many activities Minnesotans try to squeeze in during the few fleeting weeks of summer. What activity are you most excited about?