Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

There’s something special about this time of year. A light snowfall, Christmas lights twinkling, hot chocolate with mini marshmallows, Nsync’s Christmas album playing softly in the background… sounds like a perfect night, right?

Christmastime is often a sentimental time of year. How often do you catch yourself reminiscing with your family about the good old days when you were just a kid, or when your kids were still little? I know as the season approaches, I want to make sure my son has the same kind of Christmas I did, filled with family time, baking Christmas cookies, shopping and wrapping gifts to give, opening way too many gifts (because, if I am being honest, we were more than a little spoiled at Christmas), decorating the Christmas tree, hanging twinkling lights in all the windows, donning silly Christmas sweaters, watching the Christmas classics and so much more.

Christmas is a magical time for children, as they await Santa Claus and try spotting Rudolph flying through the sky on Christmas Eve. Can’t we all use a little more magic in our lives this season?

This year, I started a new tradition with my son - the 24 books of Christmas. Ahead of December 1, I wrapped 24 Christmas books (many of them pulled off his book shelf) and put them in a basket in the living room. Each night, he gets to pick one book to read, to help keep him in the Christmas spirit and get him even more excited for Santa. He is LOVING it! And it makes me smile to know that my son has my love of reading, especially Christmas stories, too.

So what about you? What is your favorite Christmas tradition? Share in the comments below.

A proven technology for resilient building

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1,500 PROJECTS
45 MILLION SQUARE FEET

CarbonCast Enclosure Systems integrate ultra-strong, non-corrosive C-GRID carbon fiber grid into the wall panels during fabrication. By taking the place of conventional wythe connectors or steel reinforcement, C-GRID makes factory-made precast concrete an even more intelligent building envelope choice.

Depending on design, CarbonCast panels are priced competitively with other curtainwall systems, such as brick veneer, masonry, stud walls or tilt-up concrete. And after factoring in reductions to superstructure requirements and potential HVAC system and operating savings, CarbonCast enclosure systems can help pay for themselves immediately.

Used successfully on more than 1,500 projects comprising over 45 million square feet of surface area, CarbonCast technology is a proven and preferred system for delivering outstanding and aesthetic freedom since its market introduction in 2004.

Lightweight, non-corrosive C-GRID is the enabling technology that allows CarbonCast enclosure systems to be lighter, better insulating, more durable and cost competitive.

C-GRID has many of the same strength-weight benefits as high-performance aerospace carbon fiber, but at a lower cost due to its unique manufacturing process.

C-GRID’s carbon fiber is over four times stronger in tensile strength than steel by weight. Each carbon fiber “tow” or strand is a bundle of thousands of ultra-fine fibers. The tows are assembled perpendicular to each other into a grid bound chemically with a tough, heat-cured epoxy resin.

C-GRID’s strength and durability deliver:

  • Improved thermal performance. C-GRID has negligible thermal conductivity. As a wythe connector, C-GRID nearly eliminates thermal transfer in sandwich walls. It enables continues insulation (c.i.) to comply with ASHRAE 90.1 requirements. The result: more efficient heating and cooling, lower energy costs and improved occupant comfort.

  • Enhanced resilience, strength and durability. C-GRID’s high strength as a shear truss delivers full composite action for load-bearing performance. Thinner than non-composite designs, CarbonCast walls can allow you to increase the amount of usable space inside a building without increasing its footprint.

  • Lighter weight and sustainability. CarbonCast wall panels with C-GRID truss connectors offer fully composite performance to reduce the thickness (and weight) of interior wythes. When used as reinforcing in the face, C-GRID requires less protective concrete cover. Less concrete means less weight, less embodied energy and a reduced carbon footprint. Lowering weight may also permit a reduction in steel or concrete superstructure, further reducing a building’s carbon footprint and embodied energy.

Information provided courtesy of AltusGroup, of which Mid-States is a proud member.