MANSFIELD, TX — Design-build commercial modular construction firm Ramtech Building Systems of Mansfield, Texas, announces that the company has entered into the pre-construction services stage of a two-step design-build delivery contract with the Charlotte Independent School District in Charlotte, Texas. Ramtech was chosen by the district after having been selected through the legally required Request for Qualifications process mandated by Texas state law.

According to Jeff Ward, Ramtech's Sales Manager, "the second phase of the design-build process will enable us to work together with Charlotte ISD to design a permanent modular building that will provide for a cafetorium with seating for 250 Pre-K through 12th grade students and a yet to be determined number of additional classrooms." Once the civil design, geotechnical surveys, and building designs are taken to the appropriate levels to provide a qualified price for the facility, the cost of the project will be presented to the district for acceptance before commencing with the construction phase.

The new facility is expected to comprise between 10,000 and 12,000 square feet and will be built using Ramtech's slab-on-grade permanent modular construction method. This process combines off-site prefabrication of the structure with on-site construction techniques, in order to produce a building faster and with less costs but identical in the look, functionality, and life expectancy of a completely site-built structure.

Ramtech accomplishes this by setting factory assembled modular sections complete with attached ceilings and walls — but no floors — directly onto a conventional concrete slab foundation. This allows the concrete slab to become the floor of the structure just like a site-built building. They then site-apply all the exterior and interior finishes, enabling them to provide a new facility faster and with less design and construction costs than other forms of construction. The exterior finish is expected to be offered with a combination of R-Panel metal siding with a brick or stone wainscot. Ramtech's scope of work will also require them to demolish and remove two existing buildings to make room for the new facility.

Located in the Texas Education Agency's Region 20 in Atascosa County 45 miles southwest of San Antonio, the Charlotte Independent School District serves 501 Pre-K through 12th grade students at the district's three campuses and alternative schools. The district plans to have the new facility open and operating for the 2021-22 academic school year.