Spokane-based specialty finishes subcontracting company Constructiv LLC has opened at 5910 N. Freya, in the Hillyard area, says Jeff Miller, co-owner.

Constructiv occupies 5,000 square feet of space, which it shares with Drywall Specialties Inc., another business Miller owns.

Ryan Moffett, who’s in charge of business development for Constructiv, says the company was formed to distribute Calgary, Alberta-based DIRTT Environmental Solutions Ltd. products in the Eastern Washington, Montana, and North Idaho areas. 

DIRTT stands for “Doing it Right This Time,” says Moffett. DIRTT Environmental Solutions premanufactures certain goods for use by the construction industry. Products include cabinetry, custom ceilings, medical gas supply systems, millwork, modular walls, and raised flooring. It also manufactures electrical and data systems, passive optical networks, and pieces for audio visual installations, he says.

Spokane-based Contract Resource Group Inc. had acted as the DIRTT distributor for more than a decade before Constructiv took over distribution here, Moffett says.

Duane Wilson, president and owner of Contract Resource Group, says he suggested to DIRTT and Drywall Specialties the possibility of starting a new company.

Contract Resource Group focuses on commercial furnishing and equipment, says Wilson, and early on, DIRTT mostly offered moveable walls. 

Today, DIRTT is “getting much more construction focused than furnishing and equipment focused,” he says.

Through DIRTT, Moffett says, Constructiv also uses Ice Edge proprietary software, which converts blueprints into 3-D images and provides clients virtual reality experiences with product designs.

The software is called Ice because it can “melt” into other, common construction industry-related software, he says. For example, a user can open up an Autodesk Revit file in Ice, he says.

He says many consumers can have difficulty visualizing a finished project just through a blueprint.

“By being able to show them what they’re final project will look like, they’re more comfortable, and therefore can make a more educated decision, and therefore be happier with the final outcome,” he says.

When someone is using Ice, the software provides real-time cost estimates. 

For example, a client may want to change what material is used for a section of wall. Using Ice, the client can pick a different piece of wall that DIRTT also manufactures and immediately see the price changes because of it, says Moffett.

Because Constructiv uses premanufactured products, both Miller and Moffett assert its business model significantly cuts construction waste in labor and materials.

“We minimize the amount of labor that is put into construction due to the fact that we are able to produce (materials) off site,” he says.

Miller says Constructiv has three full-time employees and is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.