Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Matrix Service Company Sets Date to Discuss Results for the First Quarter Ended September 30, 2012
Duke Energy sending 200 linemen to storm-stricken states
"We were kind of hoping that we get to go just to help people out," senior lineman Jim Kramer said.
Traveling linemen put the lights back on in York County after Hurricane Sandy
When Lance Chambers told his wife that he'd likely be gone for weeks helping to restore power to areas damaged by Hurricane Sandy, she wasn't upset.
Skyline lineman injured repairing damage from storm
Skyline lineman, Eddie Krider pictured with Kevin Colvard and Glenn Wing, was injured Tuesday morning and transported to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. During adverse weather, while most people are safe at home, telephone linemen and other personnel risk their safety to restore needed services sometimes resulting in severe injuries such as that ... (more)
Pending home sales rise modestly in September
Contracts to buy previously owned homes rose far less than expected in September, an industry group said on Thursday, but the data continued to point to an improving tone in the housing market.
A High-Style Modular Option for up to 45% Less
Warning as electricians at risk of asbestos exposure
Hundreds of electricians around the country are thought to have contracted deadly mesothelioma from working on meter boards which may contain asbestos.
Air Force Academy Center for Character and Leadership Development Breaks Ground
The Center for Character and Leadership Development , a new building on the campus of the U.S. Air Force Academy, broke ground in mid-October. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP , the CCLD is the first new building since 1981 to be erected on the terrazzo of Air Force Academy's campus, which was designed by SOM in 1954 and designated a ... (more)
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
AECOM Saves $850,000 Using ProjectWise for Work Sharing and Engineering Content Management
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the leading company dedicated to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure , today announced that AECOM Technology Corporation, a global provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients, has selected Bentley's ProjectWise for the ... (more)
Construction industry recovery called 'fragile'
Recovery in the construction industry is "fragmentary and fragile," and the bad news for Las Vegas hasn't ended yet, said Ken Simonson, chief economist for Washington, D.C.-based Associated General Contractors.
As Lenders Hold Homes in Foreclosure, Sales Are Hurt
Stay on Time, and on Budget with Pre-Engineered Metal Buildings
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Installation of Metal SIPs is Quick and Easy
Even before construction, time-saving aspects of pre-engineered metal building materials begin to take effect. When drawing up the building plans, it?s a simple matter to determine the precise number of metal SIPs that the project will require. Consequently, this eliminates the need to wait for the delivery of additional materials due to a miscalculation during the planning stage. Once the metal SIPs are delivered, installation is quick and easy. A large portion of the building is assembled with each panel, and the ?tongue-and-groove? design makes them simple to connect. After the installation of the first panel, the remaining metal SIPs follow expeditiously.
When constructing a small, basic building conventionally, it can take a week or more to erect the studs and secure the frame. Alternatively, when using metal SIPs as the load-bearing component, the same-size building will require only a day and half of work instead of seven. At this point, the metal SIPs comprise a structure that is insulated, with interior and exterior barriers, after just the installation of the panels. All of these characteristics of pre-engineered metal buildings speed up the building process, so construction not only progresses faster, but further, in a shorter period of time.
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A More Cost-Effective Option
A pre-engineered metal building is not merely constructed more quickly than its conventional counterparts, it requires a smaller budget. Because the metal SIPs are lightweight and easy-to-install, a smaller construction crew is required ? saving substantial funds that labor costs would have necessitated. When constructing larger, more complex structures, metal SIPs cannot serve as the main load-bearers. Their strength, however, will result in decreased steel usage for the framework and infrastructure of the building. Steel girders and skeletal framing will both accommodate bigger gaps, so there will be lower labor costs here, as well as fewer funds directed toward steel materials. The use of metal SIPs will result in lowered steel requirements, and therefore costs, for pre-engineered metal buildings.
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Finish Your Project Faster, and for Less
Pre-engineered metal buildings, constructed with metal SIPs, have significantly decreased construction times and costs, in comparison to more conventional materials. Because metal SIPs combine insulation as well as interior and exterior barriers into one material ? they will result in much lower labor costs. In addition to the initial construction, metal SIPs accumulate substantial savings throughout the life of the building.
Green Roof and Wall Market Expected to Grow
Installations will rise 70% over the next five years, according to new research.
USGBC: LEED Isn't Perfect, But Is Improving
The USGBC repsponds to USA Today's article critiquing LEED, asserting that "LEED isn't perfect, but it is always improving" and "the costs of individual LEED credits are irrelevant because the market learns to deliver green buildings at little to no added cost."
Monday, October 29, 2012
Here's how to land the rental you want
Whether you're entering the apartment rental market for the first time or you're an old hand at the process, you've probably wondered what can make you stand out among the 20-plus applicants vying for the same place you are.
PMI Seminar
Home builder sentiment rises to six-year high
Why the home refi boom is different this time
In New York City, Chic, Rusty Steel Facades Leave a Fiery Stain Below
The new Barclays Center uses 12,000 separate pieces of what is called weathering steel, deliberately covered by a layer of rust.
Green Roof and Wall Market Expected to Grow
Installations will rise 70% over the next five years, according to new research.
Movie Theaters in NYC Go Dark as Superstorm Hurricane Sandy Approaches
With all public transportation shutting down at 7 p.m. Sunday, many theaters are locking their doors early and sending employees home until Tuesday.
Genoa trustee candidates juggle wealth of issues
Community involvement: Chairman of the Genoa Township Zoning Board of Appeals, member of First United Methodist Church of Howell and assistant Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 362 in Howell Occupation: Trustee on the Genoa Township Board of Trustees; retiree from Detroit Diesel Allison Division, General Motors Co.; and retired local real estate ... (more)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
PulteGroup home sales, stock drop
PulteGroup Inc., the largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, fell 2.5 percent after pending home sales missed economists' estimates and investors grew concerned that mortgage-repurchase demands will increase.
RLF: Irwin Army Community Hospital
Natural Cement Needs New ASTM Standards
History and restoration with natural cement
Back in the 1980s, historic restoration of old structures reached a critical crunch time due to time and the environment. The adaptive use of these structures, rather than their destruction and replacement with something more modern was introduced because of the publics growing interest in preserving these historical structures. The government introduced investment tax credits for historic buildings restored in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior?s guidelines. Because the guidelines favor use of original materials to the greatest extent feasible, resurgence in the commercial production of traditional masonry materials such as natural cement was reintroduced. Today?s construction professionals have never seen or heard of natural cement, even though it was once the most widely used hydraulic binder for concrete, masonry mortar, stucco and grout. At one time, natural cement was used for 95% of the greatest engineering structures in North America. So it would be prudent to reinstate natural cement production in order to save these grand structures.
To fulfill the growing need for authentic 19th century masonry materials, natural cement was reintroduced in 2004, yet according to the ASTM standards, the C10 standard (natural cement standard) still needs to be reinstated. Lack of a current ASTM standard specification for natural cement is an obstacle to the full realization of historically accurate and appropriate restoration work. Natural cement was used as a structural material, and will be required to fulfill structural performance requirements in the course of some of its applications in historic repair and rebuilding. To protect the structures and the public, it is essential that materials marketed today as natural cement meet the same requirements that governed performance historically. Thus, to exclude natural cement from any eventual ASTM standard for historic mortars would be to forsake the history of America.
For Example, the Century Cement Company in Rosendale, N.Y., was the center of the American natural cement industry from 1817 to 1970. It was the source of more than half of all natural cement produced in America. Once Portland cement was instated, the industry diverted its attention, and discontinued natural cement in 1979. As previously mentioned, there was still a need for natural cement in the 80s but there was no longer a standard to follow. Then in 2004 the restoration industry pushed to find a compatible repair and maintenance material for historic structures. Today in America, another natural cement company in Rosendale, N.Y. named Edison Coatings, they are applying to reinstate natural cement standard C10 to provide their restoration company?s ability to access a material which meets or exceeds the performance requirements of the original materials used in our historical structures.
More power to them, for the restoration industry as well as the future of our historic structures. It is imperative to the restoration industry to reinstate the C10 standard in order to ensure today?s natural cement meets or exceeds the performance of the original materials.
To Sell Green, First Teach Green
Tollway board awards $26Min contracts
Illinois Tollway officials have awarded more than $26 million in contracts for projects to widen Interstate 90 from Rockford to the Kennedy Expressway and create a western access to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
Realtors: Get Sellers to Pay for Advertising
Joseph Roberts Smallwood or one also known as Joey Smallwood was known for his courage and determination to lead.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
A Major Homebuilder CEO Has A Bullish Message For The Economy
Homebuilding giant PulteGroup reported Q3 net income of $117 million or $0.30 per share.
Signet Jewelers to Buy Ultra Stores For $57M
Signet Jewelers Ltd. has agreed to acquire Ultra Stores Inc. from Crystal Financial LLC and its other stockholders for approximately $57 million in cash.
Developers Cater to Two-Wheeled Traffic in Portland, Ore.
home sales jump 5.7%
New home sales jumped 5.7 percent in September from the previous month to the highest rate in more than two years as the housing market resurgence continued to take hold, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
Billionaires get 'low income' tax breaks in NYC condo
The billionaires paying more than $90 million for top apartments at the new One57 tower in New York have some very special amenities, incuding tax breaks of more than $150,000 a year from a program aimed at low-income housing.
Listing of the Week: A windmill in the Hamptons
It's the trophy property for everyone who has everything. Everything but a windmill home, joked Prudential Douglas Elliman listing agent Bobby Rosenbaum. But really, he adds, it's more than just an unusual property.
Glorious light-filled home for sale in Mukilteo, Wash.
Sometimes the best things start as scribbles on a napkin. Just as J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" books began as notes on scrap paper, this unique glass home began as a cocktail napkin sketch.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Foreclosure wave cost neighbors $2 trillion
The economic impact of the housing bust on homeowners who live near a foreclosed property comes to about $2 trillion, according to a new accounting by a consumer advocacy group.