New Cutting Solutions for Tough-to-Cut Glass Mat Wall Sheathing
Over the last several years, the construction industry has witnessed tremendous advances in residential and commercial building materials, specifically new materials designed to combat moisture-related problems. Driving the need for this innovation is what some call the next asbestos: black mold. Headlines about “sick building syndrome” and families suffering from alleged mold-related illnesses […]
Wachuwannano
It is with great interest to me that the majority of the questions I receive involve what I consider to be a given. We all assume a level of knowledge when dealing with other industry professionals. However, this is apparently not the case. Several calls recently have involved wet drywall. In most cases the question […]
Underlings and Overlings
“You who do the work have the ultimate power. The wheels of civilization are greased with your sweat.” —Some Guy I’ll admit right off the bat: I have no idea why the “ling” is considered a standard of prestige to be under or over. Is this some French thing like the meter? And […]
Thumbs Down to Natural Disasters
The editor of AWCI’s Construction Dimensions magazine was blown out of Florida during her vacation by Hurricane Frances and struggled to her office a couple of days later through the dying gasps of the very same hurricane. Talking to her Contractor Review writer in West Central Florida, who had battened down the hatches against Charley […]
Time to Act on Promises
I want to congratulate our newly elected government officials. They have some big tasks ahead of them. As an association and even as individuals, we should try to schedule time to meet our local and even national representatives to discuss our industry’s role in their plans over the term in office. We have an obligation […]
Time Management Overview and Strategies
The idea of “time management” has been in existence for more than 100 years. Unfortunately, the term “Time Management” creates a false impression of what a person is able to do. Time can’t be managed; it is uncontrollable—we can manage only ourselves and our use or time. Time management is actually self management. It is […]
Super Mall Gets EIFS Job
Vaughan Mills may be the biggest exterior insulated finishing system job ever in the retail building sector in Ontario, but it is more than size and the fast-track schedule that kept EIFS contractor Granolite Company Ltd. on its toes. Meeting the demands of the super mall’s 15 anchor tenants, each with its own design team, […]
Estimators: The Cornerstone of the Business
Have any of you estimators ever been referred to as a cornerstone? Probably not, but I believe that the estimator is the very foundation of a solid construction operation. The company you work for could have a few “superheroes” in the field, and I am not saying that they aren’t very important to the company, […]
To Change or Not to Change (That Is the Question)
No, don’t be concerned, I am not about to start quoting Shakespeare. I just thought it would be a good opening line. What is it about human nature that makes some of us so reluctant to change? At home, when we sit down for dinner, we usually sit in the same place every […]