Construction Materials Prices Up 0.4% in February
Construction input prices expanded 0.4% in February compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices also rose 0.4% for the month. Overall construction input prices are 2.6% higher than a year […]
Firestop for Today’s Construction Challenges
As building construction has increased in complexity, so has the proper design, usage and installation of firestopping materials. Specified Technologies Inc. understands that unique site conditions call for unique firestopping solutions, which is why we have a fully staffed Engineering Services Team readily accessible to help with Engineering Judgments (EJs), technical inquiries, specification reviews, […]
Builder Confidence Edges Higher in March but Future Outlook Uncertain
Although high construction costs and elevated interest rates continue to hamper housing affordability, builders expressed cautious optimism in March as a lack of existing inventory is shifting demand to the new home market. Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes in March rose two points to 44, according to […]
4Q Marcum Construction Index: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Marcum Commercial Construction Index for the fourth quarter of 2022 reveals that the construction industry retained momentum at year’s end despite an array of constraints facing the industry, including labor shortages, materials costs and severely elevated borrowing costs. While some construction segments have fared better than others, an overheated economy and gloomy economic […]
Time and Tide
You run to catch up with the sun, but it’s sinking …—Pink Floyd (from “Time”) It was about this time of year some 25 years ago that I landed my first stint as a full-time estimator. I was rather bluntly made aware that I was replacing another probationary candidate who had a habit […]
What Is Your Goal?
Brilliant technological innovations arrive right on time. They converge to create something functionally different but practical to use. “Structure precedes function,” as inventors like to say. Robert Moor explains this in his book, “On Trails.” Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler invented the automobile within a year of each other, Moor says, precisely […]
Lessons Learned from AWCI’s First Peer Safety Reviews
AWCI safety leader Matt Taylor, director of compliance/risk at OCP Contractors in Ohio, had a brilliant idea: Why not put together a group of safety professionals from AWCI member firms to make confidential safety culture and performance reviews available to members?
Eye Protection
Get the jump on eye safety with the versatile protection and comfort of Brass Knuckle® Grasshopper (BKDST-1010N). Grasshopper combines a host of superior comfort features with a wall of protection against dust, dirt and fog. A soft EVA foam dust filter with built-in air channels fills the gap between the glasses and the face, […]
Educating Clients on Budgets
How many projects that we build actually match what we budgeted? Do plans and specs matter, or are they more like guidelines? Everything about bidding seems to be harder than it used to be, and the increase in construction pricing has made it harder for builders to get projects within the owner’s […]