Eight busted in raids on Scottish construction sites

Police have continued their crackdown on rogue security firms in Scotland, raiding seven construction sites in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire.... Read More

Edmund Nuttall wins Olympic park building contract

Edmund Nuttall has won the contract to build one of the largest new parks in Europe in 150 years at London’s Olympic Park.... Read More

Solar Power in Building Design: The Engineer's Complete Design Resource

By Peter Gevorkian. McGraw Hill Book Company. Price: $99.95. Publish Date: 07/2007... Read More

Green From the Ground Up: Sustainable, Healthy and Energy Efficient Home Construction

By David Johnston. Taunton Press. Price: $24.95. Publish Date: 04/2008... Read More

Engineering Guide to LEED: New Construction: Sustainable Construction for Engineers

By Liv Haselbach. McGraw Hill Book Company. Price: $99.95. Publish Date: 05/2008... Read More

Will ‘green’ buildings and building products survive economic downturn

Will the vogue for ‘green’ buildings and building products be able to survive the current economic downturn? The logic for saying ‘no’ goes like this. Finances are more pinched; people become more interested in simple cost equations; and the motivation to look at more environmentally friendly options dissipates. Whatever the cost implication (good, bad or [...]... Read More

Construction Outlook 3Q 2008

According to FMI’s Construction Outlook: The outlook for 2008 has been revised downward for residential and upward for nonresidential construction. Nonresidential starts from 2007 will prop up put in place construction in 2008. The pain from decreasing starts in 2008 will not be felt until 2009. The outlook for 2009 has been revised downward for both residential and nonresidential construction. Heather Jones, construction economist for FMIs Research Services returns as a guest on the Construction Business Podcast to dig into the findings of the recent report and explain some... Read More

De-leveraging threatens construction demand

Financial markets are rapidly de-leveraging, drastically reducing the amount of financial capital available for capital investment. After a shake out and adjustment period, the cost of funds for construction and other capital investments will be much higher after seven years of cheap capital. And the lingering lack of trust in the solvency of private financial institutions will keep their borrowing cost – and, hence their lending rates – higher than normal relative to risk free government bonds for many months.. Both the economy and construction will be stuck in... Read More

Contractors Learn about the Benefits of Polyurea Coating

Twenty-five people from all over the United States recently attended a “polyurea/polyuspartic” coating seminar in Springfield, MA. Core Construction Products of Wilbraham, MA, along with Advanced Resin Coatings of Palmer, MA, held a full-day event and educated many about the advantages of the revolutionary coatings.... Read More

Building The Wake Forest Bypass

Barnhill Contracting Company is at work on the third and final section of the Wake Forest Bypass. The $11.5-million, 1.55-mile project runs from U.S. 1 west to N.C. 98/Durham Road. Additional work on the 11 tie-in roads, including realigning Falls of the Neuse Road and Old N.C. 98, adds about another mile to the project, which started in March 2008.... Read More

McHugh Building Arch Bridge Over Fox River

James McHugh Construction Co. enjoys unique and challenging projects. That's why the Chicago-based general contracting, construction management and consulting firm is thrilled to be building a spectacular, 10-span arch bridge over the Fox River on the Reagan Memorial Tollway (I-88) in North Aurora, IL.... Read More

Going for the Gold

Bradbury Stamm, an 85-year-old Albuquerque-based construction company, and the architecture firm Dekker/Perich/Sabatini have been awarded the $36-million contract and have begun work on the first LEED school in the Albuquerque Public School system. The contract for the as-yet-unnamed middle school is a milestone for APS in at least two criteria.... Read More

NHGRA Hosts 61st Annual Equipment Show

The New Hampshire Good Roads Association held their 61st annual equipment Show, clambake and golf tournament at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH, on July 24 and 25. The state's largest heavy equipment show provided a good opportunity for attendees to see the latest in highway construction and maintenance equipment and take part in equipment demonstrations and contests.... Read More

Stormwater Management – A Green Construction Issue

Stormwater management is a significant green/sustainable construction issue and one can obtain LEED points for implementing it. That was not the case only 15 years ago, however, when stormwater management was not at the top of the list for consideration when it came to new construction projects. “No one really talked about 'green' then,” said Gregory Yazhbin, plant manager at Rink...... Read More

3 million housing target will not meet population growth

The government’s target to build 3 million new homes by 2020 needs boosting if it is to meet the UK’s population growth, a new report claims.... Read More

Housing market 'on its knees', says report

The UK housing market is “on its knees” with “little chance of beginning its recovery”, according to a survey of property prices.... Read More

Interbuild 2008 is drawing ever closer

Interbuild 2008 is drawing ever closer. This year’s event takes place on 26-30 October at Birmingham NEC. New features include the Village, which explores cutting-edge construction methods to meet both private and public sector requirements.... Read More

Court clarifies public works contract claims procedures in relation to government tort claim procedures

On August 25, 2008, a California appellate court held that compliance with the claims procedures set forth in a public works contract relieves a contractor from the requirement to file a government tort claim prior to filing a lawsuit, unless the contract expressly mandates that a government tort claim also be filed. (Arntz Builders v. City of Berkeley (2008) 166 Cal.App.4th 276.)The case involved a construction contract between Arntz Builders (Arntz) and the City of Berkeley (City) for the renovation of the Berkeley Central Library. The contract set forth... Read More

Manley McLachlan: British Columbia’s new drug testing policy emphasizes health and safety

The recent announcement by the Construction Labour Relations Association of B.C. (CLRABC) and the Bargaining Council of British Columbia Building Trades Unions (BCBCBTU) on the ground breaking policy for workplace drug testing in construction is noteworthy, writes Manley McLachlan, president of the British Columbia Construction Association.... Read More

Worker dies after fall from ladder at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario job site

A construction worker has died from an injury sustained at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario job site after a fall from a ladder.... Read More

Cranes and Derricks Standard to Be Published Oct. 3

It will create four options for qualification or certification of crane operators and apply to an estimated 96,000 cranes in the United States.... Read More

The Top 400 Contractors SourceBook

For large contractors, 2007 was close to the best of times. While the housing market was collapsing, most other markets continued to show strength. But contractors now are seeing signs of a downturn and are bracing for tougher times ahead.... Read More

Feds To Publish Crane Rule Next Month

As crane experts gathered in Toronto Sept. 18 to discuss issues plaguing crane workers, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent out advance-review drafts of a forthcoming rule to members of its Cranes and Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Committee (C-DAC), which in 2004 hammered out an update to OSHA's decades-old crane regulation.... Read More

Emory Freshman Live "Green"

Emory University opened the doors to the school year with two new "green" freshman residence halls. Known as Few and Evans, they are the second and third residence halls to open that the university anticipates will achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council. ... Read More

Taggart Homes puts Northern Ireland building projects on hold

Londonderry-based housebuilder Taggart Homes has put its entire Northern Ireland building programme on hold.... Read More

NFPA 70E 2009 Standard for Electrical Safety in the Workplace

By 70E - 2009. NFPA. Price: $51.5. Publish Date: 08/2008... Read More

More Green Building Legislation May be Imminent for Garden State

Earlier this week, Hudson County Assemblyman Ruben Ramos of Hoboken sponsored two green building bills as New Jersey’s fall legislative session opened up in Trenton. The first, A1626, would require affordable housing to implement green design features, though the bill as proposed does not mandate any particular formal certification or include specifics on how the legislation would be enforced. The second, A2065, would provide low-interest loans available to developers who construct or renovate a building that qualifies as a “high-performance green building,” which is defined in the bill as... Read More

Kier to scrap private housebuilding in favour of social housing

Kier has announced it is planning an exit from private housebuilding to concentrate on social housing.... Read More

Housing body says government 3m target 'almost impossible'

The National Housing Federation (NHF) has warned it will be “almost impossible” for the government to reach its target of building 3m homes by 2020.... Read More

C46: California Solar Contractors' Exam Study Tool CD Only

By QuickPass. Builders Book. Price: $99.95... Read More

C46 Solar Home Seminar Course California Contractor's Exam

By Paul Lucente. Builders Book. Price: $99.95... Read More

Financial crisis set off by overregulation

The financial crisis is quickly spreading from a handful of large financial firms to every financial institution and to everyone with an insurance policy, an investment account, a pension or a job. The original crisis is real and serious but the fallout in the last few days is artificial, probably brief, but even more serious for the economy and construction spending if it is not handled correctly. It is due to overregulation of the financial markets which put investment managers in a catch-22 position. So far the Treasury and... Read More

Beijing’s Bird Nest Architects Reveal Houses Stacked In Manhattan’s Sky

Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron revealed their latest design earlier this week: 57 stories of apartments that emulate a Jenga game…in mid-play.  The cantilevered design will contain 145 two to five bedroom apartments, all with private open space accessible through 12 foot high glass doors.  British artist Anish Kapoor designed the metallic sculpture at the bottom (the thing that looks like a giant drop of mercury).  Amenities include a 75 foot infinity edge pool, a library, a daycare, and 14 foot high window walls in your unique apartment that may or may... Read More

3 Contractors Connected with Fatal NY Crane Collapse Fined $313,500

"This case illustrates in stark terms that failure to follow required procedures can have wide-ranging and catastrophic consequences," said OSHA chief Edwin G. Foulke Jr.... Read More

Four Workers Die in Nebraska Highway Construction Accident

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10 golden rules for keeping your company safe from the downturn

Worried about the downturn? Barry Knight of law firm Smith & Williamson highlights the 10 golden rules for keeping a construction company on track.... Read More

Fraud costs construction companies £8m globally

Construction companies blighted by theft, mismanagement and corruption have lost almost £8m over the past three years to fraud.... Read More

Morgan Ashurst wins £8.8m student homes deal