Milton Berle was on to something when he said those words. In 1984, our very first customer had just raised $30 million dollars through an IPO and we were going to build all their projects in the U.S. I was in my early 30s and life was good. We had enough work to last a …
The simple answer is that waterproofing, whether around openings, under decks or in the roofing membrane, is a fraction of a building’s cost, but represents about 90% of potential problems. It’s easy not to think too much about waterproofing…Until something goes wrong. The “out of sight out of mind” mentality is easy on the front …
During the last year or so, we have completed several Whole Foods-centric projects. A number of them have been urban redevelopment, which was the case with a job that we’re closing out now. It involved the installation of hybrid street lights. We worked with UGE to place Sanya SLS hybrid streetlights at the perimeter of the parking …
A number of years ago, I was near a building that had a natural gas leak in the basement, which ultimately caused a fire and destroyed the building. This week I asked Danny Boone, our civil manager, to share some thoughts on natural gas. While not an exciting topic to most, it’s still something to …
I am in San Francisco this week for the ULI Fall Conference had a chance to tour Airbnb’s headquarters on Monday. Their building was the definition of cool. You can read all about it here, but in short, it’s a century-old former battery factory in “SoMa” the hot new tech area South of Market Street, hence the name. …
Through my years as a contractor, I’ve seen the industry standard for best roofing practices evolve when it comes to “flat roofs,” which are almost level and designed to drain. When I started, 3 and 4 ply felt sealed with hot asphalt were the standards, and before that coal tar in lieu of asphalt. If …
This week I was reminded of something I’ve seen over and over through my years in business. Cost and quality are important, but all things being equal, we will make our “buy” decision by the person with whom we deal, not necessarily the company they work for. Our greatest assets are not in the bank, but our …
From time to time on our Florida projects, we run across sand mixed with a high concentration of organic matter. Depending on building loadings, this can be a huge challenge when selecting a foundation system that makes economic sense. Recently on a Florida site, we worked with Hayward Baker to determine if the load characteristics …
What a difference 8 years can make. I had conversations with a couple of our Midwest customers this week, and it seems everyone is asking me the same question: What’s happening with pricing? My response is that prices will continue to rise, unfortunately. If oil and other commodities were not where they are today, we …
Of all the classroom books I have met, few have had as much everyday impact as Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style,” a classic handbook on composition published in 1918. The infamous rule #13 stating, “Omit needless words,” is a practice revered by journalists and novelists, as it should be by anyone using the …
Like many experienced construction companies, our team is well practiced in both Lump Sum and Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) construction contracts. Adding to these, we are now involved with projects requiring a different delivery method, the Agency Construction Management agreement. In most cases, this is a good choice when there are multiple entities at the …
Are you are familiar with the “farm to table” concept? Last evening I had the opportunity to have dinner on a farm where the produce was grown. I am in New England for a few days, currently in Nantucket, where we visited Bartlett’s Farm. The place is amazing. Seven generations of the Bartlett family have …