As the economy continues to improve, construction demand is slowly increasing. As a result, the demand for construction materials is also increasing and one has to assume those costs will continue to go up throughout 2011. Recently, I was talking with one of our fabricators who supplies steel for projects throughout the nation and he …
While I think our economy continues to heal from what we are seeing the next 12 to 18 months will see more failures of the weak in commercial real estate and the construction industry. 2012 will be a tough year on the sureties and surety credit will even be harder to obtain over the next …
We were asked recently to help one of our customers with a damaged concrete sidewalk. Sounds simple enough, but it wasn’t just any sidewalk. This one was elevated and it was absolutely necessary for this office facility that the sidewalk remain navigable for the tenants through out the repair process. In years past, if someone …
This week, several of our team attended a workshop led by Matthew Offenberg, a recognized expert in the field of pervious concrete. The discussion centered on the design and function of pervious concrete pavements, new developments in the technology and some of the challenges in implementing it. I found it interesting that the workshop was …
Last week, I received a call from a long-term customer asking us to get involved with a new civil project. The catch? It starts in 10 days. Wow—that’s a nice problem to have these days. The site is full of challenges we like: wetlands, a stream relocation, a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) interface along a …
Every once in a while, our team takes a bit of time away from the busy schedules we all maintain for a get together. It’s not a big time commitment, but it gives us an opportunity to catch up with folks who may be in and out of the office a good bit. Today, we …
The short answer: To me, nobody knows. If we compare the normal demand for commercial projects in the United States to our current climate, the market is down 30-50 percent. The laws of supply and demand tell us commodities prices should decrease in order to level things out. The opposite is happening. On average, we …
We try to keep our finger on the pulse of best management practices for today’s construction. To us, that happens when quality means/methods balance with an eye toward the environment. Pervious concrete can do both. Pervious concrete is a wonderful concoction that holds up structurally and is porous enough that water can seep through it …
Last week, I mentioned a partnership I’ve fostered with WP2DC, the company who designed and implemented a cloud-based application for Stewart Perry. We’ve managed to get all our internal information into an easily accessible virtual file cabinet. As a result we’ve cut out a lot of duplicated efforts. Using a Building Information Modeling (BIM) is our next …
Around here, everyone knows that when we enter an agreement to purchase goods or services we look at it as a two-way street. We want to both give and get more from a project than just the transaction. Last year we entered an agreement with WP2DC, a very capable technology firm in Los Angeles. They …
Being involved with the management of a construction company, I am constantly thinking about balance in our workload. Are we outrunning our infrastructure? I’ve discovered that having too much work is as challenging as having too little. That’s because we walk a thin line as contractors. For that matter, most service businesses do. We are …
Drywall going up on one of our projects is always a welcome sight. It means that we are in the “final lap,” meaning the structural, mechanical and electrical components of our project are complete. As we’ve evolved into a greener construction company, choosing the right drywall has become a major conundrum. The harmful affects of …