Periodically I get calls from market researchers asking for industry statistics or for me to explain our industry’s lay of the land. One of them recently asked the question, “What are contractors like?” My initial response was to ask a question in return: “Which type of contractor?” Then I explained that the industry harbors different kind of work specialists, each with different characteristics and concerns.
In parts one through three, we looked at what’s been going on with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED “green” building rating/certification program. This time, we’ll conclude this series–and the year–with a look at some other significant goings-on in the world of LEED.
We scoured the globe and located many good sheathings, but all seemed to have a least one or more deal-breaker problems. What follows is a list of some of the criteria we were looking for. If you are considering using a high performance sheathing as a substrate for EIFS, these are some of the things to keep in mind.
Plastic foam shapes are an economical and successful method to create window surrounds, quoins, cornices or add decorative shapes to stucco exterior. And yes there are a few fire rules in the building codes about using plastic foam shapes on exteriors.
The use of gypsum board as a thermal barrier occasionally causes some misunderstanding. This seems to occur most often when an individual confuses the code requirements for a thermal barrier with the concepts behind an R-value, and he or she attempts to use R-values to resolve a thermal-barrier situation. Unfortunately, the two concepts, while somewhat linked scientifically, are altogether different and should not be viewed as equivalent or related ideas.
A year ago I wrote about the coming housing downturn, and I’m sad to say it’s here. In my opinion, this housing market downturn is far different from past downturns since it was more the result of Wall Street’s business tactics rather than anything else.
Some people play golf for networking purposes, others play for the relaxation to get their mind off of business as a type of therapy. Regardless of why or how one plays golf, the rules of the game, life and business have quite a bit in common.