Owners of homes and other buildings containing Chinese drywall now have a clear directive from the federal government: Tear out "all possible problem drywall" and replace it, the U.S. Consumer Product Commission and Dept. of Housing and Urban Development advised on April 2. Photo: CPSC Homeowners should replace Chinese drywall (slightly gray in color) with new wallboard (white in color), federal agencies say. In addition, owners should replace all electrical systems, gas piping, sprinkler systems, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, whose metal components corrode under high levels of hydrogen sulfide. Who will pay for the work remains unclear, but
Four state-owned, multinational Chinese construction companies have been short-listed for a tender to construct an $80-million major cement factory in Ethiopia, at a time when China’s dominance in Africa’s construction industry is growing. The four—Sinoma International, CDI-Chengdu Cement Research Institute, Hefei Cement Research Institute and Northern Heavy Industries—now await a technical and financial evaluation of their engineering, procurement and construction tender documents for the construction of the Habesha Cement factory, which has a projected capacity of 1.2 million tones of cement per year. India’s Walchandnagar, synonymous with sugar production in Ethiopia, is the only other company that was prequalified for
The wheels of justice may grind slowly, but the battle in the court of public opinion was joined in full force on Feb. 18, 10 days after a U.S. District Court unsealed a three-year-old whistleblower claim against a major manufacturer of PVC pipe for utilities. Related Links: PVC Pipe Firm�s False-Claims Suit Unsealed by District Court The claim alleges the company sold to municipal water districts substandard pipe that did not meet industry certifications stamped upon it, from 1997 to 2005, and that the pipe may be prone to breakage and premature failure. Attorneys for JM Eagle, Los Angeles, the
Thanks to an increasing national awareness of infrastructure maintenance issues and the environment, composite materials are gaining support. But acceptance will not occur until regulatory agencies set official standards, say engineers who work with alternatives to traditional materials such as concrete and steel. Habib Dagher, director of the Advanced Structures & Composites Center at the University of Maine, told the Composites 2010 convention on Feb. 9 that until the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials adds codes for bridges using fiber-reinforced polymer materials, they will never be mainstream. Without such a standard to back them up, engineers cannot
A three-year-old “whistle-blower” suit unsealed in a federal district court on Feb. 8 claims that a leading manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride pipe widely used for utility collection and transmission lines falsely claimed its products met the performance specifications of industry regulators. It asserts that up to 50% of the pipe produced between 1997 and late 2005 is susceptible to breakage and premature failure at pressure loads below the labeled rating. Photo: Nevada State Public Works Board Nevada water-main job suffered 10 breaks in one year. State officials had sections tested and reported deficiencies in tensile strength. The manufacturer blamed installation
Has construction finally hit rock bottom? New projects are expected to swing up slightly this year, but the economic fog will not fully lift for another year or two, remarked attendees at this year’s World of Concrete. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Fast-handed masons competed for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes in front of 4,000 spectators on Feb. 3 at the World of Concrete. > Photo: Tony Illia for ENR Booth spaces shrunk this year, allowing smaller exhibitors to become more visible. Related Links: Stimulus To Lift Cement in 2010 VIDEO: Masonry at Warp Speed Economy Is
Cement consumption will rise by 5.2% this year, aided by federal stimulus spending, according to Portland Cement Association’s chief economist, Ed Sullivan. He gave a 2010-14 forecast on Feb. 2 at the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas. Related Links: Moods and Masons Rise At Annual Concrete Show Last year’s administrative delays releasing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will result in a $22-billion federal spending surge this year, including more money for street and highway construction, which account for 30% of all cement consumption, Sullivan said. But the first half of 2010 will be “slow and tepid,” he
Garrett Hood, a 25-year-old construction worker from Monroe, N.C., just earned $5,000 in cold cash and a new Ford 4x4 truck. Oh yeah, he's also this year's World's Best Bricklayer. Slide Show Photo: Tudor Van Hampton Garrett Hood, 25, breaks new record for trowel time. Related Links: VIDEO: Masonry at Warp Speed "I'm tired, but I'm feeling great," said Hood, holding a shiny trophy in front of his new truck at the annual Spec Mix Bricklayer 500, held Feb. 3 at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas. Hood now becomes a two-time winner of the national masonry challenge and
A new book coming this spring from the U.S. Green Concrete Council, a for-profit unit of American Concrete Institute, calculates the "green-ness" of the world's most consumed building material. Photo: American Concrete Institute Produced at a rate of about 25 billion tons per year and growing, concrete requires a tremendous amount of energy to produce, transport, build and maintain, and it contributes to the world's carbon-dioxide emissions. But it also provides benefits. The book weighs and balances the issues to help designers make more efficient use of the material. "Wise use of this material can make a significant contribution to
In seismic zones, construction of concrete high-rises keeps getting easier, thanks to advances in high-strength reinforcing steel used for confinement of high-strength concrete. The first use of 100-ksi rebar, in a just-opening 31-story tower in Seattle, is getting pretty high marks from the structural engineer and rebar fabricator. And the first use of a more price-competitive 90-ksi rebar in a project in nearby Bellevue, Wash., is getting even higher marks. Slide Show Photo: Cary Kopczynski & Co Avalon Towers benefited from the lower cost of the material, which was produced using standard methods. The advantage of using the material on