Tag: material

May 8, 2023

If we were to design an ideal building material, it would look like bamboo. At least, that’s what Neil Thomas, director of the London-based structural engineering firm Atelier One, claims. Its tubular shape, vascular bundles, fast growth rate, and ease […]

April 21, 2023

Subcontractors in the US were hit with additional costs of US$97 billion in 2022 due to rising costs of materials and labour, according to a new study from Billd of nearly 900 commercial construction professionals across the US. Just over […]

October 22, 2021

The falloff in ABC’s recent Construction Backlog Indicator stands in contrast to the optimism expressed earlier this year as the pandemic was showing signs of receding. Despite the challenges, in The Marcum National Construction Survey, released last week, construction executives […]

July 23, 2021

Read the news any day of the week and you’ll find story after story of construction site lumber, appliance and equipment theft. What makes these thefts particularly painful is not only the cost of the equipment, but the cost of […]

July 14, 2021

Gilbane Building Company CEO Mike McKelvy notes that COVID-19 is not the first pandemic that his company has faced. Founded in 1870, Gilbane was in operation during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 to 1920. Now, the contractor is expanding […]

February 26, 2020

Anyone who works in the construction industry knows that anything can go wrong at a moment’s notice. Weather and injuries can delay a project, material shortages may increase prices and lack of communication can completely derail plans. When these things […]

February 25, 2020

Even without political influence in the mix, searching for effective recipes for recycled asphalt materials in road projects has been long and arduous. The recent investigation and guilty plea of an Illinois state senator, however, has opened a window on […]

November 12, 2019

Solar cells, incorporating the mineral perovskite, have been the focus of attention since the material was first shown to work in 2009. Solar cells that are built using this material are more efficient than current solar panels. Current solar panels […]

June 17, 2019

Grenfell had undergone a substantial renovation in the years leading up to the fire, and, according to a BRE Global report on the fire, the pre-renovation makeup of the exterior would have been able to better withstand the fire. In […]

January 18, 2019

In a December presentation to the authority, consulting engineer LPI reported that fissures in the damaged steel girders evolved from small cracks that formed in welded areas of the beams. This, the firm said, led to cracks in the flanges. […]

November 17, 2017

A stronger international economy is sure to be welcome news for companies like Caterpillar, which suffered along with a weaker global market over the course of the last few years. Late last month, the construction equipment giant reported an 11% annual […]