Construction Informer

If you haven’t heard of "pozzolans," then you are missing out on a concrete idea that can make projects greener.  Thousands of years ago the Greeks and Romans built structures that are still standing today by incorporating pozzolans into the mix. Literally into the mix.
The Romans used lime and a fine volcanic ash (pozzolana) to [...]

As the drumbeat of “green” continues at a frenetic pace, and businesses all over the globe contemplate ways to make money on green, I thought it might be worthwhile to look at simple ways construction companies can do green things without the appearance that they are just riding the wave to better profits. Simply promoting [...]

The rush to green is already carrying with it the seeds of its destruction – green claims that don’t stand up under close scrutiny. For those in the construction industry there is a lot at stake.
When we build things we usually do it with the intention that they last a long time. All of [...]

There is some legislation that has been signed into law that authorizes two billion dollars a year, over five years, in grants for communities to undertake energy efficiency and conservation efforts for things like:

Public buildings;
Transportation; and
Use of renewable energy.

The funding however has not been released for these efforts so the National [...]

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) just finished a study showing that residential fire sprinklers added to homes during initial construction makes economic sense. The agency placed the cost of a "wet pipe" sprinkler system at between $ .62 and $ .83 per square foot in three different types and sizes of homes. [...]

It never ceases to amaze me that as human beings meddle in things that are already synergistically perfect they are still surprised when they get adverse reactions to their interference. Many years ago salt cedar was imported to the desert southwest to help with erosion control and in more recent years it has been an [...]

In yesterday’s post I mentioned the coming round of mandated green standards. Well they are already here as builders in Michigan know. Since 2004 the Michigan Association of Home Builders (MAHB) has been trying to block mandated energy efficiency standards for homes. They have been successful with the latest round of litigation heading to the [...]

Everything old becomes new again. Centuries ago early humans took advantage of things like facing their homes to the south, using locally available materials, building where the natural resources they needed were close by, and living where they worked.
When the industrial revolution demanded that people go to a central location to perform their work a [...]

As the climate continues to change scientists and others predict a world with more frequent and violent storms, wider temperature swings, rising ocean levels, drought in some places and floods in others. In other words, the demands being placed on buildings will increase.
The U.S. Green Building Council recently announced a million dollar research plan [...]