Labor shortage woes are real, and most construction managers are scrambling to find and keep workers. A recent study from the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) showed that a third of construction firms are looking for recruits and experiencing delays due to labor shortages. Here’s how to source great talent and build your team. Get …
Gluing items is often a dirty job, but someone has to do it. If that someone is you, there are some easy tips and tricks that can help you to reduce the mess and create a higher quality product. From keeping your workbench glue-free to producing better quality projects, these tips will help you work smarter, not harder.
The APA Engineered Wood Association provides comprehensive guidelines for the storage of wood panels on site. Correct on-site storage will allow plywood and OSB wood panels to acclimatize to conditions on the building and prevent a plethora of framing problems down the line. The APA outlines several guidelines on the correct storage of panels to minimize the conditions that can lead to buckling and ridging; after all you’re protecting your investment.
By Tom Murphy Construction is experiencing higher demands on budgets, product capabilities, deadlines and skilled labor. If you are an engineer, builder, or general contractor/framer you need a simple and different approach to attain the perfect height panel for your dimensions. The premise here is that the 4×8 panel may no longer meet the speed …
When you are designing building envelopes, knowing the real energy efficiency of your walls is essential to success. The walls are a large surface area of the house and are often the least energy efficient. There are ways to improve the energy efficiency of your walls without significant changes to the way you build. One …
Checklists are time-consuming to create and implement, but spending a little time on admin here can really save money and time down the line. Quality control is the best way to eliminate punch lists and ensure your customers are happy. Call backs can be expensive and time consuming, especially if they require peeling back layers …
Norbord is launching its Become a Framer outreach which is an evolution of its successful Thank a Framer campaign. Become a Framer aims to reduce construction labor shortages by creating awareness of the opportunities the trades offer. Become a Framer recruits young Americans directly by providing the resources they need to start a career in …
Placing notoriously leaky HVAC ductwork into an unconditioned space will not make for an energy efficient heating or cooling system.There are a few options which locate the ductwork within the thermal enclosure of the home. Options include moving the ceiling plane to the underside of the roof with an unvented attic or placing the ductwork in a conditioned basement. A third option is the installation of plenum trusses which allow for a compact ducting system to be placed in a conditioned bulkhead.
Discerning construction professionals are turning to raised-heel trusses thanks to the increased attic space they produce. This space is then utilized for larger amounts of cheaper insulation which reduces the cost of insulation and provides a more effective building envelope and a greener home. Raised-heel trusses offer many environmental and cost-saving benefits.
According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) survey, construction labor shortages are even more widespread than they were last year with 75% of construction crews experiencing a lack of carpenters (framing, rough and finished). That means over 200,000 jobs are vacant in the construction industry. There are many reasons for the dearth of …
