Fairfield Connecticut Building Expert Directory

California Plant Would Convert Wood Waste Into Hydrogen Fuel

January 10, 2022 — James Leggate - Engineering News-Record
A climate-focused tech company announced plans to open a $100-million plant outside Bakersfield, Calif., to convert wood waste into hydrogen fuel to prevent the material from emitting greenhouse gases. There has been no construction contract award, to date. Reprinted courtesy of James Leggate, Engineering News-Record Mr. Leggate may be contacted at leggatej@enr.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Another Smart Home Innovation: Remote HVAC Diagnostics

June 17, 2015 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
Builder magazine reported that “smart home technology manufacturer Nexia Home Intelligence now offers monitoring of a home’s HVAC system even when owners are away. If an issue arises, it can be fixed quickly, sometimes without a service call, the company says.” The service is available “with Trane and American Standard Wi-Fi-enabled thermostats” and requires a free Nexia account. System alerts are automatically transmitted to the dealer. Read the court decision
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NLRB Broadens the Joint Employer Standard

September 17, 2015 — Craig Martin – Construction Contractor Advisor
Perhaps in anticipation of Labor Day, the National Labor Relations Board issued its ruling in Browning-Ferris Indus. of Cal. d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, establishing an easier standard for unions to prove that a joint employer relationship exists. This will make it easier for unions to make the upstream company, like a parent company, liable for unfair labor practices, even if the upstream company had no direct involvement. Some Background BFI runs a recycling plant and contracts with Leadpoint to provide workers to sort garbage in the recycling plant. The staffing agreement specifically stated that Leadpoint was the sole employer of the personnel it supplied and Leadpoint handled supervision of the employees, not BFI. Leadpoint’s employees sought to unionize and an election was held. The union filed a petition seeking a determination that Leadpoint and BFI were a joint employers. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

A Chicago Skyscraper Cements the Legacy of a Visionary Postmodern Architect

December 31, 2024 — Mark Byrnes - Bloomberg
A handsome and eclectic stretch of buildings along Michigan Avenue known as “Chicago’s Front Door” offers a view that reflects the city’s status as a destination for serious architecture. Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler’s Auditorium Building, where a young Frank Lloyd Wright designed interiors, is right there on Grant Park; so is Daniel Burnham’s Railway Exchange, where he drew up the 1909 Plan of Chicago. Now a glass-and-aluminum apartment tower anchors the southern end of this scene, filling in a rare gap within this landmarked streetwall and putting a bow on the career of another heroic figure in Chicago’s architectural history: Helmut Jahn. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Mark Byrnes, Bloomberg

Gen Xers Choose to Rent rather than Buy

February 05, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
David Crowe reported in Big Builder that the rate of home purchases by Gen Xers is low due to “challenges” they face caused by the recent recession. According to the article, “The headship rate rises from 16 percent to 48 percent in this age group—known as Generation X—as they finish college and become financially independent. There are 42.5 million people in this age range, and they are followed by 43.9 million in the 15 to 24 age cohort.” However, the recession forced many Gen Xers to postpone “independent living, marriage, and children. Birth rates hit all-time lows in 2012 (half the level of the baby boom), and marriage rates are the lowest they’ve been in a century.” Unemployment seems to be the major factor in why many Gen Xers are choosing to live with parents or rent instead of buying a home. Crowe stated, “Young adults continue to express the goal of owning their own homes, but many are faced with challenges such as job availability, tight credit standards, inadequate savings for a down payment, student debt, and careers that are likely to require moves.” However, the “employment picture is expected to improve.” Read the court decision
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Hydrogen Powers Its Way from Proof of Concept to Reality in Real Estate

May 10, 2021 — Victoria Judd, Sidney L. Fowler & Robert G. Howard - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real Estate Law Blog
Hydrogen is the new buzzword in every industry, and real estate is no exception. Hydrogen does not emit carbon dioxide when burnt and could therefore help reduce the climate impact of buildings, which in aggregate represent one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases after industry and surface transport. To the extent that hydrogen is to become an important power source globally, it will need to enter the domestic power market. The first step appears to be the development of pilot villages. In the UK, there are several hydrogen trials in uninhabited properties or in closed private networks. There are some uninhabited houses on a Royal Air Force base in Cumbria that are exclusively heated with hydrogen and also a private gas network at Keele University which uses 20 percent hydrogen blended with natural gas. In addition, there is a small village near Newcastle that is being used as a test case: for a period of 10 months starting in spring 2021, up to 20 percent hydrogen will be blended into the natural gas network so that more than 650 homes can be partially heated by hydrogen. It is expected that a small number of additional villages will be able to heat their homes with 100 percent hydrogen as soon as 2022, with a scale up to have a hydrogen town by 2030. Reprinted courtesy of Victoria Judd, Pillsbury, Sidney L. Fowler, Pillsbury and Robert G. Howard, Pillsbury Ms. Judd may be contacted at victoria.judd@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Fowler may be contacted at sidney.fowler@pillsburylaw.com Mr. Howard may be contacted at robert.howard@pillsburylaw.com Read the court decision
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How A Contractor Saved The Day On A Troubled Florida Condo Project

November 18, 2019 — John Zander - Engineering News-Record
Enough isn’t said about general contractors on rocky, out-of-control projects who take the lead in solving problems they didn’t create. That’s what I found troubleshooting projects for a Chicago bank. A good example is a $200-million Florida apartment complex being built in 2007, when labor was as tight as it is now and in some places even tighter. Reprinted courtesy of John Zander, Engineering News-Record ENR may be contacted at ENR.com@bnpmedia.com Read the full story... Read the court decision
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Health Care Construction Requires Compassion, Attention to Detail and Flexibility

July 01, 2019 — Coker Barton - Construction Executive
When it comes to renovating and expanding hospitals, there is one principle that everyone can agree on: patients, family and hospital staff must be placed at the forefront of every stage of the job, ultimately dictating the project’s timeline. For a health care project to be a success, a general contractor needs to have industry-specific experience, must emphasize communication and scheduling and—most importantly—have a passion for the industry. Capably and safely work in a health care environment Health care requires a level of detail and understanding of the industry that is not found in other construction sectors. Builders must focus on infection control and interim life safety measures to protect patients, visitors and staff. There is accountability involved that goes beyond completing a project right on schedule. For example, the expansion of The Studer Family Children’s Hospital at Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Fla., included a new 175,000-square-foot tower in addition to building out space above the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Anytime the contractor is building next to or over patients, especially those who are most vulnerable, it is on alert. It sets up containment areas, which help maintain the negative pressure in the construction area by pulling air in versus blowing dirty air out, as well as keep dust and other contaminants inside the construction area. There is no room for mistakes, which is why these techniques require more training and experience to properly execute. Reprinted courtesy of Coker Barton, Construction Executive, a publication of Associated Builders and Contractors. All rights reserved. Read the court decision
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FAIRFIELD CONNECTICUT BUILDING EXPERT DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES