Remodelers who are particularly environmentally conscious may have already noticed that, starting at the end of August, the criteria for Energy Star-certified windows, doors, and skylights changed.The Northern zone is still the largest, dipping down into Arizona, and the Southern zone has shrunk...
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At the first meeting, president Bruce Johnson, his brother Greg, vice president, and the company's employees set out to define the company's core values by listing 14 of them. Long term, he hopes the core values meetings boost referral rates by making Lee Kimball Kitchens "a truly exceptional...
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Updated editions of the International Code Council's International Codes are now available. Of the 14 codes, two should prove to be most useful for remodelers: the International Existing Building Code and the International Residential Code.
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The NAHB has urged its members to oppose a new National Fire Protection Agency model building code, reviving a debate between the two associations over stair tread and riser standards. The NFPA 5000, issued in August 2002, requires a minimum tread depth of 11 inches and a maximum riser height of 7...
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In 1992, the EPA instituted an erosion regulation -- under the authority of the Clean Water Act -- that holds developers, site owners, and contractors on construction sites larger than one acre responsible for the development and implementation of an erosion control plan for that site. The paper...
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St. Louis and St. Louis County, Mo., are developing codes to govern renovation work specifically, and they're working together to make sure their two codes are "as similar as possible," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Both are basing their code on the International Code Council's draft of the...
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Shattered homes left in the wake of a Maryland super tornado point out both the strengths and shortcomings of modern building codes.On April 28, some of the residents of La Plata, Md., discovered the answer to that question, when a monstrous Category F4 (to F5) tornado cut a 24-mile swath through...
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For residential applications, steel flooring systems require new tools, attention to fastening, and a detailed plan for mechanicals. Steel floors are covered in the new International Residential Code (IRC) and currently cost about 3 percent or 4 percent less than dimensional wood floors. Screws...
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As building codes in coastal areas target windows, manufacturers beef up products with impact-resistant glass and structures.The hurricane, which trampled the Bahamas, southern Florida, and south-central Louisiana in August 1992 caused an estimated $25 billion in damages -- the most expensive...
In 1988 the New England economy started its free fall. Necessity bred invention. We took on any kind of work, including our first commercial jobs. We broke into commercial with small projects, like $20,000 office remodels for clients we already knew.