Construction Practices
Construction Practices
Articles, surveys, ideas, trends, and tips on best practices for residential builders, remodelers, and architects serving the residential construction industry.
How to Insulate a Heated, Structural Slab with XPS
ProTradeCraft's Building Resilience season three starts with making a basement more comfortable
Construction
How to Retrofit Foundation Footings
To make a low-height basement a more comfortable living space, this remodeler digs deeper but needs to add support to do so
Construction
6 Must-Knows for Installing Pocket Doors
Save your sanity: Do it right the first time
Construction Practices
Crawl Spaces to Basements: Proceed with Caution
Converting a crawl space to other uses can upgrade a home and add significant value, but when done incorrectly, it can also be disastrous
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The feed vs. the hunt
My son is six years-old. It’s a fun age. Witnessing your progeny develop original thoughts on shared topics is a trip. My son is starting to…
Rosetta Stone, relevance, and retention
Living in a small sliver of the language pie Rosetta Stone enlarged, we owe a debt of gratitude to the public company. Rosetta has been shelling…
OSHA cites 26 contracting firms for violations during storm recovery in New Jersey
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited 26 companies for violating safety standards during storm recovery work at towns along New Jersey's shore.
“We’ve done this a lot. You...as a group…are stupid.”
Last week I went to the Chicago filming of “America’s Got Talent”, the NBC show that accepts all comers who don’t make it on American Idol, X…
SMACNA’s new HVAC sound and vibration guide open for public review
Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association’s (SMACNA’s) new “HVAC Systems Sound and Vibration Guide” is available for a 45-day public review.
The “knowledge worker” rant
I despise the term Knowledge Worker. Why? Let’s start with the definition of Knowledge Worker and you can judge for yourself. Knowledge workers are…
Be like Mat: Go big
Comas :: 2 Broken bones :: 21 Surgeries :: 23 Concussions :: 100+ Stitches :: 300+ You don’t become the greatest vertical ramp BMX rider in…
Confessions of a bilingual construction guy
His candor surprised me. I’ve never had anyone actually admit it. But there it was. In digital ink on the email in my Inbox. The question that…
The Inverse Golden Rule + 3 CYA tools when working with Hispanics
You know The Golden Rule, right? He who has the gold makes the rules. On the jobsite today, there is an inverse to The Golden Rule: He who has…
“I see dead people” + 3 other common sensibilities
M. Night Shyamalan, the director of The 6th Sense, was opposed to including what has become one of the most memorable movie lines of all-time “I see…