Masonry is dedicated to the information needs of mason contractors and the mason industry. Topics that will be covered include masonry equipment, mason materials, industry trends,technology and news from the masonry industry
World of Concrete/World of Masonry 2011 is upon us, so we’ll be packing our bags and heading out West for a week of learning and networking with our colleagues old and new. The size and tone of WoC has varied during the last few years, but the show is always strong and beneficial to attendees. Though the week can be exhausting, it rejuvenates our respect for the masonry and construction industries, as well as stokes the entrepreneurial spirit.
I enjoy seeing all of the new products and advancements to our industry. Moreover, it is assuring to see determination and a fighting spirit from the attendees who refuse to let a brutal economy interfere with their will to conduct business. While some people simply can’t afford to attend during tough times – totally understandable – those who can attend send a message of strength to the entire masonry industry.
The MCAA Annual Convention will take place during the week of World of Concrete/World of Masonry as well. You can take courses and “earn while you learn” throughout the week. Also occurring will be the Team Awards, the MAC-PAC Reception, the Fastest Trowel on the Block Competition, the Bricklayer 500 Competition, the South of 40 Event at the Hofbräuhaus, and more. Visit http://convention.masoncontractors.org for more information.
I hope to see you during the week of Jan. 17. Be sure to stop by our booth – N1755 – to say hello, or request a meeting with one of our staff who is in attendance. You can email me directly for an appointment at jmorrell@lionhrtpub.com.
Start the year strong by attending the MCAA Convention at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry. Take advantage of great networking opportunities and give your company a competitive edge through new product information and an excellent assortment of educational opportunities. A few of the events you won't want to miss at the MCAA Convention include:
TEAM Awards
Monday, January 17, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Wynn Hotel - Mouton 1
Spend the night with your fellow celebrities of the masonry world as we celebrate the best of the best in the industry and announce the winners of the first annual Tribute to Exemplary Achievements in Masonry (TEAM) Awards competition - Hollywood style.
Mason contractors realize that quality masonry projects are the result of strong creative vision and skilled execution. The purpose of the TEAM Awards is to give recognition to these projects and members of the construction team for outstanding accomplishments in masonry design and construction.
Hors d'oeuvres will be served.
Dress for this event is semi-formal. Semi-formal dress is defined as suit and tie with optional vest for men, and a dress, pant suit or dress suit for women.
Cost: $75.00
Job Site Scheduling
Tuesday, January 18, 10:30 AM - 3:00 PM
Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, N208
Discipline: Ethics & Business Practices
Credits: 4.5
Learn from those who have already implemented a variety of effective programs to put the mason contractor in the driver's seat on the job site. With the competitive pricing in today's marketplace, one area contractors can edge their margins higher is through productivity. Influencing the schedule is one move that will help your company increase productivity levels and the bottom line.
This course will be conducted by a small panel of mason contractors, lead by MCAA President Mackie Bounds, who have taken back their job site scheduling. You don't want to miss this unique opportunity to learn from peers who have already implemented successful programs.
Lunch will be served to attendees.
Members: $200.00 Non-members: $250.00
MAC PAC Reception
Tuesday, January 18, 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Wynn Hotel - Palmer 2
In order to articulate and advance the mason contractors' agenda, MCAA members must be engaged in the issues and the MAC PAC. The main purpose of the MAC PAC is to help elect pro-construction federal candidates to office who support the MCAA on important industry issues. MAC PAC allows you the opportunity to have a national impact on federal elections. Contributions raised at this event go exclusively to the MAC PAC and will be used to support pro-masonry candidates in the next election cycle.
South of 40 Event
Wednesday, January 19, 7:00 PM
Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas
Join the MCAA's South of 40 Committee for beer, food, and live music at our first annual fundraising event being held at the Hofbräuhaus in Las Vegas! You'll experience live music direct from Germany, authentic imported beers, and classic German delicacies - all in a traditional Bavarian atmosphere! Proceeds from this event will go to the MCAA Foundation, a 501(c)(3), and will be distributed to programs that help support masonry education and training.
This premier social event is brought to you by the members of MCAA's South of 40 Committee.
Cost: $125.00
Basic Masonry Estimating Seminar
Thursday, January 20, 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, N212
Discipline: Bidding Practices
Credits: 6
The Basic Masonry Estimating Seminar will cover the basics of masonry estimating. This seminar will include a step-by-step approach to the estimating procedure including direct and indirect costs, materials, labor, equipment, project and office overhead and, of course, profit. This intensive course will teach the key areas of responsibility for estimators such as bidding documents, estimate types, estimating mathematics, bid forms and computer solutions.
Lunch will be served to attendees; breakfast will not be served.
Members: $350.00 Non-members: $450.00
Make your plans to join us at the 2011 MCAA Convention at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!
As of Jan. 1, 2011, all Certified Stone Institute producing members will provide a 10-year limited product warranty for the cast stone they supply on projects.
The Cast Stone Institute (CSI)Producer Members voted on Oct. 8, 2010, to adopt the language for a 10-year Limited Product Warranty. CSI Institute Producer Members are aware of the evolving environment for products in the marketplace that demand sustainability, durability and usable service life. This warranty demonstrates that CSI Producer Members embrace these principles and produce product that will stand the test of time.
Who is the Cast Stone Institute?
The Cast Stone Institute, founded in 1927, is an organization of certified Cast Stone Manufacturers and related professionals committed to developing standards and promoting the use of cast stone. We continually strive to encourage, through research, development and member training, the continual improvement of cast stone’s unique characteristics and educate designers and users of cast stone on the inherent value, quality and best practices in the use of cast stone.
Certified Producer Members of the CSI are engaged in the relentless pursuit of excellence in manufacturing. Prior to admission, each potential producer member must submit to a rigorous examination of product quality, safety, testing (including freeze-thaw) and meticulous record keeping. They must submit test data twice a year and undergo the re-certification process every other year with unannounced inspections. The results of these efforts include consistently high product quality, through continuous improvement in manufacturing methods and materials, and the assurance that Cast Stone Institute Certified member plants are “on the job” keeping cast stone a premier building material. The Cast Stone Institute, through its standing committees, disseminates current information and standards regarding the design, manufacturing, installation and use of cast stone.
What is cast stone?
Cast stone is a premier masonry product that provides ornamental or functional features to buildings and other structures as per ASTM C1364-10. It is made from fine and coarse aggregates, Portland cement, mineral oxide color pigments, chemical admixtures and water. Cast stone products are available in virtually any color, and will give the appearance of a variety of natural building stones including but not limited to limestone, granite, slate, travertine or marble. Applications for cast stone range from the simplest windowsills to the most complicated architectural elements.
Properly manufactured, cast stone has the same or stronger physical properties as most dimensional building stone. Properly selected and installed, cast stone can result in an architectural project of enduring beauty to be enjoyed for decades. Care and installation of cast stone are referenced in many of the Cast Stone Institute publications and tech bulletins.
Specializing in architectural maintenance and restoration, Masonry Preservation Services Inc. (MPS) is celebrating its 25-year anniversary. MPS services include façade repair, masonry preservation and building envelope diagnostics. The first MPS project was a simple office building, and projects have since grown to include such landmarks and award-winning projects as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, Baltimore’s Harbor Court Complex, F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), and Winston-Salem’s Reynolds Building. For more information about MPS, please visit masonrypreservation.com.
For more information on masonry design, construction and industry news please visit www.masonrymagazine.com
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, has appointed Jim Maddux as the new director of the agency’s Directorate of Construction, effective Dec. 20. Maddux most recently served in OSHA’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance as the Director of the Office of Physical Hazards and Acting Director of the Office of Engineering Safety.
Maddux has held several leadership positions at OSHA, including Director of the Office of Maritime and Acting Deputy Director for the Directorate of Standards and Guidance. He began his career with OSHA in 1990 as a statistician in the Office of Statistics, and joined the Directorate of Standards and Guidance in 1998. Maddux has been a project director, author and contributor to numerous OSHA standards and guidance projects, including the payment for personal protective equipment standard, injury and illness record-keeping regulations, ergonomics guidelines, and several maritime standards and guidance products. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Maryland, University College, an associate’s degree in computer information systems from Laramie County Community College, and an associate’s degree in chemistry from Northern Wyoming Community College. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Having recently returned from the 2010 Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, I am energized and motivated about all things green. No paper, no carbon footprint, and only sustainable materials (think: masonry) are the way to go. Of the dozens of trade shows I’ve attended annually throughout my career as an editor, I have to say that Greenbuild seems to have snowballed the quickest. During only four annual trips to this show, I have watched it vigorously grow. To that end, I have a few “did you know?” items to share.
For instance, did you know there are 1 billion square feet of LEED-certified green building projects worldwide? That’s right: As of November 2010, the total footprint of commercial projects certified under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED Green Building Rating System surpassed 1 billion square feet. What’s more, another 6 billion square feet of projects are registered and currently working toward LEED certification around the world. By consuming less energy, LEED-certified buildings save money for families, businesses and taxpayers; reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and contribute to healthier environments for residents, workers and the community.
More good news: Did you know that green jobs are on the rise? The 2010 Greenbuild show was home to a Green Jobs Fair and Summit, hosted in partnership with the BlueGreen Alliance and the City of Chicago.
“Chicago is ripe with green job opportunities, making it an ideal platform to host the Green Jobs Summit and Green Jobs Fair,” said Kimberly Lewis, VP of conferences and events, USGBC, adding that the green building industry, is predicted to support or create nearly 8 million jobs between 2009 and 2013, and contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product.”
And finally, did you know the USGBC announced the recipients of its 2010 Leadership Awards during the Closing Plenary at Greenbuild? Illinois State Rep. Karen May (D-Highland Park) was honored as an Individual recipient in the Leadership in the Public Sector Category. She is a founding member of USGBC’s 50 for 50 Green Schools Caucus Initiative and a green schools champion.
The Recovery School District received an award for its steadfast commitment to rebuilding healthy, high-performing schools for New Orleans. Five years after the devastating hurricanes that ravaged New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast, the District made rebuilding sustainably a priority, committing to build all public schools to a minimum of LEED Silver.
In the Private Sector Category, Interface Founder and Chairman Ray Anderson was honored as an Individual recipient for his steadfast commitment to transforming the carpet manufacturing industry into a restorative enterprise. Since 1994, Anderson has been leading Interface toward eliminating any negative impact the company has on the environment by 2020.
Skanska was honored in the Private Sector Category for its commitment to worldwide market transformation. With a portfolio of numerous LEED-certified buildings, its Commercial Development group set the floor at LEED Gold for all projects it develops.
The Syracuse Center of Excellence in New York received this year’s award for Leadership in the Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The center has exhibited extraordinary leadership in creating innovations in environmental and energy technologies and their immediate application.
Richard Piacentini, executive director of the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Pittsburgh, received the award for Individual Leadership in the NGO category. He has been touted for leading the transformation of a century-old conservatory into a model of green building practices and environmental awareness, including earning LEED Silver for its Welcome Center.
As we all know, the economic downfall is not directly related to how we individually run our businesses. It does, however, create opportunities for our businesses to be operated differently. For example, our yards no longer have surplus wall wire, anchors, or rolls of flashing lying around, and I’ll bet the payrolls are smaller than desired. We are all affected by this, and we have to work through it. We have to be a bit stronger and a bit smarter than before, so we can look back on this tough time later.
Today’s market
A good mason contractor understands that the value engineering he brings to the table must work, or the savings are not worth the efforts; long-term weather can challenge the best design; and workmanship still prevails as his most valued asset to a project.
Masonry walls vary in widely from the past, thanks to engineered rain screen systems, cast stone, precast stone, and natural stone veneers as well as many types of brick, concrete masonry units (CMU) and unlimited variations that combine materials. Today’s masonry walls are similar to those in the past as well. We still need to manage water infiltration and create pathways for the water to return to the exterior of the building in a timely fashion. As a mason contractor, this is important, since this is, in part, the area from where many call backs stem.
There are many means for water to enter the walls of our projects. In restoration projects, it becomes an opportunity to repair a wall. In new construction, it becomes a goal to keep out of the wall. In either case, the mason needs to gain access to a cavity as his starting point.
Flashings are familiar to masons, since we install them using propriety systems, and we install them conventionally. Flashings, when performed correctly, are usually a built-in job cost for the contractor in labor, scaffolding/equipment and gathering of various materials. For the mason, the choice of what to use and who installs the flashing in the field is a decision that becomes important for a cost accounting point of the task.
The value of new construction starts edged up 2% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $413.8 billion, it was reported by McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Much of the upward push was provided by nonbuilding construction, comprised of public works and electric utilities, with an added lift coming from modest growth for housing. However, nonresidential building in October retreated following its improved contracting in September. Through the first ten months of 2010, total construction on an unadjusted basis came in at $350.4 billion, down 3% from a year ago.
The October data produced a reading of 88 for the Dodge Index (2000=100), up from September’s 86. Over the course of 2010, the Dodge Index has hovered between 82 and 94. “This year’s pattern shows activity fluctuating within a set range, consistent with the belief that construction starts have now stabilized at a low level,” stated Robert A. Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. “At the same time, there’s yet to be evidence that renewed expansion on a sustained basis is about to take hold. The emerging recovery for housing has proven to be halting, and commercial building is still in the process of bottoming out. While public works in 2010 has moved at a decent clip, its prospects for 2011 are less favorable, given fading stimulus support and the fact that Congress has yet to pass the appropriations bills for fiscal 2011.”
The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has launched the LEED Fellow, a new program to recognize exceptional contributions to the green building community and significant professional achievement within the rapidly growing community of LEED Professionals. "LEED Fellows will constitute an elite class of the world's most distinguished green building professionals," said Beth Holst, Vice President of Credentialing, GBCI. "Candidates are nominated by their peers, and the selection will be based on their body of work and the way it has contributed to advancing the field of green building."
In order to be eligible for the LEED Fellow designation, an individual must be nominated, either by oneself or by a peer. A nomination period is open now until Jan. 7, 2011. Nominees must have 10 years of green building experience and be LEED APs with specialty who have held the LEED AP credential for at least eight cumulative years. The LEED Fellow program is the result of more than two years of extensive research that helped GBCI define what it means to be at the forefront of the green building industry. The findings were synthesized into five mastery elements in which LEED Fellows are expected to demonstrate expert-level knowledge and experience: Technical Proficiency; Education and Mentoring; Leadership; Commitment and Service; and Advocacy.
The 2011 class of LEED Fellows will be announced at the U.S. Green Building Council's Greenbuild International Conference & Expo to be held in Toronto in October 2011. More information is available at www.gbci.org/fellow. "The launch of the LEED Fellow is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate those individuals who have made laudable efforts to propel us toward the accomplishment of our mission of green buildings for all within a generation," added Holst.
CSI’s Board of Directors has officially endorsed six ConsensusDOCS contract documents. CSI joined the ConsensusDOCS® coalition in spring 2010 to contribute in the creation of best practices for construction documentation and communication. CSI participated in drafting sessions as an equal member. The CSI Technical Committee reviewed six documents for adherence to CSI principles, and recommended endorsement of those documents.
“CSI is proud to actively participate in creating contract documents that adhere to CSI technical principles and benefit our members,” CSI Executive Director Walter T. Marlowe, P.E., CSI, CAE, said. “CSI’s participation with the ConsensusDOCS coalition aligns nicely with our mission of advancing building information management and education of project teams to improve facility performance. We look forward to continuing our work with the coalition on behalf of the CSI membership.”
“CSI’s contributions as an organization of design and construction professionals interested in improving facility performance further diversify an industry-wide effort to get better project results through better contracts,” Executive Director and Counsel of ConsensusDOCS Brian Perlberg said. “Their input helped write a better contractual foundation for today’s evolving design and construction industry.”
ConsensusDOCS will publish revised editions of its core agreement on January 19. CSI has endorsed:
ConsensusDOCS 200 – Agreement and General Conditions Between Owner and Constructor
ConsensusDOCS 221 – Contractor’s Statement of Qualifications
ConsensusDOCS 240 – Agreement Between Owner and Design Professional and General Conditions
ConsensusDOCS 420 – Agreement Between Design-Builder and Design Professional and General Conditions
ConsensusDOCS 703 – Purchase Agreement for Noncommodity Goods by a Contractor
ConsensusDOCS 750 – Agreement Between Constructor and Subcontractor
CSI members get a 20% discount on all ConsensusDOCS products at www.ConsensusDOCS.org (Partner Code: CSI and Promotional Code: 100). Learn more about the ConsensusDOCS at www.consensusdocs.org.
Symposium at UCLA, Tom Murayama, Director of Office of Statewide Operations for the California Emergency Management Agency, said that "A major earthquake in the LA region is not a question of if, but when," and added that "coping with the immediate effects of an earthquake and its aftershocks can only be done through a public and private partnership." His remarks were made at a Symposium sponsored by NEES@UCLA, Miyamoto International and Tower General Contractors to an audience of 200 experts that explored recent earthquakes in places like Baja California, Haiti and Chile and addressed practical solutions to mitigate the human and economic damage from such events.
Peter Yanev, World Bank Consultant, speaking about his recent experience in assessing the damage in the Chilean earthquake, said, "There are major lessons to be learned from Chile, among them are the need for closer cooperation between government, business and the public sectors to modify building codes and insist on their enforcement. Most damage can be prevented," he said, "if the relevant parties move quickly to act in concert rather than pointing fingers at each other." He added that, "While codes protect lives, they don't protect your investment. That requires enhancement and enforcement of design standards and investing in infrastructure support and technology."
In a presentation about his reconstruction experience in Haiti, Kit Miyamoto, President and CEO of Miyamoto International, said, "The devastation in Haiti is unprecedented; that said, we have made tremendous progress in the last year working with Haitian Public Works, UNOPS and PADF. The Miyamoto team has been working to build and repair residential housing enabling families to move back into their homes from tents. We have had to develop new methods and new engineering solutions to address large scale damage. Within the next few weeks 2,000 new homes will be repaired and most of the work has been done by local workers and engineers that we have trained." He added, "What we have learned is that not only are countries like Haiti woefully unprepared to cope with an earthquake of this magnitude, but cities like LA are also unprepared and could suffer major losses of human life and major damage to infrastructure. There is no silver bullet solution, but the key is to apply what we already know to prevent what we know will be."
