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W10: This website explains the top 10 construction projects that broke the bank.

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W10: This website explains the top 10 construction projects that broke the bank.

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10 Construction Projects That Broke the Bank

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Whether we're trying to save a sinking city or dig a massive tunnel, our appetite for construction knows no bounds. But if designers had known the actual cost of these 10 projects, they might have gone back to the drawing board.

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W9: This website is about bond insurance and 5 types of insurance. 

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W9: This website is about bond insurance and 5 types of insurance. 

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If you have been told you need a surety bond for your small business, you might confused about what you need to get.

There are 25,000 different types of surety bonds so it is impossible to speak to all of them, but here are five types of bonds that various small businesses might need before they can open their business doors.

As with all surety bonds, the does not protect the business. Surety bonds protects the customers of the business.

If a customer feels they were wronged, they can make a claim against company's surety bond.

#1: License and Permit Bond

A License and Permit Bond is a type of surety bond that small businesses might need before they can receive a business license.

Common types of license and permit bonds include:

License and Permit Bonds are required by law. If your license type requires a surety bond, the licensing agency will let you know.

Browse available License and Permit Bonds. Find out how much one would cost.

#2: Fidelity Bond

If you want to protect your small business, you purchase insurance. But what type of insurance? How do you protect against your employees stealing from you? How do you protect against theft, embezzlement, or fraud?

That is where a Fidelity Bond comes in.

Fidelity Bonds are a type of surety bond that protect your company from financial loss.

Specifically, Commercial Crime Fidelity Bonds (also called Employee Dishonesty Bonds) protect businesses from book-keepers or employees directly responsible for handling the money in a business. The coverage protects businesses in the event that an employee should steal or embezzle money.

Fidelity Bonds are generally voluntary.
Browse available Fidelity Bonds. Find out how much one would cost.
#3: Business Service Bond

If a Fidelity Bond protects your company from employee theft....what if your employees steal from your customers?

This is where a Business Service Bond comes in.

Business Service Bonds protect your customers should one of your employees steal from a customer while on the job.

For example, janitors and cleaning professionals regularly enter private property of homeowners and businesses to conduct cleaning services. If one of your employees steals a diamond necklace from a customer's home, your customer would be covered by the Business Service Bond.

Business Service Bonds are often called Janitorial Service Bond for this reason.

Janitorial Bonds are 100% voluntary, but they are relatively inexpensive and can go a long way in communicating to your customers that you are a business they can trust.
Browse available Business Service Bonds. Find out how much one would cost.
#4: Contract Bonds

Contract Bonds are differ from License and Permit Bonds because they are more job-specific and cover the "performance" of the contract (e.g. meeting a deadline, staying within budget, etc).

They can also cover other parts of a construction project, such as paying supplies, following through on bids, etc.

Common types of Contract Bonds include:

Bid Bonds

Performance Bonds

Payment Bonds

If your construction contract requires a Contract Bond, you will be notified.
Browse available Contract Bonds. See how much one would cost.
#5: Court Bond

While not necessarilly a type of surety bond that a small business would need, court bonds are a type of surety bond.

Small businesses could find themselves in a civil court proceeding in the future. The court might require a court bond before proceeding with a trial.

Court bonds that small businesses might need include:

Browse available court bonds. See how much one would cost.

Do You Need Surety Bond Insurance?

Surety bond insurance for your small business does not need to be a large expense. You do not have to pay the entire bond amount to get bonded.

For example, if you need a $10,000 bond, you do not need to pay $10,000.

You will only need to pay somewhere between 1-15% of the total bond amount.

That means a $10,000 bond might only cost you $100.

The best way to see what you would pay for your small business surety bond is to get a free quote:

Related Posts

Surety Bond Frequently Asked Questions
Types of Surety Bonds [Infographic]
What Do All These Cryptic Surety Bond Terms Mean?

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5 Types Of Surety Bond Insurance That Small Businesses Need

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If you have been told you need a surety bond for your small business, you might confused about what you need to get. There are 25,000 different types of surety bonds so it is impossible to speak to all of them, but here are five types of bonds that various small businesses might need before they can open their business doors.

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W8: This website explains architectural designs and informs future employees about 3D software.

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W8: This website explains architectural designs and informs future employees about 3D software.

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Architectural Designs - Selling quality house plans for over 40 years

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Our portfolio is comprised of home plans from designers and architects across North America and abroad. Designs are added daily. We regularly add photos of client-built homes.

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W7: This website is about the top 10 most common 3D software 

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W7: This website is about the top 10 most common 3D software 

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What is this 3D design software? SketchUp is mostly known for being the tool architectural landmarks are modeled with Google Earth's and not 3D printing. And although its present owner specializes in geoinformation SketchUp is used for visualization and planning in a variety of industries spanning architecture, interior design, urban planning, engineering, and construction.

What strikes the first time user of SketchUp at once is the neat and tidy interface. There are not many buttons that can boggle beginners trying to understand the free 3D modeling software. It is easy to grasp the basic principles behind this free 3D modeling software, making it possible to create simple 3D printable models from scratch within the first few hours of learning. This is thanks to some intuitive tools that allow navigating and sculpting accurately in 3D view.

Which is not say that SketchUp is only capable of simple 3D modeling. Since SketchUp encourages users and third party companies to contribute extensions - many of them free of charge - there is virtually no limit to its potential capabilities. One case in point is Curviloft, bringing to SketchUp a set of tools that allow modeling complex organic structures. The free 3D modeling software also includes drawing layout functionality and allows surface rendering in a variety of "styles".

SketchUp comes with its own exchange repository integrated into the program itself: 3D Warehouse - a library where approximately 2.2 million SketchUp models can be downloaded directly into the program. Files are limited to a size of 50 MB. 3D Warehouse is connected to the online printing service Materialise.Cloud. By the push of one button Materialise. Cloud claims to automatically repair any glitches the model might have and produce a watertight STL file, that can be downloaded from 3D Warehouse.

This free 3D modeling software does not support STL files out of the box. Instead, importing and exporting STL files are enabled by the extension "SketchUp STL" that can be downloaded and installed from within the program.

In addition, this 3D modeling software supports a handful of handy free extensions to prepare your SketchUp files for 3D printing:

We also want to point out several extensions that connect this free 3D modeling software to external services. These provide important functionality such as cleaning up meshes, getting an estimate for the cost of printing and ordering a print (i.materialise, Makeprintable) - be aware that these services may require you to subscribe in order to work.

SketchUp is strong for designing visualizations - it may well be considered the best 3D modeling software for the job. The support for 3D printing is already impressive and growing every minute.
Tutorials:
Best free 3D modeling software (3D Design/3D CAD software) for: Graphic designers, PreViz designers, and 3D printing hobbyists

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30 Best 3D Design/3D Modeling Software Tools (15 are Free) | All3DP

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What is this 3D design software? SketchUp is mostly known for being the tool architectural landmarks are modeled with Google Earth's and not 3D printing. And although its present owner specializes in geoinformation SketchUp is used for visualization and planning in a variety of industries spanning architecture, interior design, urban planning, engineering, and construction.

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W6: This website explaings how construction management jobs are on the rise and will be increasing over the next couple of years.

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W6: This website explaings how construction management jobs are on the rise and will be increasing over the next couple of years.

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W5: I dont know why i found this website interesting but i did. It explains how to design a steel beam.

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W5: I dont know why i found this website interesting but i did. It explains how to design a steel beam.

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Once you have input all of your criteria, all you have to do it click "Design This Beam". WebStructural will perform a finite element analysis for your specific beam span, support and loading conditions. It will determine the design forces and calculate the design capacities of the beam using the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) standards.

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W4: This website goes into depth about the jobs that the Architects and Enginner must complete on the site.

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W4: This website goes into depth about the jobs that the Architects and Enginner must complete on the site.

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Architectural and Engineering Managers : Occupational Outlook Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Architectural and engineering managers plan, direct, and coordinate activities in architectural and engineering companies.

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W3: This website is informing us on how to apply to be a cm, things that are required and certificates/degrees that are a neccesity.

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W3: This website is informing us on how to apply to be a cm, things that are required and certificates/degrees that are a neccesity.

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Certification | Construction Management Association of America

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The Construction Manager Certification Institute (CMCI) provides credentials for professional construction managers.

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W2: This website gives you tips on autocad how it operates and ways you can download it.

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W2: This website gives you tips on autocad how it operates and ways you can download it.

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The previous tip showcased a command that is available in Civil 3D that lets you find the closest distance between 2 objects and even draws a line at the closest points.

Here is a LISP routine that lets you do the same thing without having Civil 3D.

The LISP routine is found at the swamp.org and is by Joe Burke, Charles Alan Butler and VovKa.

Here's How:

Load the LISP file.

In the command line use MD to select the 2 objects. The routine will show the minimum distance in the command line.

If you would like for there to be a line drawn that shows the minimum distance, enter MDL in the command line and a line will be drawn that shows the closest distance.

~enjoy

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The previous tip showcased a command that is available in Civil 3D that lets you find the closest distance between 2 objects and even draws a line at the closest points. Here is a LISP routine that lets you do the same thing without having Civil 3D.

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W1: This website is basically about law and contracting. Informs people about bid forms and stuff like that.

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W1: This website is basically about law and contracting. Informs people about bid forms and stuff like that.

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Construction Law in Brief

The Construction Law in Brief provides you the latest in construction law and contract information in one handy and free resource brought you by AGC and leading construction law firms, Jones Walker LLP, Peckar & Abramson, Pepper Hamilton LLP, and Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP.

AGC Contract Documents Forum (CDF)

AGC's CDF is recognized as the leader in providing and continually improving upon balanced contract documents for the construction industry by:

Being aware of the needs and concerns of AGC members and chapters.

Advocating equitable risk allocation between Designers, Owners, Contractors, Subcontractors and Sureties.

Actively participating in the creation and endorsement of a comprehensive family of documents and educating all parties in their use.

Providing critical information to the industry on contract documents issues.

Reinforcing AGC's commitment to skill, responsibility and integrity through contracts.

Instructions on how to join the AGC Contract Documents Forum can be found here.

Construction Contracts

Through the AGC Contract Documents Forum, AGC is a founding sponsor and endorser of ConsensusDocs. ConsensusDocs publishes 100+ standard contract documents that represent best practices and fair risk allocation for all parties. In addition to publishing contracts, ConsensusDocs is a leader in providing the industry with relevant construction law resources.

State Laws

Many aspects of construction are regulated by law covering public as well as private construction work. AGC has worked with the ABA Forum on Construction Law to create the AGC/ABA Construction State Law Matrix, the most comprehensive and concise resource available for quickly locating information on state laws affecting public or private construction projects. Updated annually by the American Bar Association Forum on Construction Law, your subscription provides searchable online information for all fifty states, DC, and Puerto Rico, which can be easily sorted by state or topic area.

Construction Law Resources

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The Construction Law in Brief provides you the latest in construction law and contract information in one handy and free resource brought you by AGC and leading construction law firms, Jones Walker LLP, Peckar & Abramson, Pepper Hamilton LLP, and Smith, Currie & Hancock LLP.

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A7: This article is about finish carpentry and top ten rules i wasn't aware of until i read it.

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A7: This article is about finish carpentry and top ten rules i wasn't aware of until i read it.

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This article is featured in FineHomebuilding.com's Guide to Trim Carpentry.

My first construction job was as a trim carpenter's helper during school summer vacation. My boss had always worked solo, but as he got on in years (I'm older now than he was then), he wanted help moving his tools and materials. All I did that first summer was fetch and carry; I wasn't allowed to measure, cut or nail. I was told to observe. In doing so, I learned that finish carpentry is essentially a visual exercise.

Finish carpentry makes the eye work hard and skip over imperfections. At this point, the framing carpenter has made the house plumb, level and square. Or not. A good framer can ease the finish carpenter's job by providing plumb walls and plenty of blocking for nailers for attaching trim. Or not. But even if the framer couldn't read a level and and even if he added no more blocking than was absolutely necessary, the finish carpenter's job is to make the doors, windows and cabinets work, and to make the house look good.

Finish carpentry is more than interior trim. It includes siding, decking and even roofing-anything the owner will see after moving in. Rough carpenters evolve into finish carpenters by learning how to measure, mark and cut more accurately. With practice, splitting the pencil line with a sawcut and working to closer tolerances become second nature.

Perfect miters are only part of finish carpentry. Finish carpenters must develop an eye for proportion and detail. They must learn to visualize the steps that lead to the finished product. I teach these skills to novice carpenters at the Heartwood School in Massachusetts. To make learning them easier, I've organized the following ten rules of thumb.

Avoid using numbers

Don't measure: It is more accurate to mark trim in place than to measure and then transfer numbers. It's easy to misread a ruler or to confuse numbers while walking to the saw.

It is usually more accurate to hold a board in place to mark its length rather than to use a tape and involve numbers. Sometimes, using a ruler or tape is unavoidable. I'll use a tape measure on a long piece that's too difficult to mark in place, but generally I don't like tapes. A tape can flex and change shape, and the movable end hook bends easily, affecting accuracy.

A rigid rule is better than a tape for measuring lengths under 6 ft.; hence, the 6-ft. folding wooden rule takes over during trim and cabinet work. The best folding rules come with a sliding brass extension that makes taking inside measurements easy. Open the rule to the greatest length that fits between the points to be measured, and slide out the brass extension the rest of the distance. Hold it at that length, and carry it to the board to be cut. No need for numbers. Just mark the board from the extended ruler.

A combination square or a wood block of known dimension is the best way to lay out the small measurements needed for reveals and other spacings. Learn what dimensions are built in to the tools you use. A carpenter's pencil is 1/4 in. thick; you can use it as a spacer for decking. The pencil lead is 1/16 in. from the edge of the pencil, so it can scribe 1/16-in. increments. The body of a folding rule is 5/8 in. wide. The blade of the standard combination square is 1 in. wide, and its body is 3/4 in. thick.

A door or window should be cased without the use of a tape. Lightly mark the reveal on the jamb with a pencil. Square-cut the bottoms of the casing legs, hold them up to the jamb, and mark the top cuts from the reveal lines. Cut the legs and tack them in place. Miter one end of the head, and holding it upside down over its final position, mark the other end to length.

Use reveals, and avoid flush edges

Wood moves - as it dries out, as the house settles, as you cut it and as you're nailing it up. It's almost impossible to get flush edges to stay that way. That's why, for example, carpenters usually step casing back from the edge of door and window jambs. Stepping trim back to form reveals causes shadowlines and creates different planes that make it harder for the eye to pick up discrepancies. If a casing is installed flush to the inside of a jamb, it may not stay that way. The eye will easily pick up even a 1/16-in. variation from top to bottom. If the casing is stepped back 1/4 in. or 3/8 in., this variation will not be nearly as evident and will be hidden in shadow much of the time. Separate discrepancies, and they become less evident.

In years past carpenters by necessity used trim materials of different thicknesses; planers were not in widespread use. You rarely see mitered casings in older houses because differences in material thickness are obvious in a mitered joint. Instead, the casing legs butt to the head, which runs over and past the legs by 3/8 in. or so. This way, the carpenter didn't worry about the length of the head casing being exact or the side casings noticeably changing width with changes in humidity. The head casing is usually the thicker piece so that the shadow it casts makes it appear to be a cap. Carpenters in the past often placed rosettes at the upper corners and plinth blocks at the bottoms of door jambs. The casings and baseboards butted to them. The variations in thickness of these boards were lost in the overwhelming presence of the thicker plinths and rosettes.

Split the difference

If you're running courses of material between two diverging surfaces, it's obvious that if you start out working parallel to one, you won't be parallel to the other. In the case of decking, roofing or siding, you can slightly adjust the gap or coverage at each course so that the courses are parallel to the other surface when they reach it.

This adjustment is easily figured. Say that you're shingling an old house, and the roof measures 135 in. from ridge to eave on one end and 138 in. on the other. Divide one of these figures by the ideal exposure per course, 5 in. for normal three-tab shingles. Thus, 135 in. divided by 5 equals 27; this is the number of courses at 5 in. per course. At the other end of the building, 138 in. divided by 27 yields 5 1/8 in. Lay out each side of the roof using the two different increments, and snap chalklines between them. With these adjustments, the chalklines start out parallel to the eaves and end up parallel to the ridge.

It's difficult for the eye to pick up even a 1/4-in. change in exposure from one course to another, especially high up on a house. By accounting for discrepancies early and gradually, your adjustment should rarely have to be greater than that.

In cases where the gap or coverage is not adjustable, as in tongue-and-groove flooring, you have to make up part of the discrepancy at the start and the rest at the end. Say you're installing flooring between two walls that are 1 in. out of parallel, and you're leaving a minimum expansion gap of 1/2 in. between the flooring and the wall. Make the expansion gap 1 in. at each side of the wide end of the room and 1/2 in. at each side of the narrow end. Shoe molding and baseboards cover the gap. If you're using a one-piece thin baseboard, you'll have to rip tapered floorboards at the start and finish to keep the expansion gap narrow and parallel to the wall.

Moldings hide the gap: Floorboards don't have to be a uniform distance from the wall. As long as the base/shoe molding covers it, the gap can vary.

In any case, you'll want to use boards as wide as possible as your starting and ending courses. Measure the room width at both the wide and narrow ends, and subtract the expansion gaps. Divide these measurements by the floorboard width. Multiply the remainders by half the board width. These will be the widths of the starting and ending strips at the wide and narrow ends of the room. If these strips are narrow, try adding half a board width. As long as these sums are less than full board widths, use them for the starting and ending strips. This keeps the converging lines of the baseboards and the first and last seams as far apart as possible.

Avoid exposing end grain

Don't show end grain. It absorbs paint and especially stains differently than flat grain. If a piece of molding must end abruptly, cut a return for it.

End grain will always absorb stain and paint differently than face or side grain; even if left natural, end grain reflects light differently. Unless you want to emphasize this difference, as with through tenons in furniture, it's best to plan your installation to hide end grain or cut mitered returns to cover it up.

A return is a small piece of trim, often triangular in section, that ends a run of molding. Returns are used in traditional finish work on stair treads, window stools and aprons, butted head casings-anywhere a piece of molding doesn't end in a corner.

Small returns are difficult to cut on a power miter saw. The blade often throws the return to some dimly lit, inaccessible corner of the room. I cut them with a small miter box and a backsaw.

Fit the joint before cutting to length

Fit the more difficult end before cutting to length. In this case, the left side is coped and the fit is checked before the miter is marked.

If you're coping or mitering a joint on a piece of base, chair rail or crown, make sure that joint fits well before you cut the other end to length. You may need the extra length if you make a mistake and have to recut the cope or miter. If you had cut the piece to length before miscutting the cope or miter, you'd be grumbling on your way back to the lumberyard instead of calmly recutting the piece.

Don't be fussy where you don't have to be

Some joints don't need to be perfect. Base will hide the ugliness where the drywall meets the floor. The baseboard spans hollows in the wall and floor. The cap and shoe are flexible and conform to ins and outs, hiding them.

Learn to think ahead to see if what you're working on will later be covered, which is often the function of moldings. At the intersection of wall and floor, for example, the drywall doesn't have to come all the way down to the floor, nor does the flooring need to meet the wall perfectly, because the baseboard will cover the gap. If the floor or wall undulates, you might be tempted to scribe or fill behind the baseboard to follow the contours. In older houses, however, where walls and floors always undulated, you often see three-piece baseboards, with the thin base-cap molding attached to the wall and following its contour while the shoe does the same on the floor. The thicker baseboard installs quickly and easily because it doesn't have to conform; that's what the shoe and cap do.

Plan your sequence to avoid perfect cuts at both ends

There is usually a sequence of installing trim that requires the fewest perfect cuts. For example, with my method of casing doors and windows, only the last cut on the head need be perfect. Cut this end slightly long, and shave it with the chopsaw until it fits just right. One neat trick here: Push the casing up to the lowered, idle chopsaw blade. Raise the blade without moving the casing, and then make the cut. The teeth are set slightly wider than the body of the blade, so the cut will take off 1/32 in. If you had installed the head first, you then would have had to make an exact miter cut on each casing leg to make the joint turn out right.

As with trimming doors and windows, sequence of installation is also important when running trim around a room, whether it's baseboard, chair rail or crown molding. For instance, I'm right-handed and can generally do a faster, neater job of coping the right end of a board than the left end (coping is an alternative to mitering joints at inside corners). Consequently, I often prefer to work from right to left around a room.

If a coped joint opens up, the crack will be obvious when viewed parallel to the uncoped piece and nearly invisible viewed parallel to the coped piece.

As I work my way around a room, especially when running crown molding, I'll often end up with a piece that needs to be coped on both ends, a challenge for even the best carpenters. I try to plan my installation so that this last piece of trim is in the least conspicuous place. If a coped joint isn't perfect, or if it opens up over time, the crack is most visible when viewed at right angles to the coped piece. Wherever possible, I orient the coped pieces so that people entering or using the room won't have right-angle views of them.

Parallel is more important than level or square

Some rules of carpentry change from framing to finish work. Instead of keeping track of plumb, level and square, you now must keep finish materials parallel to the walls and floors. The eye sees diverging lines more readily than it sees plumb and level.

The only exceptions are cabinets and doors, which must hang plumb to work properly. If the floor isn't level, trim the door bottoms parallel to the floor rather than leave them level with a tapered gap.

If a deck is out of square, run the decking parallel to the house wall rather than squaring it up to the deck framing. If for some reason two lines must diverge, separate them as widely as possible so that the difference is harder to see.

Nothing is random

Whenever I find myself saying, "It doesn't matter," the red flag goes up. Which end of the board you cut first, which face is out, where you put the nails-all this matters, and the care you put into the details shows up as craftsmanship in the entire job. "God lives in the details," said Mies van der Rohe, and this is especially true in finish carpentry. Occasionally, it won't matter, but you should first consider whether it does. Taking this to the extreme may result in a phenomenon I call "analysis paralysis." As your experience increases and your eye becomes more efficient, it will become second nature to line up your nails in an attractive pattern and to look critically at each board as you carry it to the saw.

Finish the job

A contractor usually has to complete a punch list before final payment is issued, but sometimes getting all the details wrapped up is like pulling teeth. The clean-slate attraction of starting a new job can overpower the drudgery of completing the old. This temptation can backfire, souring good clients and losing referrals.

Owner-builders doing their own work are often tempted to move in to their house before the finish work is done, thinking it will be easier to do when it's close at hand. After a while, they don't notice the lack of trim, especially if there's furniture in the way, and it becomes harder and messier to set up the tools and work around the obstacles. It can be a strain on a marriage if the bathroom doors aren't hung after a few years of residence. I advise owner-builders to get everything done before they move in, and contractors to finish all work before they move on. They'll be glad they did.

Will Beemer is director of the Heartwood School in Washington, Massachusetts, and a director of the Timber Framers' Guild of North America.

Drawings: Dan Thornton

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Ten Rules for Finish Carpentry - Fine Homebuilding

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This article is featured in FineHomebuilding.com's Guide to Trim Carpentry. My first construction job was as a trim carpenter's helper during school summer vacation. My boss had always worked solo, but as he got on in years (I'm older now than he was then), he wanted help moving his tools and materials.

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A8:  This article is about carpentry and basically answers any questions you may have involving carpentry.

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A8:  This article is about carpentry and basically answers any questions you may have involving carpentry.

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Home Improvement Tips & Advice from HomeAdvisor

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Carpentry & Woodworking Resources - HomeAdvisor

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Articles about working with carpenters and other woodworking professionals on framing, interior and exterior trim, furniture building, and other woodworking projects.

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A10: This article gets into details of what employers are looking for in Cm. What level of education are acceptable and what to expect on the site.

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A10: This article gets into details of what employers are looking for in Cm. What level of education are acceptable and what to expect on the site.

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Construction management is supposed to boom over the next few years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the position of construction manager is expected to grow 16% between 2012 and 2022-a far faster growth rate than the 11% national average.

If you're looking for a construction management job (or if you're just curious about the position), you're not alone.

But what goes into being a construction manager, and what can you expect from the job? Below, I break down the ins and outs of construction management so that you can decide if it's a good fit.

Construction management by the numbers

Let's answer the question on the tip of everyone's tongue: how much can you make?

The BLS report found that median pay in 2012 was $82,790. The highest 10% earned $144,520+, but even the lowest 10% could expect to make $50,000 or more.

Formal education is not required, but is increasingly preferred. Many construction managers start as a plumber or a general contractor, and have used their work experience to move up in the field. Others got their bachelor's in architecture, engineering, construction sciences, or a related field and followed up their education with internships. Most employers will consider a construction manager with an associate's degree and strong work experience.

Construction management skills

A construction manager owns a construction project from the beginning to the end, making him or her in charge of ensuring the project is feasible, the designs are all compliant, the project is properly managed, the project remains in budget and in scope, time is managed correctly, contractors do their jobs safely, and the end product is quality.

In sum, the construction manager is the lifeblood of any construction project.

So when applying to construction management jobs, applicants should focus on these five core traits:

1. Project management skills: Can demonstrate a history of managing time schedules, coordinating meetings, working with stakeholders, and negotiating agreements.

2. Communication skills: A strong listener and communicator, able to work effectively with others on a team, and function as a representative of the company to stakeholders.

3. Document-management skills: Must be able to compose and follow documents through bids, job reports, and proposals, and must be able to understand contract requirements and construction standards.

4. Technical skills: Must be able to interpret technical drawings. Software skills and experience a plus (such as a familiarity with rugged smart phones and construction management software).

5. Analytical skills: Can "roll with the punches." Deal with unexpected delays, manage materials, and keep the project in line.

Additional certifications

Some states, like South Carolina, require construction managers to receive certification for overseeing public construction projects. Check with your state to see if this condition applies to you.

Otherwise, optional certifications in the field of construction management are one way to make an applicant stand out. The Construction Management Association of America offers a Certified Construction Manager (CCM) certification for construction managers who have demonstrated that they can control projects' time, cost, and quality. Plenty of colleges, like Temple, offer certificates in construction management as well-but it tends to come as an extension of a bigger program (in Temple's case, to their business school).

Other construction managers have opted to get a project management certificate, such as from the Project Management Institute, and translated their project management skills into construction.

More?

There's lots more to this job than what I've listed here. What did I miss? What skills would you recommend? Leave your answers in the comments below!

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What Are Employers Looking For In Construction Managers?

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Construction management is supposed to boom over the next few years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that the position of construction manager is expected to grow 16% between 2012 and 2022-a far faster growth rate than the 11% national average.

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A9: This article is informing future employees about the life of CM. Very helpful and straight to the point article.

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A9: This article is informing future employees about the life of CM. Very helpful and straight to the point article.

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Matt Krumrie, Monster Contributing Writer

"One day you witness the satisfaction of overseeing the completion of a major project -- knowing that you supply power, heat and clean water to the community or to a business is very rewarding," says Bill Krech, a construction manager for Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota-based Total Construction.

But then there are days that don't go quite as planned.

"The downside of the job is when your project falls apart for various reasons, and your customer becomes very upset with how you spent their money," he says. "Or there's times when you are near completion of the project and you have to back off, because the owner has no more money to pay."

Such is the life of a construction manager, a job Krech says never gets dull and is rarely the same two days in a row. One day he won't have enough drivers to haul material to a site, or he might have to deal with an injury at a job site. Other days he's in the office planning one project or off site bidding on another. And in addition to managing and overseeing the day-to-day operations of his own workers, Krech has to make sure his company is working in unison with others at the same site.

"A lot of times we'll be at a site and so will four or five other outfits," says Krech. "We all have to work together in order to stay on time, within budget and as scheduled."

Danelle Prezioso, deputy executive director of the Construction Management Association of America, knows how valuable a good construction manager is to a project's successful completion.

"The professional construction manager strives to give owners more effective control of complex construction, delivering high-quality finished projects on time and within budget," says Prezioso. "[This professional] is your advocate, combining detailed technical knowledge with a commitment to meeting your needs."

Prezioso says a construction manager is typically responsible for these duties:

Release and use of funds throughout the project.

Project scheduling.

Control of the scope of work.

Optimum use of other firms' talents and resources.

Avoiding delays, changes, disputes and cost overruns.

Optimum flexibility in contracting and procurement.

Assuring the project is built to specifications.

"Construction management is a discipline and management system specifically created to promote the successful execution of capital projects for owners," says Prezioso. "These projects can be highly complex. Few owners maintain the staff resources necessary to pay close, continuing attention to every detail -- yet these details can make or break a project."

Krech, who has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Minnesota, says construction managers can start out making anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 per year but adds that salaries "can get into six figures for someone who has education, experience and proven success as a manager."

Another key to success in this career is communication skills. With so many different people responsible for so many different facets of a job, clear communication with staff, clients and others is crucial, says Paul Oberhaus, vice president of CPMI, a Bloomington, Minnesota-based construction management firm.

"Construction managers must be able to interact with many different personality types and be able to communicate effectively to motivate individuals to perform," says Oberhaus.

A typical day for a construction manager at his firm, Oberhaus says, involves directing the site's daily operations, dealing with project developers on issues that develop, planning for the next day, week and future, and solving problems and logistical issues, all while documenting every step.

"The only other tip I can offer is to do the job as honest and fairly as possible," says Oberhaus. "Mistreatment of [workers and subcontractors] travels through the industry like the fires in Southern California."
Learn more about construction careers.

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Matt Krumrie, Monster Contributing Writer "One day you witness the satisfaction of overseeing the completion of a major project -- knowing that you supply power, heat and clean water to the community or to a business is very rewarding," says Bill Krech, a construction manager for Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota-based Total Construction.

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A6: This article is about homes that were failing on CT due to foundation installation not done correct. i found this interesting because of the problems that caused foundations to fail.

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A6: This article is about homes that were failing on CT due to foundation installation not done correct. i found this interesting because of the problems that caused foundations to fail.

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Mike Halloran in the basement of his home in Ellington, Conn. Mr. Halloran is a plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit that accuses insurers of a "concerted scheme" to deny coverage to homeowners whose foundations are cracking. Credit... Jessica Hill for The New York Times

STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. - Sandra Miller was at work in January when her daughter called from their home here on Oakridge Drive with alarming news. The house was making loud noises, as if someone had jumped off the counter and landed with a bang. For seconds afterward, the house shook.

A while later, it happened again, and again. Over the next several hours, terrifying bangs rattled the house. The next morning, Ms. Miller called Bill Neal, a structural engineer, who delivered the same stunning assessment to her that he has now told hundreds of homeowners: The concrete foundation was crumbling and, as a result, her house was gradually collapsing.

Across nearly 20 towns in northeastern Connecticut, a slow-motion disaster is unfolding, as local officials and homeowners wrestle with an extraordinary phenomenon. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of home foundations that have been poured since the 1980s are cracking, with fissures so large you can slip a hand inside.

"This is such an emotional roller coaster," said Tim Heim, a homeowner who started the group Connecticut Coalition Against Crumbling Basements. "You can't eat, you can't sleep. When you're told your home is now worthless and your biggest investment is now worthless, it's devastating."

The scope of the problem is so vast that state officials have begun an investigation, and they recently announced that the crumbling foundations had been traced to a quarry business and a related concrete maker, which have agreed to stop selling their products for residential use. The stone aggregate used in the concrete mixture has high levels of pyrrhotite, an iron sulfide mineral that can react with oxygen and water to cause swelling and cracking. Over the past 30 years, the quarry has provided concrete for as many as 20,000 houses.

As officials continue their investigation, the cascade of crumbling foundations poses a thicket of legal, emotional and financial issues and has prompted the state to create an official web page dedicated to the problem. Connecticut is also seeking help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"It's the psychological toll of the uncertainty," said Jonathan A. Harris, the commissioner of the State Consumer Protection Department.

Beyond the financial hit, Mr. Harris said, a person's home is "where their kids were born and grandchildren play."

"There's an intangible side to this that's horrible," he continued.

Insurers have generally refused to pay for repairs, strictly defining the coverage of collapse by inserting the word "abrupt" in policy language. Repairing the homes requires replacing the entire foundation at costs that typically range from $100,000 to over $200,000. So far, 223 residents have filed formal complaints about crumbling foundations with the department, but officials believe many homeowners may be reluctant to contact the state, fearing problems from their banks and insurers.

Because the affected swath of the state is home mostly to working- and middle-class families, many face financial ruin since their homes represent the biggest part of their nest egg. Ms. Miller, whose insurance company has provided no financial assistance, rented a nearby condominium after she was told that her family was no longer safe in their home.

But Ms. Miller said she could not pay both the monthly rent and the mortgage. Paying out of pocket to replace her home's foundation, she said, is well beyond reach. "I don't know too many people that have $170,000 in their wallet," she said. "And that's what it's going to cost to fix my home."

Mr. Neal, the structural engineer, has inspected hundreds of houses. In nearly all, he found concrete walls with distinctive crack patterns that resemble a road map with lines and fissures snaking in all directions - much different than the vertical cracks typically seen in foundations as they settle.

After hearing from tearful, angry residents at packed public meetings, state officials stepped in. In October, the state's Insurance Department warned insurers not to cancel policies because of a foundation's condition. Since insurers are denying claims, that warning may not help with the concrete problem, officials say, but it should at least prevent homeowners from losing insurance protection all together.

Last month, the Connecticut General Assembly passed a bill that would, among other things, allow homeowners with failing foundations to request a reassessment of their property values and require contractors to record the supplier of concrete for residential foundations. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat, signed the bill into law last week.

Another measure that sought to ease victims' financial losses was less successful. State Senator Tony Guglielmo, a Republican, had proposed a $50 million bond to help homeowners. But Democrats in the State House rejected it, arguing such a measure should wait until the full extent of the problem was better understood.

"I'm not a big-government guy, by any stretch, but there are some problems where you need government intervention because of the magnitude," Mr. Guglielmo said. "We've had meetings where there were 500 people, and it's been very emotional.''

After an investigation by the NBC station WVIT, the governor directed the Consumer Protection Department and the attorney general to investigate possible wrongdoing and to determine the scope of the problem and what, if any, assistance was available for homeowners.

While the state has traced the affected concrete to the quarry business, Becker Construction Company, which operates in Willington, officials have not ruled out other factors. One riddle is the absence of official reports of failing concrete in public or commercial projects that used material from the same quarry, and a concrete maker, the Joseph J. Mottes Company.

John Patton, a spokesman for both companies, has attributed the crumbling foundations to improper installation, specifically the tendency of some contractors to add water to wet concrete to make it pour faster. That was especially true, he said, during a building boom in the 1980s.

By law, Mr. Patton noted, inspectors are on site during commercial and public jobs, ensuring that concrete is mixed and installed properly. "We also know that during the time frame in question, other ready mix providers in the area used the same aggregate from the same source," he said.

Stephan Lackman, a former Mottes employee, said the Becker family, which owns both Mottes and Becker, started using material from the Willington quarry after its gravel supply was depleted during the 1980s. Mr. Patton acknowledged that Mottes first began using aggregate from the quarry in the 1980s, but said the company's original gravel supply was in use until 2014.

The mineral has been identified as a culprit in disintegrating foundations elsewhere. In April, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada repeated a pledge to allot $30 million in aid to homeowners in the province of Quebec whose foundations were failing.

"I saw with my very own eyes the difficult situation in which too many families live because of pyrrhotite," Mr. Trudeau told reporters.

As officials seek answers in Connecticut, homeowners are looking for someone to hold accountable. A class-action lawsuit filed in February accuses insurers of a "concerted scheme" to deny coverage. And some residents are angry that it has taken the state so long to address the problem.

Mike Halloran, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said some of his co-workers, neighbors and acquaintances also had cracking foundations. "Ken the plumber," Mr. Halloran, a hospital mechanic, said. "A nurse in the O.R. A guy my wife works out with at the gym has it."

Mr. Heim, the homeowner who started the coalition, faulted state officials for ignoring warnings from a number of homeowners with the problem in the early 2000s. In 2003, a meeting was held in Hartford among lawmakers, homeowners and representatives of the attorney general's office and Consumer Protection Department. Nothing came of it.

"They had the power to stop this problem," Mr. Heim said, "and they chose not to."

It was only after the report by WVIT last summer that politicians at the state level took action, homeowners said.

Fifteen years ago, Linda J. and Robert Tofolowsky filed a formal complaint with the Consumer Protection Department against Mottes. It detailed the cracks that had formed in the foundation of their home here during the mid-1990s. The couple said several other homeowners had similar problems with concrete supplied by Mottes.

The couple sued the company in 1995 and lost. But before the resolution of the lawsuit, Mrs. Tofolowsky, in a handwritten note attached to the 2001 complaint, warned of the calamity to come.

"It has been six years since we filed against J. J. Mottes," she wrote. "But I am not waiting for the court to make a decision, since we have found these seven other homes with failed foundations. I need to let the public know about this company, J. J. Mottes. So that maybe someone else will not lose their biggest investment, their home."

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With Connecticut Foundations Crumbling, 'Your Home Is Now Worthless'

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STAFFORD SPRINGS, Conn. - Sandra Miller was at work in January when her daughter called from their home here on Oakridge Drive with alarming news. The house was making loud noises, as if someone had jumped off the counter and landed with a bang. For seconds afterward, the house shook.

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A5: This article was one of the most interesting i read thus far. The reason being the houses you see are beyond exotic and left me baffled.

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A5: This article was one of the most interesting i read thus far. The reason being the houses you see are beyond exotic and left me baffled.

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Little boxes on the hillside aren't for everyone. While some people might be content with a cookie-cutter home in a bland suburban neighborhood, others create truly one-of-a-kind homes with incredibly imaginative shapes and materials. In addition to the 70 amazing houses around the world that we've featured before, here are 15 jaw-dropping examples of architecture from a decaying wooden skyscraper in Russia to a mushroom-shaped home in Cincinnati that looks like it was custom-made for Dr. Seuss.

Bart Prince House - Albuquerque, New Mexico

Architect Bart Prince is renowned for his incredibly creative approach to designing structures. The homes he has created look nothing like the boxy houses you and I live in; they're quirky, they're organic, and they're most definitely one-of-a-kind. Prince says his designs start from the inside out, and that every home he builds has an idea behind it. Pictured are Prince's own home in Albuquerque (top) and the Seymour residence in Los Altos, California.

Dar al Hajar - Yemen

This striking rock palace is not a hotel or a museum. It's not even a primary residence. Dar al Hajar was built as a 'summer home' by Imam Yahya in the 1930s, and it's a stunning example of rock-cut architecture. Standing at the base of this imposing structure, you have to crane your neck to see the top. The palace has since been restored so that visitors can buy a ticket and get a breathtaking 360-degree view of the surrounding landscape.

Bubble House - Tourettes-sur-Loup, France

The ' bubble house ' of Tourrettes-sur-Loup, France, is only 35 years old and has yet to be finished, but that hasn't stopped the French ministry of culture from listing it as a historic monument. Designed in the 70s by Hungarian architect Antti Lovag for fashion designer Pierre Cardin, the bubble house is futuristic yet organic, with lots of built-in furniture and oval, convex windows. The design is meant to take optimal advantage of the volcanic Côte d'Azur landscape, and its windows certainly provide a beautiful view of the Mediterranean.

Wooden Skyscraper - Arkhangelsk, Russia

Nikolai Sutyagin, a former gangster, began building this ' wooden skyscraper ' in Arkhangelsk, Russia with the intention of it being only a two-story building. But, a trip to see wooden houses in Japan and Norway convinced him that he hadn't used roof space efficiently enough, so he kept building. "First I added three floors but then the house looked ungainly, like a mushroom," he said. "So I added another and it still didn't look right so I kept going. What you see today is a happy accident." The multimillionaire became a pauper after his possessions were destroyed during a stint in prison, and the house is now decaying around him, but he still lives in the bottom floor with his wife.

The Upside-Down House - Szymbark, Poland

Polish businessman and philanthropist Daniel Czapiewski built The Upside Down House as a statement about the Communist era and the end of the world. It took 114 days to build because the workers were so disoriented by the angles of the walls. It certainly attracts its fair share of tourists to the tiny village of Szymbark, who often become dizzy and 'seasick' after just a few moments inside.

Hang Nga Villa - Dalat, Vietnam

Looking like something out of a child's fairytale gone wrong, the bizarre-looking structure in Dalat, Vietnam was built by the daughter of Ho Chi Minh's right-hand man. Madame Hang Nga created the Hang Nga Villa - now known simply as 'Crazy House' - to reflect her interest in art and architecture. Made of concrete, the house now serves as a restaurant and reception area for an adjacent French colonial-style hotel in a jolting contrast in architectural styles. The inside is said to be even stranger, with all the kitschy decor you can handle, including a giant eagle with red Christmas light eyes, "for the Americans".

Toilet-Shaped House - Suweon, South Korea

The world's one and only toilet-shaped house was built to mark the launch of the World Toilet Association, a campaign for more sanitary restrooms worldwide. Sim Jae-Duck, nicknamed "Mayor Toilet", had the 4,508-square-foot concrete and glass structure built in his native city of Suweon, South Korea. At the center of the home is a glass-walled "showcase loo" that produces mist to make users feel more secure. Sim, who was born into a toilet and has made clean restrooms his life's work, now lives in the home.

Eliphante & Hippodome - Cornville, Arizona

Called the ' Eliphante house ' for the look of its entrance, this sculptural home was created by artist Michael Kahn and his wife Leda Livant with found materials over a period of 28 years. Eliphante and several outbuildings occupy 3 acres of land and incorporate rocks and scraps from construction sites. There was never any kind of floor plan for Eliphante - it just sort of evolved. Ms. Livant's residence on the property is the 'Hippodome', a mosaic-covered creation that looks like a hippo emerging from a lake.

Inversion House - Houston, Texas

When two old studio buildings owned by The Art League in Houston were set to be demolished, they decided to take the opportunity to turn them into a temporary art installation. Artists Dan Havel and Dean Ruck sculpturally altered the two buildings, peeling off the exterior siding of the front building to simulate the appearance of a funnel-like vortex. The opening was actually a tiny hallway (only kids could fit through it) that passed through the two structures and emptied out into an adjacent courtyard.

Shoe House - South Africa

The ' shoe house ' of South Africa is the work of artist and hotelier Ron Van Zyl, who built it for his wife Yvonne in 1990. The shoe houses a little museum of sorts, showcasing Van Zyl's wood carvings. The shoe is part of a complex that includes an eight-chalet guest house, camp site, restaurant, pool and bar.

Mushroom House - Cincinnati, Ohio

Architect Terry Brown created this much-maligned ' mushroom house ', an unusual piece of architecture situated in a rather upscale area of Cincinnati. Brown's architectural style developed when he began experimenting with materials like wood, colored glass, shell, ceramics and various metals to create irregular shapes that mimic those found in nature. A professor of architecture and interior design at the University of Cincinnati, Brown frequently had to defend the unique design of the house against complaints by neighbors before passing away in 2008.

Floating House - Ukraine

An optical illusion? Trick of Photoshop? Nobody really seems to know much about this supposed ' floating barn' which was reportedly located in Ukraine and may or may not still be standing. Cantilevered barns do exist - mostly in the Appalachian region of the United States - but usually aren't quite this dramatic looking. Real or fake, it's certainly pretty striking.

Space House - Signal Mountain, Tennessee

The ' Space House ' in Signal Mountain, Tennessee was built by Curtis King and his sons in the 1970s and is quite a draw for curiosity seekers in the area, who have been filing by and taking photos for decades. Six concrete support pillars look like landing gear beneath the main part of the building. The Space House sold on the auction block in March 2008 but the buyer defaulted, so it's being offered for "whatever the public is willing to pay" on December 14th.

Crooked House - Sopot, Poland

From Poland comes another interesting building, the ' Crooked House '. The design was inspired by the drawings of Polish artists Jan Marcin Szancer and Per Dahlberg, which have a whimsical and Dali-esque feel. It's not actually a house - it's part of a shopping complex. But, it's very cool all the same, with its surreal angles and blue-green glass.

Hundertwasser Haus - Vienna, Austria

Austrian artist Friedensreich Regentag Dunkelbunt Hundertwasser may not be well known across most of the world, but anyone who has visited Vienna knows of his iconic creation, the Hundertwasser Haus. It's an apartment complex characterized by patchwork paint, undulating floors, the incorporation of vegetation and a façade with seemingly no rhyme or reason to its structure. Hundertwasser reportedly took no payment for designing it, considering it a public service to prevent something ugly going up in its place.

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Top 15 Most Amazing & Exotic Houses in the World

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Little boxes on the hillside aren't for everyone. While some people might be content with a cookie-cutter home in a bland suburban neighborhood, others create truly one-of-a-kind homes with incredibly imaginative shapes and materials.

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A4: This article was interesting because you get to see the homes that were once old Barnes into a fully operational residential home.

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A4: This article was interesting because you get to see the homes that were once old Barnes into a fully operational residential home.

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You won't believe these incredible single-family homes that used to be regular old barns! From massive atriums with exposed arches to sliding barn doors and former hay lofts, these eclectic living spaces have character hard to find elsewhere -- not to mention the square footage!

Watch the video above to see each unique home's cool features!

See photos of a quirky desert home in the gallery below:

More in lifestyle:
This massive estate puts Downton Abbey to shame
How you can afford an interior designer on a budget
3 ways to style a coffee table
Read Full Story

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You won't believe these incredible single-family homes that used to be regular old barns! From massive atriums with exposed arches to sliding barn doors and former hay lofts, these eclectic living spaces have character hard to find elsewhere -- not to mention the square footage!

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A3: This article i found interesting because they explained the different persepctives on both residential and commercial construction.

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A3: This article i found interesting because they explained the different persepctives on both residential and commercial construction.

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Dona DeZube, Monster Finance Careers Expert

Considering a career in real estate sales? In most markets, your first choice will be whether to sell commercial or residential properties. An entrepreneurial, aggressive salesperson can succeed in either, but there are some distinct differences you should know about.

Residential is easier to break into, says Mike Winkeler, owner of RealtyPlusUSA, a St. Louis-based residential brokerage. "You can achieve success in a short period of time -- 90 days to six months," he says.

Not so in commercial, where it can take 10 months to close your first sale, says Sandra Sellani, vice president of marketing for commercial real estate brokerage Sperry Van Ness in Irvine, California. "The people doing [commercial sales] right are young and living with their parents," says Sellani, who has worked as both a residential and commercial sales agent.
Payday
The commercial sales cycle may be slower, but per-deal commissions are higher, because properties are more expensive and agents get a percentage of the sale price. Sperry's average deal is $3 million to $4 million. Compare that with a national median sale price of $154,400 for an existing US home.

The average commercial Realtor makes $85,000 annually versus $39,300 for residential Realtors, according to National Association of Realtors' (NAR) surveys of its members. You must belong to NAR to be a Realtor. Commercial Realtors' incomes are higher, because they're more likely to collect 100 percent of the commissions they earn and they're more likely to hold a broker's license rather than an agent's license, NAR says.
Commercial Harder to Enter
For either job, you'll need a real estate license. Residential agents aren't expected to have a college degree, but they do need to know the community they serve, says Wayne Etter, adviser for the Land Economics and Real Estate graduate program at Texas A&M University.

Commercial real estate firms, on the other hand, tend to have tougher hiring standards. They'll look for sales ability coupled with a finance or business degree that shows you can talk to clients about internal rates of return, capitalization rates, gross rent multipliers and other analytics.

"When one of our master's-degree graduates elects to go to work for a commercial brokerage firm, they apply everything they learned about commercial development and finance," Etter explains.
Corporate vs. Casual
Commercial and residential agents work in very different environments. "The commercial side is a more corporate environment," says Adam Christofferson, a regional manager for the Denver office of real estate investment brokerage Marcus & Millichap. "You don't see people doing it part time on the side to see if they can make it, which you do see in residential."

Aaron Kaufman, a real estate agent in the Atlanta office of Keller Williams Realty, moved from commercial to residential sales for a better quality of life and to use his gift for schmooze, which works well with everyday people but flops with corporate types. "Chief financial officers are not known for their sense of humor, but I can't tell you how many times I've been invited to someone's home for Christmas dinner, because I helped them buy their first home," he says.
More Diversity in Residential
Because it's more familiar than commercial real estate, residential real estate may be an easier sell at first. "People identify with owning a home, but not all of us have owned a $2 million retail center," Sellani says.

For that reason, the residential side attracts all kinds of people, from recent college grads to 40-something moms with children at home to retired salesmen, says Renee Kullberg, office manager for Thornton Properties, a Chicago-based residential and commercial real estate firm. "No matter where you are in your career, it's very doable to become a residential real estate agent," she says.

In contrast, commercial real estate has a reputation for being male-dominated, although that doesn't keep women from succeeding, Sellani says. Sperry's top two agents in 2004 were women.
An In-Between Option
Can't decide if you're suited to residential or commercial sales? In a small market, you can sell both. In a large market, you can touch on both fields by selling residential rental properties to individual real estate investors. "You'll have cash-flow projections, and [you'll] incorporate expenses into spreadsheets, but it's easier to get your feet wet there than it would be to go strictly into commercial from day number one," Winkeler says.
Learn more about real estate careers.
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Here's how to determine whether you should sell commercial or residential real estate.

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Dona DeZube, Monster Finance Careers Expert Considering a career in real estate sales? In most markets, your first choice will be whether to sell commercial or residential properties. An entrepreneurial, aggressive salesperson can succeed in either, but there are some distinct differences you should know about.

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A2: This article is about 15 green building home ideas. As we all know green homes are very popular and good sustainable idea. 15 new trends deserved

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A2: This article is about 15 green building home ideas. As we all know green homes are very popular and good sustainable idea. 15 new trends deserved

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With the constantly changing environment around us, it's important to be environmentally aware and active. It's even more important when you consider how much money you can save by building a green home. The methods and ways you can go about changing your home from an emission-producing powerhouse into more of a greenhouse are easy and simple concepts. Everything you can think of in order to save energy can be implemented in creating a green space for you and your family.

Being aware of energy saving benefits, making the switch from waste producing products to more environmentally friendly products like the best tankless water heater, and much more. By creating and managing a green home for you and your family to live in, not only will you be engaging in a positive atmosphere - but also you'll be passing on the lessons and importance of surrounding environmental issues to the rest of your family. While in the long run, going green will save you lots of money, the initial renovations needed to go green can sometimes be costly. Consider obtaining a home equity line of credit to finance your green home endeavors.

Some Cost Effective Benefits of Going Green in Your Day-To-Day Life

In order to have a productive green home, you need to be able to cut costs when required. This means using less electricity and trying to eliminate the products that have a negative impact on the environment. Although it's obvious that there are many cost-effective ways to go green, some of them are often forgotten. Here are some of the top reasons why you should choose to go green in your household for the sake of your budget.

You can eliminate the stress that comes with paying high monthly bills.

Saving money for other things like trips, special occasions and outings.

Reducing your carbon footprint.

Encouraging others in your family to save energy by eliminating the use of certain things during high peak or mid peak hours (on par with what your energy company has outlined).

You can put the money you saved to good use, no matter what it is.

15 Green Home Building Ideas

1. Location Location, Location: While buying property for yourself, take a note of couple of things that you must foresee before moving in. Firstly, avoid building west facing home. This will keep your home cool as it minimizes sun exposure. Secondly, avoid building home in environmentally sensitive locations such as earthquake or hurricane or flood prone areas. Thirdly, check if public transportation is easily available and local grocery shop is not that far away. This will help you avoid taking your own vehicle every time and will reduce your travel time.

2. Smaller is Better: A small home built with eco friendly techniques is going to have smaller environmental impact as against a large home. A house that is too large is likely to cost more to heat and cool. Try to keep the place manageable and cost effective. If you are planning to extend your family and bring in few relatives, you need to put proper resources and accommodation in place.

3. Energy Efficient Equipment: ENERGY STAR label on a piece of equipment states that particular product has been deemed as energy efficient by the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). ENERGY STAR is becoming well known label and consumers today choose energy star appliances for their homes. These appliances offer significant cost and energy savings without compromising performance.

4. Proper Insulation: Insulation is one of the most important ting that you need to consider while building a green home. Heating and cooling account for 50% of your home's energy consumption. Air leaks such as around windows, door and duct work is responsible for building's heat loss. Don't let heating and cooling of your interior spaces air go waste through improper insulation. Proper insulation will not only reduce your energy consumption but will bring down your electricity bills substantially.

5. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Reduce your need for buying new products that are not environment friendly. Reuse your old material such as wood floors, doors, windows in your next home. Recycled materials such as recycled glass, aluminium, recycled tile, reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic can be used in green home building.

6. Use Sustainable Building Materials: If building a green home is your goal, then using environmentally or eco-friendly products should be on your list which can reduce the impact of construction on the environment. Each and every part of your house such as roofing material, building material, cabinets, counters and insulation to your flooring should be environmentally friendly. Use products such as reclaimed lumber, recycled plastic, recycled glass or natural products such as bamboo, cork and linoleum which are made of natural, renewable materials.

7. Install Solar Panels: Solar energy is clean and renewable source of energy. Solar panels are an emerging and hot technology for people who want to utilize the natural power all around us, the sun. Solar panels may be expensive at first, but the long-term savings you can put into your pocket is a stunning example of the benefits of turning your life from black to green. The location of your house and the way you have constructed solar panels can determine how much power you can collect. By taking advantage of solar power you can bring down your energy consumption and supply excess energy, if any, to your utility company. Also, government grants, incentives and tax breaks are huge bonus to those who want to use solar power in their home.

8. Energy Star Windows: Energy efficient windows labeled as ENERGY STAR windows are new player in window market and are much more energy efficient than normal windows. The ratings for these windows determine how energy efficient they will be. The lower the rating, the more energy efficient are your windows. The energy savings provided by these windows are enough to cover the added cost per window.

9. Rainwater Harvesting Systems and Tankless Water Heaters: Install a rainwater harvesting system while building your green home to collect rainwater from roofs and then storing it in a tank. The collected water can then be used for other purposes such as toilets and sprinkler systems. Rain barrels are one of the most common methods of rainwater harvesting being used today.

With tankless water heaters, you need not wait for the water to get heated. Tankless water heaters heat only that much water that is needed as it is passed through electric coil. This gives you twin benefits. Firstly, it eliminates excess energy costs as it heats up only that much amount of water that is needed and secondly, you can get ample storage place by eliminating the hot water tank.

10. Eco-Friendly Lighting: Both LED and CFL cost more upfront but use less energy and last longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Since they offer significant cost savings in the long run, they can be ideal for your new green home.

11. Water Conserving Fixtures: Low flow faucets, toilets, showerheads are few of the ways that you can use while building a green home to conserve water. They can cut down on your water bills cost and make your home much more environment friendly. Apart from that, consider buying washing machines and dishwashers that give you same kind of cleaning and can save water and energy.

12. Programmable Thermostat: We all know that almost 50% of our energy consumption goes towards heating and cooling of our home. The simplest way to cut down this cost and reduce electricity bill is to install programmable thermostat. Your HVAC system will work when the thermostat reaches the designated temperature. Also, a slight 3-5 % of your energy bill can be saved if you can set your thermostat 1 degree down in the winter and up by 1 degree in the summer.

13. HVAC System: Buy a high efficiency, Energy Star rated HVAC system based on the design and construction of your house that will help you save energy and money. A HVAC system needs to be properly installed so that it could perform up to its full potential. Make sure ducts are short, straight and air tight. The ducts need to be professionally tested with the goal of under 10% leakage.

14. Efficient Landscaping: Shady landscaping can protect your home from direct sunlight during the summer and allows more sunlight to reach your home through windows during the winter. Planting trees on southern and western side of your home can keep your home cooler as they will block sunlight from falling directly on your home and during the winter, when trees lose their leaves, they will allow more sunlight to reach your home.

15. Harness Geothermal Energy: Geothermal energy is known as energy from the earth. Geothermal energy requires more upfront investment but provide unlimited energy to heat and cool your home. During the winter season, geothermal heat pump uses the earth loop to extract heat from deep underground to your home's HVAC system; in the summer season, heat is extracted from the air and moved back into the earth through loop system.

How To Become Greener In Your Household

Some people think that going green can be a costly or difficult venture. However, there are so many different methods that people choose to go with that can help you save both the money and the effort that goes into making an extensive green energy plan for your home. Some of these methods are often forgotten by people who make green energy plans because they are just so simple and overlooked. These methods are:

Turning off any lights or appliances when you don't use them.

Remembering that even when you're not using something and it's plugged in, it's still eating away at potentially saved energy (this includes things like laptops, cellphone chargers, essentially everything you can think of that is plugged in).

Buying only recyclable containers and reusing plastics for food storage.

Creating a family energy plan that everyone can plan their daily routine by.

Having safe and environmentally friendly alternatives for things like entertainment. Eliminating the extensive use of the television or the Internet is also a great way to get the family more involved with one another. Plan family game nights and other fun ways to spend your time together.

Image credit:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/3182279605

https://www.flickr.com/photos/putneydesign/8286218492

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Top 15 Green Home Building Techniques and Ideas - Conserve Energy Future

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With the constantly changing environment around us, it's important to be environmentally aware and active. It's even more important when you consider how much money you can save by building a green home. The methods and ways you can go about changing your home from an emission-producing powerhouse into more of a greenhouse are easy and simple concepts.

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A1: This article is about the 5 new trends in construction. Alot of good information i didnt realize.

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A1: This article is about the 5 new trends in construction. Alot of good information i didnt realize.

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As the economy improves, often the construction business does as well-but that industry is still looking for sound strategies, not just structures. After the housing dip of a few years ago, value is still on people's minds as there isn't a guarantee that another downturn couldn't be around the corner.

Mike Miller, the Mid-Atlantic Division leader for Southland Industries, Dulles, VA, a mechanical engineering building firm, and Jim Snyder, director of operations for construction company Warrior Group, Columbus, OH, give us insights into the trends to look for this year.

1) Single-Design Model

Miller points out that traditionally, engineering documents were created then given to the contractor to re-draw with different information. Now, to save time and money, there's a shift to have it all in-house from engineering to coordination, creating a one-stop shop. Through the proper coordination, models can and should, says Miller, go through engineering right into construction. "Thirty month projects can get turned into 24-month projects," he adds.

2) Materials

Miller, who has a degree in architectural engineering, says materials such as adapted sheet metal are popular as a guaranteed pressure class for high quality, but it's how materials are being used that makes the difference. Going to prefabrication off-site for construction fits right into the ongoing theme of improving schedules. "Instead of joining one piece of duct work you can join 20 feet of duct together," Miller says. "It's about moving more work from the field into the shop."

3) Energy Efficiency

Energy consumption is always on the mind in construction, says Miller. He notes systems that recover energy through heat wheels and occupancy sensors are becoming vital. An example of the latter are the countless interior conference rooms that can be left empty for weeks. By recognizing carbon dioxide in the room, a sensor changes the ventilation and, therefore, the energy needed.

4) Permanent Modular Construction

Snyder offers that permanent modular construction will be a huge trend in the coming years, saying the construction can easily last more than 50 years. "It looks exactly like commercial construction and can be done using many of the same things: metal studs, concrete, or even wood." Snyder says modular construction fits particularly well when you're in a time crunch, from fast food restaurants that need to go up quickly to army barracks for military deployment. "It also allows you to have an easier time doing the building as you go," he says. "Instead of building 100,000 square feet, you can do 25,000 and then later, add on." Snyder, who has a degree in construction science, sees it also becoming a part of high-rise construction and being particularly popular for how it fits in with LEED requirements. The key, he says, is changing people's minds about what they envision. "They see it as boxes," he says, "but it can be so many things that you want it to be."

5) Possibly...You

According to Miller, well-rounded mechanical engineers who can go beyond calculations to fitting into these coordinated engineering design models will render themselves invaluable. The only question is: Are you flexible enough for the challenge?

Eric Butterman is an independent writer.

Well-rounded mechanical engineers who can go beyond calculations to fitting into these coordinated engineering design models will render themselves invaluable.
Nikhil A. Koratkar, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

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5 New Trends in Construction and Building

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As the economy improves, often the construction business does as well-but that industry is still looking for sound strategies, not just structures. After the housing dip of a few years ago, value is still on people's minds as there isn't a guarantee that another downturn couldn't be around the corner.

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P10: This is a picture  of the one tower first being constructed. i found this picture interesting because i actually didn't get a chance to see when the One Tower was being constructed.

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P10: This is a picture  of the one tower first being constructed. i found this picture interesting because i actually didn't get a chance to see when the One Tower was being constructed.

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P9: This picture is when the Madison Square Garden was first constructed. I stumbled upon this picture while looking at older construction build in NYC. I like this picture because i get to see how MSG looked before it was created and i am amazed.

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P9: This picture is when the Madison Square Garden was first constructed. I stumbled upon this picture while looking at older construction build in NYC. I like this picture because i get to see how MSG looked before it was created and i am amazed.

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P8: This is from a video game called mine craft. This is an sculpture of the empire state. I don't know how relevant this is to construction but the time put into this must've been very high.

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P8: This is from a video game called mine craft. This is an sculpture of the empire state. I don't know how relevant this is to construction but the time put into this must've been very high.

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P7: This picture was chosen due to the fact that how unsafe these guys are during they're lunch break. No harness's or hardhats 50 stories in the sky could be very intimidating and interesting.

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P7: This picture was chosen due to the fact that how unsafe these guys are during they're lunch break. No harness's or hardhats 50 stories in the sky could be very intimidating and interesting.

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P6:This is another high-rise building with swimming pools located on each balcony. I chose this picture because I cant imagine the work and load analysis it must take architects and engineer to design this.

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P5: This picture is high rise building in Dubai. I chose this picture because I always liked the structural design of these building.

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P5: This picture is high rise building in Dubai. I chose this picture because I always liked the structural design of these building.

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P4: This picture is a facility that is green. Which is a sustainable aspect in construction. I always found green roofs interesting and very beneficial to a

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P3:  This picture is a man building a chimney for a residential home. I chose this picture because he did an amazing job. Also, like I stated before I enjoy masonry.

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P2: This picture you see a couple guys remodeling a house. Remodeling is actually something I really enjoy doing in construction. That's why I chose this picture.

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P1: This video is crane constructing a building. I chose this picture because I always found cranes interesting, although I have no clue on how to operate them.

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V10: This video was very fascinating to watch. This video is about the tallest building in the world being constructed and the steps they had to take to go about it. Very scary and interesting stuff.

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At over 828 metres (2,716.5 feet) and more than 160 stories, Burj Khalifa holds the following records: Tallest building in the world Tallest free-standing structure in the world Highest number of stories in the world Highest occupied floor in the world Highest outdoor observation deck in the world Elevator with

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V9: This video is about a high rise building being built in china. I found this video interesting because the organization speed and determination these guys have is amazing. I hope one day to work on a massive project like this one.

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Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation

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WOW, SUPER FAST HIGH RISE HOTEL CONSTRUCTION IN CHINA REVIEW 2 !

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SUPER FAST HIGH RISE HOTEL TIME LAPSE CONSTRUCTION ! BSB proprietary technology was invented by BROAD Group with more than 80 patents. From 2011 to 2015, time lapse videos of "15-story hotel built in one week", "30-story hotel built in 15 days", and "57-story building built in 19 days" have received successively more than 15 million viewers on YouTube, which has rocked whole world again and again.

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This video was chosen because I enjoy seeing computer software used and also it gives me an idea of what I will be doing on the site. This is a recap of a home being build on the 3D software BIM.

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3d rendering, 3d modeling software & 3d floor plans | SJB Construction Incorporated

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Are you looking for a design/build remodeling company that for your next room addition or second story addition? Check out www.sjbconstructioninc.com for a free quote or our blog to get the insight on industry statistics!

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V7: what I liked about this video it actually took you on a tour of the day and life of a CM. I like videos like this because they prepare what I will be doing in the future. At least to some extent.

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V7: what I liked about this video it actually took you on a tour of the day and life of a CM. I like videos like this because they prepare what I will be doing in the future. At least to some extent.

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V6: This video goes into depth about what it takes to be a construction manager and what are some of the task they are assigned to do. It helped me out tremendously once I watched it.

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Construction Management Degrees Career Options and Salaries

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Construction Managers oversee building projects through the planning, development, construction and completion phases. These Construction Professionals coordinate construction projects amongst various sub-contractors and make sure projects stay on track, within budget, and are completed on time. While Construction Managers spend time working in an office, they also spend a great deal of time out in the field to oversee projects directly.

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V5:  This video helped me build an end table back in one of my classes. It was very informative and one of the reasons I was able to complete it.

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Easy End Table by Patrick Hosey Music: "I Won't Run No More" by Social Distortion

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V4: This video was specifically chosen because at first I was unfamiliar with applying mud to dry wall. Watching videos and of course hand on experience helped me get better.

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Drywall Taping for Beginners Guaranteed Professional Results

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How the Pro's Mix Drywall Mud and Apply Tape (#2014)

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I video my good friend Chad (professional taper) to show you how the Pro's do drywall taping. Listen close because he works and talks fast...but tons of really good info! Even shows the proper order to tape.

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V3: This video is about the steps it takes when applying shingles too a residential home. I chose this because roofing was something I considered doing fulltime at a time in my life.

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http://www.topviewroofing.com Top View Roofing, is proud to carry a wide selection of roofing systems specifically chosen for the climate and weather conditions prevalent in the mid-west. Our skilled roofing experts are well-versed in all roofing systems on the market today.

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V2: I chose this video because I am very skilled in masonry. I always found it interesting and watching videos like me helped me get better.

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Mason Contractors Association of America

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Brick Masonry Techniques for Builders - Full Head Joints

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Full Head Joints Featuring master mason Bryan Light, the "Brick Masonry Techniques for Builders" DVD demonstrates construction techniques with brick that masonry craftsmen can use to speed up job completion, maximize work quality, reduce call-backs, and increase profitability.

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V1 : I chose this video because I always love the assembly of residential homes. In this video they show step by step on how it works.

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How to Build a House: Carpenter Starts The House EP 30

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With the walls completed and the wood at the building site Roman's carpenter Dave starts to build the first floor for the home.