Desert Brand Announces Price increases, Becomes Latest To Do So...

Becoming the latest manufacturer to join the club of those who already have done so...Hill Brothers Chemical Company announced their Desert Brand Decking & Flooring division will raise material prices effective October 1st.

Approved applicators in the Bay Area will pay a little more than Los Angeles based applicators, reflecting the extra cost of shipping the materials 400 miles further north.

Hill Brothers is a chemical giant, manufacturing and reselling a variety of chemicals used in agriculture, water treatment and other industries.

Desert Brand, their flooring and decking Division, manufactures Magnesite and Desert Crete/Desert Flex for use on walkways, stairs, decks and roof decks.

Click our headline to visit Desert Brand's website.

Is Life Paint in Violation of ICC-ES's Rules for Use of an Evaluation Report?

ICC_ES issues evaluation reports, they do not "approve" a product for any use whatsoever...that's what a Building Official is for, to determine if a product is suitable for the job it's going on.

ICC-ES evaluates a product and the test data it is provided from accredited labs that have performed the required testing protocols that must be done. Therefore, ICC-ES has written specific rules about the use of their reports, what claims a manufacturer can make regarding a report it may hold and the wording that can be used.

From ICC-ES' Rules of Procedure for Evaluation Reports under 13.4. "It is the report holders responsibility to not misrepresent the evaluation report in any way, and to secure ICC-ES approval in advance whenever there is a question about the use of the ICC-ES name and/or ICC-ES evaluation report. Report holders are expressly prohibited from using in advertising, promotional and informational materials, such language as "ICC-ES Approved", ICC-ES certified etc.

So imagine my surprise when I was down at Miners Ace Hardware and saw the new Life Paint/Life Deck AL system on a very nice display board along with their FM system and Texture Crete...can you spot the apparent violation?

tsk, tsk

New Mexico Gets a CAI Chapter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Sept 08, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Thousands of New Mexicans who live and work in homeowner and condominium associations now have a statewide organization dedicated to issues and challenges faced by these common-interest communities.

Community association leaders in New Mexico have established a chapter of Community Associations Institute (CAI), a national, nonprofit group that works on behalf of associations and their residents. The New Mexico chapter will be headquartered in Albuquerque. The national organization is headquartered in Alexandria, VA.

CAI estimates that 60 million Americans live in close to 300,000 associations nationwide.

Dozens of community association leaders in New Mexico have been involved in the effort to establish the new organization.

"The community association housing market in New Mexico has grown tremendously in recent years," said Kimberly Corcoran, CMCA, AMS, vice president of operations for Canyon Gate Real Estate Services in Albuquerque and one of the industry leaders responsible for creation of the new CAI chapter. "The formation of a local CAI chapter is evidence of that growth and demonstrates the commitment of local companies to provide professional and reputable services to homeowners.

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One Of My Competitors is Welcome to Do This Job...

One of my biggest frustrations in the field of waterproofing is the lack or respect and appreciation of my trade...

Today I went to look at a job that I received a lead on yesterday; a nice job that needs waterproofing for tiling over. It was way out in the back country of SLO County, off Huer Huero Rd in Creston. Big ranch style house, certainly a million dollar home.

The contractor, who shall remain nameless to protect the guilty, when he was on the phone with me became a little belligerent when he asked me what system I would use... He said "I know what Deck Tech (a local competitor in Grover Beach) does for tile, what do you do?"

I simply told him that until I looked at it, I wouldn't know, nor make a decision on until I got there. So off I went this morning, out Hwy 58 through Santa Margarita out to Creston. I arrived at the house to find what you see in the pictures...

The contractor told me that they were putting on a 1 1/2" mortar bed over my waterproofing to put the tile onto. I said can I raise a couple questions? Sure, he said, go ahead...

Well said I, there's a few issues that need to be addressed..."I don't believe the substrate and framing are suitable for tiling over...it's 2" x 8" construction, it's 3/4" OSB over that, and the joists are only 16" on center. Plus your OSB is not an approved substrate for waterproofing over, it's in upside down, and it's not gapped. Plus there's no blocking at the seams . My opinion is that you need 2" x10" framing, 10" on center, and you need to have at least another 5/8" sheet of plywood on top. I think they'll be deflection, which will cause the tile to crack, the waterproofing to fail, and we both get sued..."

That's when the contractor told me that he didn't need my services...whew! Like I was going to take this job as it was and accept the risk of this job failing...

So off I went, thankful I am smart enough to walk away from idiot contractors who think they're smarter than me. There are still 4 more companies in the phone book for him to call...one of them I'm sure will be hungry enough for work to allow them to ignore the signs of trouble.

Ariz. ruling finds leeway for home defect suits

PHOENIX -

Arizona homeowners don't have to buy directly from builders to sue them for defective work, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a case with implications for consumers and businesses alike.

"Innocent buyers of defectively constructed homes should not be denied redress on the implied warranty simply because of the form of the business deal chosen by the builder and vendor," Justice Andrew Hurwitz wrote in the unanimous ruling Tuesday.

The ruling in a high-profile business case that attracted interest from industry, homeowner and consumer groups revives a lawsuit filed in connection with a Phoenix lofts project.

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Over 100 Duradek Installers Added to our Installers Web Page!

Looking for a decking company?
Check out our installers page at www.waterproofdeckcoatingadvice.com!
We just today added over 100 installers of Duradek decking in over 45 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.
Let them know you found them at the Deck Expert's website!