Gaco Western Shifts Manufacturing to Waukesha WI Plant

From Biz Times comes new about Gaco Western shifting it's manufacturing up to Wisconsin...

Gaco Western LLC, a Seattle, Wash. -based manufacturer of waterproofing chemicals and foam insulation, will shift all of its manufacturing operations to its new 60,000-square-foot facility in Waukesha by May.

The company moved into the new building in December. At the time, the company had 14 employees in Wisconsin. It now has 25 and is in the process of hiring about six more, said Irene Schwechler, vice president and general manager of the Waukesha plant.

A second shift is scheduled to begin in May.

"They're being hired for the second shift now because we need to train them," Schwechler said.

The company's Waukesha location will be more convenient and cost-effective for shipping than the West Coast site. Also, the labor costs and costs of living are cheaper in Wisconsin than in Seattle.

Before the company moved into its building on Chapman Drive, Gaco Western occupied a 20,000-square-foot facility at 521 Biddle St. in Waukesha. With about one-third of the space it has now, the cramped operations were chaotic, Schwechler said.

Read the rest of the story at Biz Times by clicking here.

Central Coast Chapter of ICC Presents a Half Day Seminar on STUCCO, DRYWALL & FIRE RESISTIVE ASSEMBLIES April 29th in Atascadero

Free for ICC Central Coast Chapter members, the rest of us will pay $35.00 to hear Michael Logue and Darren Coates present a half day seminar. While stucco and drywall are part of fire resistive assemblies, Deck Expert is gonna be asking hard questions about decking.

One deck coating system in particular....

I think I'll bring my laptop and ask if I can show my video footage....

Anyway, if you want to go, email Dave Muehlhausen at dmuehlhausen@atascadero.org and tell him to put you down to attend. You'll get a free continental breakfast and a copy of the Fire Resistive Design Manual.

See you there!

UK manufacturer Stirling Lloyd Polychem Chosen To Supply Waterproofing for Manchester, UK Garage parking Deck Waterproofing Project

Decseal Triumphs At Exchange Quay

Posted by: Roxanna Anderson http://www.stirlinglloyd.com From: Stirling Lloyd Polychem Date: 4/2/2009

Stirling Lloyd's Decseal System has been used for waterproofing and surfacing the top deck of the car park at Exchange Quay near Manchester.

Exchange Quay is a new complex of commercial space in Salford Quays, two miles from Manchester city centre that incorporates the very highest concepts in architectural design. The development comprises seven office buildings, green areas and multiple water features. The Metro building within the development also came with a two-storey car park and it was essential that the systems chosen to protect this asset were not only effective and durable but also complimented the high-end design. Of the systems available, Decseal from UK manufacturer Stirling Lloyd Polychem was chosen for waterproofing & surfacing the top deck of the car park. Based on advanced methyl methacrylate (MMA) resins the system not only offered the durability and skid-resistance desired by the client, but this high performance was available in a wide range of colours, giving the customer full control over the aesthetics. For this project the client wanted a green finish and some 3,000m of Decseal, pigmented chrome green, was applied by Stirling Lloyd Construction, a specialist contractor authorised to apply the Decseal system. Once the concrete deck had been prepared the Stirling Lloyd Construction team set about applying the system. Firstly Decseal Primer was applied, which sealed the substrate and enhanced the bond of the subsequent membrane. The fully reinforced waterproofing membrane was then applied, with a reinforcement scrim sandwiched between two layers of waterproofing. The membrane is liquid spray applied, which helped ensure a rapid application and a seamless finish, even around the complex details that needed to be treated. After the membrane had cured, in less than an hour, the final wearing course was applied. This provides the systems skid-resistance and aesthetic appearance. Any system can only achieve its full performance potential if it is applied correctly. To back up the application teams experience and training, stringent on-site QC procedures including tensile adhesion tests, thickness checks and scuff tests were carried out to ensure this potential was realised. To delineate the individual parking bays, Stirling Lloyds Safetrack LM line marking system was used. Safetrack LM is also MMA based and is highly durable, wear resistant and fully bonds with Decseal. Despite tight programme schedules, Stirling Lloyd Construction completed the works on schedule and the owners of the development, HBG Properties, can be confident they have a car park that is aesthetically pleasing, is effectively protected against water penetration and will retain its anti-skid properties for many years.

Source:	Stirling Lloyd Polychem

From the NY TIMES-Former California Homeowners Lash Out at Builder

By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

Published: April 2, 2009

LOS ANGELES — A major home builder that helped fuel the country’s building boom is now under attack for what some homeowners and builders say was its role in the bust that followed.

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Monica Almeida/The New York Times

A protest was held Thursday in Los Angeles during KB Home’s annual shareholders’ meeting.

Several former homeowners spoke here on Thursday about their disenchantment with the builder, KB Home, at its annual shareholders’ meeting. The speakers said the company had pushed them into high-risk, high-interest loans for homes they could not afford and eventually lost to foreclosure.

During the meeting, a few dozen construction workers, many of whom had their work dry up when the home-building market imploded in Southern California, protested across the street.

“I tried to communicate to the board members to try to do better for people in the future,” one of the former homeowners who addressed the board, Santiago Ramos, said after the meeting.


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The Onion's Video Spoof of Wildfire Season

While humorous, this spoof from the Onion on the wildfire problem in California does serve as a serious message...fire's aren't funny.

So have a little laugh and get your home the best building products you can that are fire resistant!

Call Bill Leys for the best fire resistant decking available, Dex-O-Tex, Desert Brand, Pli-dek and Mer-Kote....805-801-2380

AIA 2009 Convention Coming Up April 30th

Moscone Center in San Francisco will be the hub of all activity for the American Architect Institute's 2009 Convention and Show.

Many manufacturer's will be there, to date I've seen AVM, Duradeck, Dex-O-Tex, Excellent Coatings and Parex LaHabra/Mer-Ko as exhibitors for decking/exterior products, I've also seen Tremco and Kemiko listed...

Probably sold out for manufacturer's, but you can register to go-click here to go 's 2009 Convention website for the rates and dates