FROM the American P{lywood Association-construction details for moisture resistant homes.

Saw this on an email newsletter i get, passing it on...

Build A Better Home publications provide simple construction details for moisture-resistant homes

APA’s Build A Better Home program is designed to provide builders and homeowners the construction guidelines they need to protect their homes against damaging moisture infiltration by encouraging better building practices for the key elements of a residential structure: roofs, walls and foundation.

Three brochures in the Build A Better Home (BBH) series - BBH: Foundations; BBH: Walls; and BBH: Mold and Mildew have been updated and are now available for purchase as printed brochures, or as free downloadable PDFs.

Click here for more information.

Visit the Build A Better Home website at www.buildabetterhome.org for additional information on construction details, tips for builders and designers, notes to homeowners on controlling mold, and links to video segments demonstrating proper moisture control techniques in construction applications.

Contractors: Unlicensed and Illegal CSLB STING IN SAN JOSE-Watch the Video!

Published by NBC Bay Area TV station, a reporter goes with CSLB investigators to watch unlicensed contractors get taken down...

WATCH THE VIDEO BY CLICKING HERE 

 

Contractors: Unlicensed and Illegal

Vicky Nguyen Leaky roofs. Faulty wiring. Unfinished projects.

Contractors who promise to get the job done, but disappear instead taking your money with them.

We went on a two day undercover sting to round up unlicensed contractors. The video above shows you what we found.

Here are some tips to avoid unlicensed contractors:

• Ask for their pocket card. It's issued to every licensed contractor by the state and it shows their name and license number.
• Check it against your contractor's driver's license.
• Ask to see a copy of your contractor's insurance policy, bond, and worker's comp insurance.
• Finally--check this state website to make sure your contractor is licensed and in good standing.
• You can also find more information at the Contractors State License Board website.

Del Webb Sued For Lack of Weep Screed on 1400 Home In Nevada

A developer in Nevada is being sued by 1400 homeowners at a development where it was found that weep screed, a flashing termination for stucco to weep water out over as it evacuates a wall, was never installed.

Weep screed costs me about $2.60 for a 10 foot piece...plus a little labor to install them. Little mistake costs big time to fix after wards! Tsk tsk

Nevada's Largest Construction Defect Lawsuit

Chris Saldaña, Reporter

The largest construction defect lawsuit in the State of Nevada is pitting hundreds of homeowners against a well-known developer.

Residents of Sun City Summerlin are suing the neighborhood's developer -- Del Webb -- claiming it failed to install metal strips that protect a home's foundation against water damage.

It is this community in Summerlin where frustration and concern among homeowners is common. They say a small 5-inch piece of metal called a "weepscreed" was not put in place by Del Webb when these homes were built.

Weepscreeds help keep moisture out of dry wall paneling. And now more than 1,400 homeowners have filed a lawsuit. 

READ THE REST BY CLICKING HERE

Euphemisms for leaks-From Architect Jody Brown's Blog

Please feel free to contribute to this post...
This is kind of the You Might Be a Redneck If...lists. Read on through, click to read the rest and fill in your own leak scenario...

I’ve been drawing waterproofing details all week, and it might be affecting me. So, I’ll let you in on a secret. There are certain things that Architects may say or do that are clear warning signs of future water infiltration problems. I think the kids are calling them “leaks” these days. If you happen to be reviewing the drawings with your Architect and you’re drifting off to sleep as he waxes and wanes and waves his arms around, try to perk up a little if you hear him say one of these things. These are just euphemisms for leaks. So, beware, and, begin the process of lining up expert witnesses.
 

 If your Architect has endeavored to dissolve the barrier between inside and out – you might have a leak

If your Architect has flooded the interior spaces with natural light – you might have a leak (yes, they will actually use the word “flooded”)

If your Architect has written a specification – you might have a leak. If your Architect has not written a specification – you might have a leak. If you Architect does not know what a specification is – you might have a leak.

If your Architect uses the term “innovative” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect drives a Porsche Cayman – you might have a leak (seriously, they might as well where a sandwich board sign that says “the end is near” on one side and “I can’t afford a 911” on the other.)

If your Architect has “streamlined the process” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect has designed the building to be “one with nature” – you might have a leak.

If your Architect has developed custom software to facilitate the design and fabrication of the elaborate titanium undulating forms representing the unrest of our current economic climate – you might have a leak (that’s right, I’m looking at you Frank Gehry)

If your Architect misspells the word “Bituminous” on his drawings – you might have a leak (actually, that’s not fair, no one can spell that)

READ ALL OF THE LEAK EUPHEMISMS BY CLICKING HERE

From ABC in Philly-Developer of Unsafe Building Arrested-Fire Code Violations and other defects

The developer of a failed condominium was arrested this morning and charged with numerous offenses including endangering the lives of the people who once lived here. The Rittenhouse Club has been called a disaster. From structural defects, fire stairs made of wood instead of metal, to nonworking sprinklers, all of these combined to create an unsafe building.
Robert Bruce Fazio was arrested and charged with offenses including risking a catastrophe, recklessly endangering, fraud, and theft by deception.

Read The Rest By Clicking Here

From Durability & Design-SCAQMD to Weigh Additional Moves to Cut VOC Emissions

Saw this news today...

By Joe Maty
Editor, Durability + Design

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which imposes the toughest air-quality regulations on field-applied coatings anywhere in the country, is weighing additional control measures that could be approved next year.
Possible revisions to the district’s Rule 1113—which sets stringent VOC limits on architectural and industrial maintenance coatings—are in a preliminary discussion stage.

READ THE REST AT D&D By Clicking Here.