Construction Begins on University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s New Residence Hall

Initially delayed in 2020, construction has restarted on the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s new six-story student housing building, Moore Hall (Phase XVI). Built by New Atlantic Contracting and designed by KWK Architects and Architect-of-Record Jenkins Peer Architects, the 147,000-square-foot residence hall will replace the old Moore and Sanford Hall towers (built in 1970 and 1969) to complete the upper south village residential quad and provide a direct pathway to the South Village Dining Hall. The project team worked closely with university administrators to design the new hall with the first-year student in mind. The building’s design includes traditional … Read more

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Tips to Minimize Damage, Protect Parking Structures During Winter

Chemical deicers and snowplows are commonly used in winter to eliminate hazardous ice and snow from parking decks and structures. While deicers are doing their job melting away snow and ice, some may actually be corroding the parking structure’s concrete and reinforcing steel, and some snow removal techniques may actually be doing more damage than good. Western Specialty Contractors offers several tips to minimize unnecessary damage to parking structures during the winter months, and keep drivers safe. Snow removal tips Clearly mark expansion joints in a way that will be visible to the equipment operator when the deck is covered … Read more

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2021 Impact Review Reports Progress toward Building Sustainable Residential Construction Workforce

Nonprofit organization Building Talent Foundation has released its first Annual Impact Review highlighting the foundation’s progress toward building a sustainable residential construction workforce by 2030. BTF collaborates with builders, trade partners, manufacturers, foundations and educational partners to enhance people’s lives by connecting them with job skills training and career opportunities. Ultimately, BTF projects these connections will result in 10,000 job-ready candidates in the construction sector in the next year. As part of its effort to connect candidates with employers and training programs, BTF led 387 events during 2021, including hiring and career events, job fairs and presentations. Through these events, … Read more

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Survey Says: Most Contractors Report Significant Flaws with Nation’s 811 Utility Location System

There are significant flaws with the current 811 utility location system according to a new survey of construction firms that perform any kind of underground excavation released by the Associated General Contractors of America. Most contractors say that calling 811 often leads to inaccurate line marking and that utility firms are often very slow in coming out to even do locate and mark their underground lines. “Construction firms are doing their part to avoid hitting utility lines, but the current 811 system appears to be badly flawed,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s CEO. “Fixing the 811 system will go … Read more

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ABC’s Construction Backlog Rebounds in October, Contractor Confidence Falls

Associated Builders and Contractors reports that its Construction Backlog Indicator rose to 8.1 months in October, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2. The reading is up 0.5 months from September 2021 and 0.4 months from October 2020. However, ABC’s Construction Confidence Index readings for sales and profit margins declined in October, while the index for staffing rose slightly. The sales and staffing readings are still above the threshold of 50, indicating expectations of growth over the next six months. The index for profit margins fell below that threshold, pointing to expectations of decline. … Read more

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