Throughout 2013, the Design Build Institute of America has been conducting a national research effort on design-build procurement. The goal of the study is to evaluate the resource expenditure and efficiency impact of single-step as compared to two-step design-build procurement. Arizona State University is collecting and analyzing project data for this study. The preliminary results are promising and show sizeable differences between the procurement cost and schedule of single-step and two-step design-build. These early results help quantify the inefficiency of single-step procurement that the industry has been discussing for years. However, since the results are preliminary, they cannot be used … Read more

HOUSTON, Texas — U.S. prices for polyvinyl chloride, the plastic most widely used in construction, are set to rise by five cents per pound in the first two months of 2014. This is a significant price increase in a market that will see producers end the year with a net five-cent increase in their 2013 margins, according to PetroChem Wire’s PVC & Pipe Report. These higher raw material costs could have a significant impact on prices for many   consumer goods, most notably plumbing pipe and vinyl siding. Stronger prices for the ethylene used to make PVC and strong PVC … Read more

CHICAGO, Ill. — Caxy announced the launch of a custom-built app for the International Code Council, an organization that develops model codes used throughout the U.S. and abroad to design and construct safe, sustainable structures and ensure compliance with safe building standards. More than a year in the making, the new app will make it easier for all ICC members to collaborate and contribute to code development initiatives. As building standards evolve, ICC members work together to develop new codes, ultimately adopting changes and new standards via biannual hearings. But since the organization has about 50,000 geographically dispersed members, attending … Read more