Each year the Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Washington travel to Washington DC for a conference and board meeting. As the Board Chair of our Western Washington Chapter, I get the opportunity to represent our chapter at the conference. This year we discussed policies of the…
What is my favorite technological innovation benefitting the construction industry? It is the mighty, yet humble, Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Simple, and often overlooked, this technology allows the transfer of information and communication to happen instantly and securely, increasing the…
Arguably, the modern green building movement began with the first Earth Day in April of 1970. And the popularization of the LEED Certification beginning in the late 1990’s brought sustainable building certification into the mainstream. Add in other certifications like Built Green, Green Globes, and t…
How does a contractor figure out what they will encounter when they dig underground for construction? What are the most common things left behind by past development? And what steps does the contractor take to mitigate the environmental, public and worker safety, and project schedule impacts when…
The Cambridge Apartments renovation project consists of a complete seismic retrofit to the 10-story turn-of-the-century building as well as a full plumbing infrastructure replacement, new lighting wiring, new fire sprinkler system, unit renovations, and elevator modernization. The building is…