Demolition vs Deconstruction--- Portland's New Policy

Over the course of 2017, the city of Portland has initiated a law mandating that any home built prior to 1916 must be deconstructed rather than demolished. Deconstruction is the method by which homes are slowly taken apart, so that numerous parts and materials are salvaged along the way. This is a much longer and more labor-intensive process than demolition, in which a house is destroyed with machinery and loaded into dumpsters, saving few materials along the way.

Vintage flooring being deconstructed and saved

Many materials used in classic and vintage homes have a substantial resale value. Stressed hardwood, classic windows, vintage appliances and numerous other materials are in demand among retail outlets such as coffee shows, brew houses, retail fashion storefronts, and others. There is a proven want for reclaimed building materials used in high end commercial and residential projects.

So far deconstruction has successfully served to preserve and to recycle vintage materials; but has also proven itself to be an extremely valuable training program for young workers. The training aspect of the program serves an important purpose in a time of need for the building industry. Post-recession, a large number of trained workers permanently left the building industry. This now leaves construction companies scrambling to find trained labor, and struggling to train adequate numbers of new workers.

This law in Portland shows that the lack of job training programs can be at least in part remedied by deconstruction programs. The training program has proven so successful, that the city is now considering whether or not to extend the law to homes built prior to 1926, thus expanding the scope of training programs. For an industry struggling to attract young and trained workers, any positive step is one in the right direction.

For now, Portland remains the only large city with these laws in place. However, with the seemingly apparent success of deconstruction programs many more cities and building associations may soon take notice.

Building With Mass Timber - A New Technology

A few years back we wrote a small piece about the potential rise of Cross Laminated Timer/Mass Timber construction. At that time, the very first commercial CLT building s were in the planning and early building stages.

Now, numerous commercial CLT buildings have been erected nationwide, and developers' sights have turned towards high rises. A new business center in Minnesota currently stands as the nation's largest mass timber building, and a new 12 story high rise has secured permits and is on the way in Portland, Oregon. Potentially taking the trend of building CLT high rises even further, an 80 story tower in Chicago is currently being seriously considered as well.

Portland's soon-to-be CLT high rise

In Oregon, the political appeal of CLT buildings lies in boosting the local economy. As small woodmill towns suffer from unemployment and brain-drain to larger cities, CLT provides a way to at least partially remedy some of those troubles. This economic boost is how the 12 story high rise in Portland earned its building permits and various grants.

An even more important benefit of mass timber construction lies in its carbon footprint. Releasing substantially fewer greenhouse gasses in the building process than concrete production, mass timber construction is a greener alternative to standard high rise construction. In the current construction climate (particularly in places such as Portland), green building credentials are a fantastic selling point.

For now, the singular criticism against mass timber construction is in regards to fire safety. Detractors are concerned that high rise buildings framed with wood are more susceptible to fire damage than their concrete/steel counterparts. However, given that ass mass timber buildings must pass and adhere to the same fire codes as traditional buildings, there isn't an elevated fire danger.

The literal rise in mass timber buildings will be an interesting trend to follow in the coming years. As new projects are completed and these buildings become increasingly commonplace, expect a continued surge in their construction.

Breathable Floor Protection Popular Here In Bend

We're providing Surface Liner Vapor breathable floor protection to Walsh Construction's new apartment project here in Bend, Oregon. The apartment complex, called The Range, lies in an upscale neighborhood, and as such Walsh Construction is very keen to protect the high end hardwood floors currently being installed.

It's great to be working with such a high quality builder on Range Apartments

A post shared by Range Apartments (@rangeapartments) on Feb 2, 2017 at 12:21pm PST

We're always excited to work with builders on local projects, and it's always satisfying to drive by completed projects that we had a part in building. The Range is only one of a number of local projects that are relying on Surface Liner Vapor floor protection to keep their floors covered.

To learn more about Surface Liner Vapor breathable floor protection, or any other finish protection, visit our website www.buildsitepro.com

Springtime Means Sales Trips For Builders Site Protection

Spring is about here and that means we're back on the road for outside sales work. Having just returned from a sales trip to Phoenix, Pat, our owner, is off to her usual stops in Portland and Seattle to meet with commercial and residential builders and to showcase some of our latest product offerings.

Seattle's urban building boom is in full swing

Later this Spring we're also planning on making a stop in the Bay-area to catch up with repeat customers and to search for new ones (and to hopefully close the deal to protect doors in Apple's new Silicon Valley HQ!). Later in the summer, the annual sales trip to San Diego is in order as well. Other cities we're looking to visit are Denver, Las Vegas, and another trip to Boise.

The West Coast is where the greatest number of our regular customers lie, so that's generally where we focus our business travels. However, if you have any recommendations or would be interested in scheduling a meeting, let us know by contacting us at sales@buildsitepro.com or through the "contact us" feature on our website www.buildsitepro.com

Focusing on Wintertime Jobsite Safety

Winter will soon bring wet weather, snow and ice. And as building continues, the focus on jobsite safety in these conditions becomes more imperative than before. Properly protected jobsites go above and beyond the minimum OSHA mandated requirements for safety.

Beginning with the basics, it is law that all elevated surfaces, stairs, and other potential falling hazards keep workers protected with a handrail system. Typically, jobsites fashion handrails with wood, however, this can be problematic on concrete and it tends to look unprofessional. One of our newer products seeks to address these issues. Safety Boot is a temporary guardrail system that meets all federal and state safety standards. Safety Boot allows builders to quickly mount a temporary wooden guardrail to a plastic boot that anchors to the floor. This accelerates installation time, strengthens the guardrail, and looks far better than a typical wood on wood handrail.

Safety Boot offers a safe and professional looking jobsite guardrail

Another integral part of jobsite safety is properly securing ladders and other standing devices. On wet and icy floors ladders may become unstable and pose substantial risk to the user. An easy and multipurpose fix for this potential issue is to use absorbent floor protection. Using a product such as Surface Liner Vapor, you will have a safe, dry floor surface that is securely held in place. This will protect a floor from damage and keep a ladder from slipping.

Surface Liner Vapor provides the best slip-resistance of any floor covering

Other forms of jobsite protection include items that are worn on site. Water resistant shoe covers with a high-grip footing allow workers to safely walk on wet surfaces that would otherwise be slippery. Depending on how wet, muddy, and dirty a jobsite is, there are different options of shoe covers. Tyvek, plastic, and cloth provide differing levels of protection, with Tyvek and plastic providing the most water resistance and cloth offering up the best footing.

Provided a jobsite maintains stringent safety standards and provides additional materials to ensure safety, enduring the wet winter weather ahead should be a straightforward process. Keep your floors covered, your handrails on, and your workers well equipped.

To learn more about any fo the products mentioned here, or any other surface protection or jobsite safety information, email us at sales@buildsitepro.com or visit our website www.buildsitepro.com

Economy Coverguard Hard Surface Protection; Take A Look At Our New Press Release

We have recently detailed our newest product, Orange CoverGuard, and we have now produced a press release regarding this new product.

Orange CoverGuard protecting Terrazzo flooring

In short, Orange CoverGuard retains its re-usability and toughness but eschews its fire-resistant capabilities in favor of being 30% cheaper. This makes it a perfect application for residential and light-commercial construction projects. Like standard CoverGuard, the 3' x 393' rolls of Orange CoverGuard is offered in three thicknesses, 10 mil, 25 mil, and 40 mil. While large-scale hospital, defense, and other similar projects are legally required to use fire-resistant protection, most projects are not; making them perfect for use of new Orange CoverGuard.

Though we've only carried this new product for two weeks, we've already provided it to large and small scale projects. The superintendent for a large J.E. Dunn project in Austin received 52 rolls of Orange CoverGuard and his reviews have been glowing. He's provided us with images of the product being used on his jobsite to protect freshly installed terrazzo flooring.

Orange CoverGuard in use at a J.E. Dunn project in Austin

Immediately apparent is the contrast in color that the bright Orange CoverGuard provides. Illuminating protected surfaces highlights them, subtly reinforcing the need for people to be mindful of preventing damage.

As always, to learn more about Orange CoverGuard, or any other products we offer, visit our website www.buildsitepro.com or email us at sales@buildsitepro.com

If you would like to request samples of Orange CoverGuard, please let us know by emailing sales@buildsitepro.com or calling us at (541) 633-7793

We're Proud to be Providing Edge and Jamb Surface Protection to the "Ten Thousand" Project in Century City

Last week we shipped a very large order of our 60" Edge Protection and RamJamb jamb savers to the ongoing residential tower being constructed at 10,000 Santa Monica Blvd. This project, named Ten Thousand, is being built by Swinterton Builders and is set to provide 282 luxury residences in an area typically dominated by office space. The 40 story tower tower comes with a hefty $300 million construction cost; making their investment in surface protection vital.

Once completed, the residences in the tower will have sweeping views, ranging from the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Downtown LA skyline to the east. Further, it will become the only tall building in Century City not to feature a flat roof, as more new buildings in the greater Los Angeles area are seeking to depart from L.A.'s typically bland and flat top design. The Ten Thousand project is slated for a late-2016 opening.

If you would like to know more about the Ten Thousand project or any of the products we are providing them, follow any of the hyperlinks embedded above.

Introducing Edge ProTect; Our New Do-It-All Surface Protection Product

Edge ProTect covers more surface than our standard Edge Protection

Our pallets have finally arrived and Edge ProTect is now stocked and ready for immediate sale. Edge ProTect is a new solution to provide greater coverage than standard edge protection. We envision it being used to protect mullions, edges, vertical surfaces, walls, and door jambs.

They are low-cost, reusable, and 100% recyclable. They measure 4" x 4" x 48"and provide .225" thick V-Board protection. We are currently offering Edge ProTect in cases of 6, however we can ship any quantity needed.

If you would like to learn more about Edge ProTect or would like to request a free sample, visit our website www.buildsitepro.com or email us at sales@buildsitepro.com.

Green Building Jobs Are On The Rise

According to a new article published by Houston online newspaper Chron, Green Building jobs are growing faster than construction jobs in any other sector.

Overall, green building jobs now account for more than one-third of all building jobs, a proportion that's set only to continue rising.

Green projects like this now account for an increasing percentage of all projects

To cash in on green building, we offer an array of environmentally friendly surface protection products, all of which can be seen on our website here.