The Construction Thread

[paganangel]

I was not saying they walk on water! A good operator is worth his weight in gold. A bad one is a liability.

I hope for everybody involved that pagan is correct and the equipment failed. Chokers do not have to sleep at night.

they don't do jail time either. still, it seems unlikely. i hope that's what happened. not so much for the guys, cause they're all dead. but the families may have a problem with insurance claims and liability suits.

 

[daylightwarrior]

Woo hoo!

I got the OK to use pex on that remodel I've been working on!! Man, California doesn't want to change their ways on anything.
This will save me two days of work and pex is a far superior product.

 

[Xander]

Woo hoo!

I got the OK to use pex on that remodel I've been working on!! Man, California doesn't want to change their ways on anything.
This will save me two days of work and pex is a far superior product.

Congrats buddy.

'Bout freaking time they saw the light out there. Hehe.

 

[daylightwarrior]

Congrats buddy.

'Bout freaking time they saw the light out there. Hehe.

I'm not sure if they are sold on it. I spent thirteen days trying to convince them to try it.

We'll see. Right now, I'm happy!

 

[thør]

Interesting article on the crane collapse.

 

[chillywilly2]

Interesting article on the crane collapse.

We had a sign in our materials testing lab

"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions"

dunno who wrote it

 

[thør]

We had a sign in our materials testing lab

"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions"

dunno who wrote it

I was an expert witness on a construction case where a 'local' harbor was being enlarged and the owner's engineer 'forgot' that the tide came in and out twice a day with a range of about 20 feet. Every day, the contractor would work the excavation and then as the tide ran out, the slope would fail. We were sitting in a meeting, and the design engineer from NYC had his pile of calculations, files, etc. The pile was at least a foot thick. We were arguing and he remarked, "look at all the calculations I have done, and you have only done 1 sheet!" He told me that I best get the computer out and model the situation. I looked at my watch and said, "Meet me at the dock in 15 minutes and I'll show you why we don't need any calcs." So in 15 minutes we were there at the dock, and I pointed, and the slope failed and ran into the inner harbor. The NYC boy was speechless.

 

[thør]

NYC Crane Collapse

"In continuing coverage from Thursday's briefing, NBC Nightly News (3/20, story 13, Williams) reported, "A city inspector is under arrest tonight accused of lying about having inspected the crane that collapsed" last weekend killing seven people, injuring several others and doing massive damage to a lot of residential buildings."

 

[thør]

lotsa bridge work coming up

"The AP (3/21, Bakst) reports, "A bridge over the Mississippi River northwest of the Twin Cities (Minn.) was shut down Thursday because of problems found in the same sort of steel plates said to have played a key role in last summer's deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis." Transportation officials said that inspectors had "found slight bowing in three gusset plates," which "had 'distorted' by about a quarter-inch." According to state bridge engineer Dan Dorgan, "the August collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge...entered into Thursday's decision to close the Highway 23 bridge." Acting Transportation Commissioner Bob McFarlin stated that "it wasn't clear how -- or whether -- the 51-year-old bridge would be repaired." The bridge "had been scheduled for replacement in 2015, and transportation officials had been trying to speed up replacement even before the closure.""

 

[rosco rathbone]

re: lotsa bridge work coming up

"The AP (3/21, Bakst) reports, "A bridge over the Mississippi River northwest of the Twin Cities (Minn.) was shut down Thursday because of problems found in the same sort of steel plates said to have played a key role in last summer's deadly bridge collapse in Minneapolis." Transportation officials said that inspectors had "found slight bowing in three gusset plates," which "had 'distorted' by about a quarter-inch." According to state bridge engineer Dan Dorgan, "the August collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge...entered into Thursday's decision to close the Highway 23 bridge." Acting Transportation Commissioner Bob McFarlin stated that "it wasn't clear how -- or whether -- the 51-year-old bridge would be repaired." The bridge "had been scheduled for replacement in 2015, and transportation officials had been trying to speed up replacement even before the closure.""

Right on!

They just closed the deal on the West Side rail-yard in Manhattan. They have to build a huge platform covering the whole thing, strong enough to support the office towers on top. Lots of steel, no doubt.

Steel is making a comeback.

 

[thør]

Right on!

They just closed the deal on the West Side rail-yard in Manhattan. They have to build a huge platform covering the whole thing, strong enough to support the office towers on top. Lots of steel, no doubt.

Steel is making a comeback.

The price of steel is only going one way and that's up. And it's going up pretty fast.

 

[rosco rathbone]

The price of steel is only going one way and that's up. And it's going up pretty fast.

Stop harshing my mellow with your facts and shit.

 

[Saint Peter]

The price of steel is only going one way and that's up. And it's going up pretty fast.

Looks like the engineers are going to have to come down on their price so we can afford all of the steel for this project.

*cough*

 

[rosco rathbone]

Looks like the engineers are going to have to come down on their price so we can afford all of the steel for this project.

*cough*

Something has to give, eh.

 

[thør]

Looks like the engineers are going to have to come down on their price so we can afford all of the steel for this project.

*cough*

LOL.......typical......

If you spend MORE on engineering, you can get by with less materials and labor....

 

[Saint Peter]

LOL.......typical......

If you spend MORE on engineering, you can get by with less materials and labor....

Yeah, sure.

You can use that trailer there. Take the desk next to the architect.

 

[thør]

Yeah, sure.

You can use that trailer there. Take the desk next to the architect.

The engineer's work should be done long before the trailers are set on-site. Tell the architect that the teak paneling has been replaced with fir plywood and that the savings in materials will be used on the building frame.

And remember, Codes are MINIMUM requirements.......

I hate assholes that brag that they build "to Code". Codes don't always work.

 

[chillywilly2]

LOL.......typical......

If you spend MORE on engineering, you can get by with less materials and labor....

doesn't hurt to have some decent drawings to price from either

lemme tell ya, you want a better price, draw what you want so the estimator doesn't have to guess and cover his ass

 

[chillywilly2]

The price of steel is only going one way and that's up. And it's going up pretty fast.

Fine with me
I mark up the cost.
The more the material costs, the more we get.

 

[thør]

doesn't hurt to have some decent drawings to price from either

lemme tell ya, you want a better price, draw what you want so the estimator doesn't have to guess and cover his ass

indeed......i dislike the 'it's good enough for a bid' attitude that some people have.....all it does is drive up the price.......

 

[thør]

Fine with me
I mark up the cost.
The more the material costs, the more we get.

yeah, until the project cost is over budget, then you get nothing......just time wasted putting a bid together....

 

[Saint Peter]

I am just saying that a few less "afternoon ski trips" might help offset the expensive steel.

Or we could just use concrete. *shrug*

 

[chillywilly2]

yeah, until the project cost is over budget, then you get nothing......just time wasted putting a bid together....

Done enough of that over the years.

I get a lot of calls from engineers asking where prices are now

 

[chillywilly2]

Or we could just use concrete. *shrug*

shuddup!

 

[thør]

I am just saying that a few less "afternoon ski trips" might help offset the expensive steel.

Or we could just use concrete. *shrug*

my afternoon ski trips cost nothing......other than a cup or two of diesel.....

And I can't use concrete.......