Category Archives: Construction Industry

Avoid Costly Commercial Roof Repairs

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One of the most costly repairs for a commercial building owner to face is having to repair and sometimes replace their entire roof systems as well as other structural entities due to a leaky roof. It is important to regularly check your roof for evidence of leaks or water entry to minimize your chances for costly repairs later. Brown spots, developing on ceilings, paint cracking or wallpaper bubbling and falling off in your home or place of business are all good indications you may have a leak in your roof. Many times leaking roofs can be corrected with a simple fix.

Once you have confirmed you indeed have a leak in your roof, immediate action is needed to minimize any further damage to the rest of your structure. Placing a string near the stream of water into a bucket is a good start if it happens to be leaking at a slower steady rate. This is good only to minimize on any further damage to other elements of the building.

Drilling a hole is a much better option than the string if your leak is much more serious. Usually downed limbs or strong winds during storms cause this type of damage. Cutting the hole allows the water to pass through freely preventing the ceiling from becoming saturated with water greatly reducing the danger of a collapse.

When you are ready to fix your leaking roof, take measurements from inside to give you an idea where you should look. Using binoculars or a ladder, look for places where there may be obvious signs of a damaged roof. You want to make sure to follow common sense safety precautions anytime you work or inspect your roof.

Debris, such as leaves and other materials that could be impeding the downward motion required to avert any water away from a roof, should be removed. Snow and ice dams could cause water to back up under roofing materials as well. If able to safely reach these ice dams they should be removed.

Look for corrosion on metal flashing, whether it being in a valley or connecting to the chimney, this can be patched but the only long-term solution is to replace it. Pay close attention to any spots that may be covered in black flashing when you’re looking for leaks. This usually indicates that there were pervious leak repairs and the problem could be due for a more permanent fix. Attachment points for satellite dishes, antennas and other objects are also common places for water to leak into your roof.

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Hood Cleaners And Their Responsibilities

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Hood cleaners now have more responsibilities than ever before. With all the new laws and code changes that have already been instilled in the NFPA 96 codes and standards. Even now as you read this they are undergoing changes to the code from how long it is between cleanings to how many feet in between panels. The bottom line is after a certified company places a sticker of compliance on your kitchen exhaust systems hood, we become responsible for it. This is a huge liability and as such has sent many companies out to look for other services to make money from.

The companies that remain have the burden of telling the owners of the cooking establishments that the non compliances need to be brought to code and that it is their responsibility to report them if they do not do it. This puts us companies in a very bad place. Here we are trying to get new clients yet we have to report the ones that have non compliances. How are we suppose to get ahead in business if we must report new clients?

Well that is the way the laws and codes have been written. It puts us in a place no one should be in.

These new codes do have some good benefits though such as a certified technician is required to stay at the job site for the duration of the job. This makes it so one company can not just have on licensed technician and all the other employees just put the certification number on the sticker.

It also has the benefit of giving the certified technicians a value in employment. It is now a career not a job to be a licensed hood cleaner.

Even with all these new laws in place unfortunately there are still some companies who slip through the cracks. The companies who look the other way if you have a problem with a compliance issue will be out of business in no time flat. So if they are letting these things go by, by all means let them. Eventually you will have a fire and your restaurant will be ruined and their company will be out business. Hopefully no body dies in the fire.

This is the nature of the business fire prevention is a real problem. When the grease laden vapors accumulate they need to be removed. If they are not, the codes aside you will have a fire!

Who needs that, insurance or not can you really afford to close down your business for 2 weeks. What will happen to your customer base?

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Working With Old Fire Alarm Systems

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Even in the best economic climates, many power generating and chemical processing plants struggle to find the capital resources to invest in new fire alarm and detection systems. Times like these make it difficult to see beyond just operating and maintaining the plant production equipment. However, if a fire occurs on a piece of critical path equipment and the fire alarm or detection system’s functionality is inadequate, the financial consequences associated with interrupted business can be devastating. It is imperative that the functional state of a facility’s aging alarm and detection systems is not eclipsed by day to day operations because of the gravity of the consequences of substandard alarm and detection.

Why Do Aging Fire Alarm and Detection Systems Become Unreliable?

The basic precepts of any fire alarm system are that it 1) warns occupants and plant operations of abnormal conditions, 2) alerts the appropriate first responders and 3) initiates fire protection systems and facility operations to enhance the protection of people, plant and production.

There are many reasons why an aged fire alarm or detection system’s functionality can be compromised, from environmental factors to problems dating back to initial installation or imperfect design practices. A deficient inspection, testing and maintenance program will also take its toll on equipment, accelerating its deterioration. As systems reach the concluding years of their life cycle, finding sufficient support and replacement parts can become a challenge. Collectively, these issues undermine the effectiveness of the systems, create headaches for plant staff and jeopardize the reliability of the plant.

Many areas within power generating plants and chemical process facilities have extreme conditions that put stress on all of the equipment within the vicinity. Factors such as high temperatures, corrosive elements, vibration and dusty atmospheres can all be detrimental to the effectiveness of an alarm and detection system that is not properly maintained. Even in applications where systems are not regularly exposed to harsh conditions, the typical life span of control equipment and smoke detectors is approximately ten years, due to natural deterioration.

New Technology Makes for Obsolete Equipment

While new fire alarm technology means more sensitive detection, advanced warning and mitigated risk, it also equates obstacles for plants with older systems. Manufacturers are continuously developing technology to leverage their systems over competitors and present the most advanced product that they can to the market. As this technology eventually prevails, updates are introduced into UL and NFPA standards, requiring facilities to either replace their systems or make amendments to their existing equipment in order to remain compliant.

A prime example of an update to these standards is the UL864, 9th edition, which went into effect at the end of 2008 and forced wholesale changes to all manufacturer control panels. An overwhelming portion of the panels that predate the update are now considered obsolete and are unsupported. From the manufacturer’s perspective, resources must be refocused on new product development rather than supporting antiquated equipment, meaning older systems will no longer be supported and replacement parts will cease to be manufactured.

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Different Types of Construction Equipment

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The topic of construction equipment is just so fascinating, once you consider it. Just take a moment to look around you and the fact is that the very building you’re sitting in as you read this was made possible by construction equipment.

Not just advanced in terms of the tasks that the various items of equipment can perform, but also advanced in terms of its size. In short, equipment that needed to be made bigger, is becoming bigger and also there’s a new shrinking trend in equipment as well. Equipment like the mini skid steer loader.

This is an amazing machine and if you haven’t yet seen one, you will soon because they’re coming to homes near you soon. What they are is a miniaturized version of a standard multi-purpose commercial tractor – built almost to the same manufacturing specifications.

Trenching, earth moving, post hole digging, materials handling, and the list just goes on, and, on, and on. All tasks that you can do with this one piece of equipment that can easily fit in the back of a compact pick-up truck. Also it’s available with wheels, or tracks.

Then one more type of construction equipment that has been shrunken down and is also now more affordable to buy, is the common crane. Now it really wasn’t all that many decades back when there was really only three sizes of crane and those were big, bigger, and huge. It just never even crossed the average persons mind that they would ever own a crane.

Well now you can own your own crane, although the greater majority of people out there really don’t have a use for one. For those who do need a small portable crane though there’s a large assortment of them to choose from including miniature cranes that can be mounted on the back of a pickup truck.

Construction equipment used in home building has also gone through a huge number of advancements and this in turn has had the effect of keeping housing prices down. Newer, and more advanced equipment also allows home designers and builders to produce a more attractive product as well.

Advanced pneumatic tools are everywhere on the residential job site now and they allow one man to do the work of three. Tools like air powered nail guns that sink nails like a machine gun. They’re now smaller, lighter, better balanced and contain more integrated features that make for a safer tool to operate.

New high tech laser tools are also now in common use on the home construction site. Tools like laser transit levels that do away with the scope on a tripod. Also new laser measuring devices that use a beam of light in instead of a tape to deliver far more accurate numbers, and also don’t require a second person to hold the end of a tape.

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