Remove Approvals Remove Environmental Impact Assessment Remove Fire Protection Systems
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Secrets of Environmental Permitting Solar Farms

Civil + Structural Engineer

By Ken MacDonald, Regional Director of Environmental Permitting and Compliance with UES First, a secret is only a secret if one doesn’t know it. However, between a proposal to harness the sun’s power and throwing the switch lies the complexity of environmental permitting. Spoiler alert: There are no real “secrets.”

Permits 130
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Barrier breakthroughs: Achieving airtightness in modern construction

Construction Specifier

Photo courtesy Intertek As building codes and standards evolve, the demand for airtight, environmentally friendly building enclosures increases among building owners, insurers, and design professionals. Within the AEC industry, research focuses on predicting and quantifying the impact of air leakage. By Matthew Ridgway, P.E.

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Top 10 Construction Defects: Prevent These Costly Building Mistakes

UK Construction Blog

The most dangerous defects include structural issues (foundation cracks, wall collapses), water infiltration, electrical/plumbing failures and HVAC system problems, which often remain hidden for years. Impact of Construction Defects Construction defects significantly affect buildings and their occupants.

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Exterior cavity fireblocking: Exceeding fire performance

Construction Specifier

and Steven Gaynor, MBA Photo courtesy Tenmat New York City recently became the first jurisdiction in the country to reject and rewrite major sections of the International Building Code’s ( IBC ’s) language around fire protection in exterior facades. For decades, buildings have relied on intumescent materials for fire control.

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Curtain wall design-assist: Navigating the process for success

Construction Specifier

Curtain wall systems are ever present in today’s commercial construction marketplace. Design-assist is a popular procurement method for curtain wall systems in today’s commercial market, intended to help resolve these challenges, particularly for custom curtain walls with unique performance requirements and/or unique material configurations.

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Next-gen builders embrace Western Red Cedar

Construction Specifier

Today, there are numerous other reasons for choosing wood, such as aesthetic preferences and a desire to reduce a building project’s environmental impact. WRC has been shown to perform well in terms of flame spread rating, fire retardant rating, and smoke-developed classification. ft 2 /h degrees F. in thickness.

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NFPA 285 engineering judgments

Construction Specifier

Structure fires have dropped significantly over the past 40 years, and one major contributor to this decline in fires and fire deaths has been the development of comprehensive fire safety measures. It is these multiple layers of fire safety, not a single requirement, which result in safe construction.