Seaweed used as sustainable roof material on Danish home
A thatched roof is normally made out of straw, rushes, or heather, but when inland vegetation was nowhere to be found, a Danish design team behind an eco-home turned to a nearby lake. The team used a...
View ArticleElmhurst, Ill., expected to limit non-absorbing surfaces in new construction
Elmhurst, Ill., has begun gathering information likely to lead to some limits on the percentage of non-absorbing surfaces — including roofs, paved driveways, sidewalks, and other hard surfaces — in new...
View ArticleNYC boards oppose proposed Sandy-inspired building code changes
The Queens Borough Board and the Queens City Council Delegation have voted against proposed building code changes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The changes would have made homes more resilient...
View ArticleLawsuit aims to stop activist’s attempt to make building codes free of cost
Open government activist Carl Malamud has been posting building codes on his Web site Public.Resource.org in an attempt to make codes developed by professional associations and trade groups available...
View ArticleOSHA moves to reduce exposure to crystalline silica
Under a proposal from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the new permissible exposure limit to crystalline silica per cubic meter of air could be changed from 250 micrograms to...
View ArticleLEED-certified single-family homes now exceed 10,000
Commercial buildings have traditionally led the green building charge, but residential properties are also growing fast. In a new report, USGBC finds 93,120 bedrooms in 10,174 LEED-certified...
View ArticleWisconsin Amish resist smoke detector regulations
Traditional Amish beliefs are butting heads with modern society in Eau Claire County, Wis., where county officials there are meeting resistance from some Amish residents to installing smoke detectors...
View ArticleCalifornia’s plan to cut greenhouse gases would reduce sprawl
California’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions includes rules to reduce urban sprawl. In Sacramento, the plan accommodates an almost 40 percent increase in population (870,000 new residents) with an...
View ArticlePost-Sandy, architects face increased legal risk on coastal home designs
It has been nearly 10 months since Hurricane Sandy ravaged the Northeast, and many coastal communities there are still trying to rebuild. Designers are adding features to boost storm resistance, but if...
View ArticleOutdated codes slowed disaster recovery in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Outdated building codes and lack of a master plan slowed the initial rebuilding stage after a devastating tornado leveled parts of Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2011, according to the city’s mayor. Tuscaloosa...
View ArticleNew construction coalition created in response to OSHA silica rule
A group of 11 construction trade associations has created the Construction Industry Safety Coalition in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed rule on silica...
View ArticleDisability, vet hiring standards for contractors are goals, not quotas
Contractors that fall short of new federal hiring rules concerning veterans and disabled persons will not necessarily incur penalties, says Patricia Shiu, director of the Office of Federal Contract...
View ArticleNew NIOSH safety rules address material handling practices
Practices intended to help residential construction crew members avoid soft-tissue injuries from manual handling of materials are outlined in a new booklet from the National Institute for Occupational...
View ArticleColorado homeowners fighting for fire-resistant asphalt roofing
Homeowners in neighborhoods of Colorado Springs, Colo., have been replacing wooden-shake roofs with asphalt shingles treated with fire retardant to help prevent wildfire damage. Many HOAs were...
View ArticleUSGBC Florida Chapter survey to help contractors adopt sustainable practices
Contractors in Florida could benefit from a data collection project by the state's chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council. The group hopes its survey will help the state's construction industry...
View ArticleSolar panels becoming standard option for new home buyers in U.S.
Solar panels are the next granite countertops: an amenity for new homes that’s becoming a standard option for buyers in U.S. markets. At least six of the 10 largest U.S. home builders include...
View ArticleHomebuilders have multiple options for green home certification standards
Several organizations offer green home certification. Options include LEED, NAHBGreen, and ICC 700 National Green Building Standard. This article takes a look at the various programs that apply to...
View ArticleIIBHS: North Carolina, Louisiana weakened building code adoption, enforcement...
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety says that North Carolina and Louisiana this year “substantially weakened” its systems of building code adoption and enforcement. But North Carolina...
View ArticleFederal agencies focus on educating Mexican workers on U.S. labor rights
The National Labor Relations Board is seeking to educate Mexican workers about their labor rights and duties under the National Labor Relations Act through a series of events in cooperation with other...
View ArticleProposed new residential energy code would boost efficiency by 20 percent
A revised building energy code proposed by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Institute for Market Transformation, and the Britt/Makela Group, along with support from 20 of the biggest...
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