Denver is bright spot in dark Residential Market

According to residential sales data, Denver is in better shape than most of the country when it comes to home sales. Home prices in metro Denver fell 4.8 percent between May 2007 and May 2008, but nationwide the average was a 15.8 percent price drop over the same time period. Maybe things here aren't as bad as they seem. According to the the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index, home prices in Denver actually increased by 1 percent between March and May of this year. The experts are saying that may indicate that a turn-around is about to start in Denver's housing market.

News from One of our Members - Gallegos Corp

The Gallegos Corporation has restructured its management team with the retirement of Glen Gallegos, and is pleased to announce the promotion of Gary Woodworth to Chief Operating Officer, Jamie Woodworth to President of the Mountain Plaster/Stucco division and the hiring of Eric Pate as President of the Marble/Granite division. The three bring a wealth of experience to their new positions.
Gary has been with the company for 21 years and brings knowledge and expertise to his new position. Gary started with TGC in 1987 as President of the Plaster/Stucco and soon thereafter also took over the Marble/Granite division. “I have been given amazing opportunities at The Gallegos Corporation over the years,” Gary said. “I am a little bit sad to leave the two divisions that have grown along with me at the company but I am excited about the new challenges in this role.”
Eric Pate, came to The Gallegos Corporation from Old World Stone in Seattle, Washington, where he was the CEO for four years. His experience ensures a smooth transition as he has taken over as President of the Marble/Granite Division. He has a deep understanding of all facets of marble and granite fabrication and installation. “I am really excited to take over the Marble/Granite division at The Gallegos Corporation,” Eric said. “I came to The Gallegos Corporation because they are a family business and people have been here a long time, that shows consistency.”
Jamie Woodworth has been with The Gallegos Corporation for 12 years, and has been promoted to President of the Plaster/Stucco division. Over the years, Jamie has taken classes to stay up-to-date on stucco and plaster techniques, especially those relevant to the high-end finishes. Jamie has been our field operations manager and has proven himself an asset. “Over the years I have worked on stunning projects with The Gallegos Corporation, and proud to be part of this company. I am pleased to be able to take my skills to a new level,” Jamie said.

Save Your Energy

As a building material, masonry saves energy. Masonry’s mass prevents extreme outside temperatures from affecting temperatures on the inside. This process is sometimes referred to as “thermal lag.” Compared to other materials, an insulated masonry cavity wall resists heat gain more than 50 times better than double-reflective glass, and nine times better than an insulated metal sandwich panel wall.
Also, because it is a natural material, masonry does not expel any toxic substances or volatile organic compounds into the air. Nor does it ever require the application of any potentially toxic paints or coatings during its lifetime.
Perhaps masonry’s greatest contribution to the environment, however, is its durability. The life span of a masonry structure can be over a thousand years if designed and constructed properly. Even the most conservative estimates of masonry's life expectancy is 60 years or more. Because of its longevity, masonry is typically the last material in a building to require recycling.
In comparison, newer building materials like synthetic stucco, also known as EIFS, have a poor durability record. These can encounter problems like moisture intrusion, which rots the wood sheathing, and frequent damage from golf balls, woodpeckers, and even fists. That means more of these new materials will find their way to the landfills in our lifetime.

How big should the air gap be in a cavity wall?

Air gaps should be:
1" minimum
2" preferred
4" maximum
The size of the air gap is measured from the back side of the brick to the facing edge of the sheathing or structural wall behind the veneer.
If your wall has a big air gap, the ties that anchor the veneer in place tend to buckle when the wind pushes the exposed veneer with a lateral load. You can tolerate a wider air gap if you use stronger brick ties. You can also simply put in more brick ties or you can make the air gap smaller.
If you are building a fence that is exposed to weather on both sides, you are building a “composite wall” not a “cavity wall”. You should sandwich the brick directly to the CMU with no air gap at all. If you are constructing the wall of a building with an inside face and an outside face, it should have an air gap, flashing and weep holes to direct moisture to the outside face of the wall.

Stick with masonry

Steel prices from May to June grew for the eighth consecutive month, with a significant increase of 8.1%, according to the Producer Price Index (PPI). (Click on graph to enlarge.)
Asphalt prices also had a sharp increase, with a 6.7% change. Lumber prices rose slightly, by 0.9% from May to June. Concrete prices increased minimally as well, with a 0.7% percent change.
During the last year, steel prices have increased 30.4%, asphalt prices have grown 17%, and concrete prices by 3.8%. Lumber prices have declined by 3.6%.

Construction materials price hikes, except masonry

The price of masonry has remained relatively stable in an economy where most construction materials are going through the roof. While masonry price percent increases are still in the single digits, Steel and other materials are seeing triple digit percent increases. Makes all the more sense to the bottom line to build with Load Bearing Masonry and get the steel and wood out of the buildings.
Take a look at this article on construction costs from today's Denver Post:
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_9916191

"Excerpt from a guest column on colorado biz

Similarly, if we are experiencing labor shortages and a dwindling rural working class, are we ready to move from a so-called immigration crisis to an opportunity for a more inclusive and diverse working community? What can we learn from the struggles and division of environmental movement to inform our decision about immigration?The backlash against undocumented immigrants is coming from all sides. First, parts of the mainstream population claim that in their desperate quest to escape poverty, these undocumented immigrants depress wages for the rest of the population. However, the federal government and a complicit market sector have failed to increase our minimum wage for more than a decade. Second, some claim that an open border policy will lead to the spread of once-controlled diseases.But if the United States has the best medical system in the world, as some would have us believe, it could surely cope with such diseases. Third, an influx of undocumented immigrants could result in overcrowding and more rapid resource depletion. Our society’s relentless consumption of nonrenewable resources, fossil fuels, and the pursuit of larger homes has been responsible for the loss of land to development.Perhaps the most interesting argument against illegal immigration is a cultural one. It is a war over our core values and our vision of the future. However, there is absolutely nothing new about this situation. Many other undocumented immigrant groups from Eastern Europeans to Chinese and Jews, immigrated, endured discrimination by this country, and eventually were shown to provide tremendous benefit to this society.The business community should stop its hypocritical approach of seeking and hiring cheap labor, while vilifying and condemning those who provide it. The well-known reporter Elmer Davis once said: "This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

How big should the air gap be in a cavity wall?

Air gaps should be:
1" minimum
2" preferred
4" maximum
The size of the air gap is measured from the back side of the brick to the facing edge of the sheathing or structural wall behind the veneer.
If your wall has a big air gap, the ties that anchor the veneer in place tend to buckle when the wind pushes the exposed veneer with a lateral load. You can tolerate a wider air gap if you use stronger brick ties. You can also simply put in more brick ties or you can make the air gap smaller.
If you are building a fence that is exposed to weather on both sides, you are building a “composite wall” not a “cavity wall”. You should sandwich the brick directly to the CMU with no air gap at all. If you are constructing the wall of a building with an inside face and an outside face, it should have an air gap, flashing and weep holes to direct moisture to the outside face of the wall

Lots of Legals

The government is reporting that the number of Mexican-born people who became U.S. Citizens last year increased by 50 percent over the previous year. Perhaps some of the initiatives against illegal immigration and for legal application for citizenship are working. Last year, 122,000 Mexicans became U.S. Citizens. Two years ago only 84,000 Mexicans became U.S. citizens.

Advice from the insurance company

The first 24 hours following a workplace accident are critical to your injured employee and to you. What you, as an employer, do during this period can help reduce your workers’ compensation claims costs and, most importantly, help prevent the accident from happening again.
One of the key tasks during this initial 24-hour period is to try to determine the cause of the accident so you can institute loss prevention measures, if necessary. A thorough accident investigation will show not only what happened and how it happened, but also why it happened.

Accident Investigation
The first step—and a fundamental part of the accident investigation process—is data collection. Here are the elements of a thorough accident investigation:
Interview anyone who witnessed the accident.
Take a statement from the injured worker. Have the worker write down what happened and sign and date the statement.
Take photos of the accident scene as soon as possible. If the injury involved machinery, you may need to shut it down to preserve evidence.
Gather any equipment specifications and manuals.
Gather applicable safety rules and training records.
As part of your investigation, try to determine if one or more persons outside your company caused or contributed to the accident. If so, get their names and the name of their employer if they were working when the accident occurred. Call Pinnacol Assurance with the information immediately. We may need to send an investigator to the accident site to gather evidence that can help us recover some or all of our claims payments from the responsible party.

Root Cause Analysis
The key to preventing the same accident from occurring again is to determine the root cause of the accident. By conducting a thorough analysis of the data collected, employers will be able to move beyond the immediate event or condition that caused the accident to the event or condition that, if corrected, will prevent a recurrence.
Following are steps for conducting a root cause analysis:
Review photos of the accident scene.
Read witness statements.
Identify trends (e.g., is there a pattern of the same type of accident involving the same piece of machinery).
Examine the direct (immediate event or condition that causes the accident) and contributing (event or condition that collectively increased the likelihood of the accident) causes of the accident.
Drill down to the root cause. You may determine that the direct cause of the accident was the failure of a piece of equipment. But to get to the root cause, ask yourself if there is something you could have done differently to prevent that failure.

Taking Corrective Action
Once you have investigated and analyzed the accident, you’re ready to take corrective action. Ask yourself what can be changed to make things better. A good corrective action should prevent recurrence of the accident, be feasible, and not create new hazards or risks.

Job Losses Aren't Just in Construction

An article in the Denver Post is asserting that the construction industry is making the unemployment situation worse. Interesting. What about the 600+ workers the airlines just announced they are dumping? Or the people who will lose their jobs when the Greeley Kmart closes? Or all the Starbucks employees who are losing their jobs as 600 Starbucks are closed across the nation. Or the 17,000 people Siemens is laying off? Somehow I don't think the residential construction industry delaying 36 residential construction projects is having any more impact on the unemployment situation than any other industry is having with its layoffs. It's the whole economy, not just one sector.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_9821738

RMMI Director earns top certification

Larisa LaBrant, Executive Director of the Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute, has earned the Certified Association Executive credential from the American Society of Association Executives. The CAE is the highest professional credential in the association industry. Less than 5 percent of all association professionals have earned their CAE.
To earn the CAE credential, an applicant must have a minimum of 3 years experience in nonprofit organization management, complete a minimum of 75 hours of specialized professional development, pass a stringent examination in association management, and pledge to uphold a code of ethics.
LaBrant has been with RMMI since 2005. In that time she has expanded RMMI’s services with a revamped certification program, revived apprentice program, doubled Lunch N Learn program and expanded communications and promotions activities. She has put the organization on solid financial ground and has a strategic plan in place to keep it growing strong.
The Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute (RMMI) is a nonprofit trade association of more than 110 companies throughout Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The organization includes brick and concrete masonry manufacturers, stone producers, masonry contractors, suppliers and associates. RMMI offers technical assistance to architects, engineers and general contractors in addition to extensive professional training for masonry apprentices and professionals.