When a 1,500-pound drop hammer is falling from 10 to 15 feet, hitting the butt of a 25-foot timber pile a few hundred times, and you have 70 or 80 piles to do, the neighbors tend to get up in arms no matter how charmingly you may have introduced yourself, notes contractor Eric Borden. His company...
Few dispute that construction-site erosion poses a significant problem. Muddy roads and cloudy streams tied to a decade-long nationwide building boom have left many residents eager for a clampdown, especially in coastal areas, where water quality is a crucial issue. For contractors, the upshot is...
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Piling Costs ~ Coastal Plans Source ~ Trade Knowledge
Drawn to the coast for its natural beauty and wildlife, yet increasingly confronted by red tides, fish kills, and contaminated beaches, many coastal residents are deeply concerned about the environment. While they cannot single-handedly save the coast, a growing number are seeking out builders and...
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Building on Ledge - Erosion of Light-Commercial Property
Faced with an unprecedented coastal reconstruction need post-Katrina, the mitigation arm of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has released FEMA 550, Recommended Residential Construction for the Gulf Coast: Building on Strong and Safe Foundations. This must-have document for coastal building...
Regardless of what the flood maps say today, the statistics show that flood zones will likely change during the service life of a home, making flooding an often inevitable consequence of coastal living. The answer, says building scientist Joseph Lstiburek, is to use drainable, dryable assemblies...
Sealed Crawlspaces in Flood Zones
Termite Defenses for Slab-on-Grade Foundations - Making Sense of Air Barriers
Seaside Surge Solutions
Along the shore and intercoastal waterways, all sites are "difficult," requiring extra treatment for wastewater. Charles Wardell examines some of the more successful alternative treatment options that are being used by home builders up and down the coast.
Storm surge can exert pressures against pilings in the hundreds or even thousands of pounds per square foot. Post-storm analysis may result in new design standards for oceanfront homes.