Journal of Light Construction: Coastal Contractor Foundations & Sitework

To Elevate - or What? Staten Island Homeowners Ponder their Options

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:30:27 EST

As Hurricane Katrina taught in New Orleans, the road home after a hurricane is not a simple path.

Floods Overwhelm Sewer Plant in Hull, Massachusetts

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:20:13 EST

Authorities aren’t sure why a sewer plant in Hull, Massachusetts, flooded and broke down last week, forcing operators to spill untreated sewage into the ocean.

Port of Miami Tunnel Project Half Dug

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:50:37 EST

How about a tunnel 3,900 feet long? That's the job facing a public-private consortium that's working to improve traffic flow in the Port of Miami.

Project Focus: Little House in the Back Yard

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:49:19 EST

Seawalls Sprout in front of Dauphin Island Houses

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:46:11 EST

Port of Miami Tunnel Project Gears Up to Go

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:41:29 EST

With Concrete Homes A Beachfront Builder Pushes the Technical Envelope

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:38:16 EST

New York City Concrete Testing Firm Convicted of Faking Tests

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:30:22 EST

Mid-Atlantic Stormwater Regs Slowed by Builder Backlash

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:29:45 EST

St. Bernard Parish Launches Massive Slab Demo

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:29:47 EST

Pervious Paving Offers Coastal Stormwater Solution

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:29:42 EST

Massachusetts Towns Consider Small-Scale Sewer Options

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 03:49:34 EST

Vegetated Roofs for the Florida Climate

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 03:49:43 EST

A Storm and a Study Raise Erosion Concerns

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:12:55 EST

Cape Cod Towns May Face Clean Water Lawsuit~

Fri, 7 Dec 2012 04:17:01 EST

Concrete Houses for the Coast

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 04:22:19 EST

Hurricane Katrina taught a valuable lesson: the only houses likely to survive the ravages of a major hurricane are made of concrete. Dave Pfanmiller, a custom-home builder in Gulfport, Miss., uses Wall Ties aluminum concrete forms to build these homes on the Gulf Coast. Pfanmiller and his friend Curt Fields of Raleigh, N.C., developed a method that draws on the techniques of residential builders as well as those in commercial concrete construction to build multilevel custom homes. Ted Cushman explains how it's done.

Soundings

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 04:17:04 EST

Storm-Water Regs Grow Up

Design: Fixing Wright's Wrongs

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 04:16:29 EST

Fixing Wright's Wrongs

High and Dry

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 04:16:35 EST

In the flood-prone Gulf region, an elevated home is a no-brainer. The classic poured-concrete slab-on-grade — a simple monolithic pour with nothing more than a thickened edge at the perimeter — is not enough where floodwaters from a storm surge or rising water levels pose a threat. Using a raised perimeter stem wall can elevate the slab above flood levels. In colder coastal climates, where the risk of flood is not as great as the risk of frost heave, stem walls that extend below frost depth protect the slab. As Ted Cushman explains, in either case, the construction is similar.

Hurricane-Resistant Concrete Homes

Tue, 4 Dec 2012 04:08:06 EST

Following the 2004 hurricane season, Florida-based Mercedes Homes paired up with researchers at the DOE's Building America program to design and build a truly hurricane-resistant home. But as researchers and builders have come to understand only too well, a home that provides complete protection from an intense tropical storm must offer not just superior structural strength but also afford both greater resistance to wind-driven rain and improved post-storm recovery. William Zoeller explains the science behind the cast-in-place concrete Solid Wall System (SWS), and why it offers significant improvements over CMU construction.