Contractor articles from March 2001

Contractor archives from March 2001

National Cathedral cool for hot summer.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... WASHINGTON -- When a project is as massive as the National Cathedral, located here at the intersection of Massachusetts and Wisconsin avenues, other priorities can take precedence over year-round comfort. That's the biggest reason the church's...

State sues Lockformer.(Illinois water pollution case)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... LISLE, ILL. -- Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan and DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph Birkett have filed suit against sheet metal equipment manufacturer Lockformer Co., charging that the firm has violated state water pollution standards...

USMC wants Lejeune kids.(United States Marine Corps toxic chemicals survey)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. -- Marine Corps officials are still seeking former Marine families who conceived or raised children while living in base housing here from 1968 through 1985. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, a public...

2000 unitary shipments set record.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... ARLINGTON, VA. -- Unitary shipments backed into a record year in 2000, despite falling below year earlier totals from July onward. Shipments nearly seized defeat from the jaws of victory by falling 21% in December. Shipments for the year,...

Charity and EAI laud Rodenhiser heat project.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... HOLLISTON, MASS. -- Two area families are having a warmer winter, thanks to a partnership between Rodenhiser Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning here and the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, a local antipoverty agency. Rodenhiser...

How to get to zero accidents.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... ROSEMONT, ILL. -- Getting to zero accidents may seem to be an unattainable goal for some construction companies. Yet, research by the Construction Industry Institute in Austin, Texas, indicates that contractors with exemplary safety records...

Office, industrial vacancies drop.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... NATIONAL VACANCY rates for both office and industrial space fell during the third quarter of 2000 from their levels of three months earlier. This was a remarkable accomplishment in light of the fact that spending for both new office and...

Web makes presence felt at AHR Expo.
March 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- Close to 50,000 HVACR professionals, including more than 27,400 registered attendees and more than 22,300 exhibitor personnel, participated in AHR Expo 2001 in January here. The final tally of 27,470 attendees represents a 15%...

Remodeling spending reaches $148 billion.
March 1, 2001... THE U.S. COMMERCE Department reports that expenditures for improvements to, and repairs on, residential properties during the second quarter of 2000 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $148 billion. This pegged April-June 2000 spending...

IN BRIEF.
March 1, 2001... * ISH North America will take place Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2002, in Toronto. Messe Frankfurt will sponsor the industry trade show in cooperation with the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors-National Association, American Supply Association and...

PEOPLE NEWS.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... Contractors After 43 years in the mechanical contracting industry, Arnie Reiter, president and previous owner of Cuddy Mechanical, Mankato, Minn., has retired. Cuddy was acquired as an independent unit by the Harris Cos. in 1999. ...

Interstate 's Burnette dies.(Obituary)
March 1, 2001... KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- Daniel R. Burnette, 60, an active leader of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors - National Association, PHCC Educational Foundation and a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America died Feb. 21 in...

PHCC-NA leader Hiley dies.(Obituary)
March 1, 2001... ROCHESTER, MINN. -- Charles F. Hiley Jr., 57, an active leader of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors-National Association, PHCC Educational Foundation and a member of the Mechanical Contractors Association of America died Dec. 25, 2000,...

Public housing authority wins conservation award.
March 1, 2001... OAKLAND, CALIF. -- Oakland Housing Authority was awarded the East Bay Municipal Utility District Water Conservation Project Award for 2000 for a job designed and implemented by performance contractor Citizens Conservation Services. ...

County jail goes solar.
March 1, 2001... OAKLAND, CALIF. -- The Alameda County Board of Supervisors has given the green light for PowerLight of Berkeley to install a 500kW solar electric installation -- believed to be the largest roof-mounted system in the United States -- at its...

ARI certification for ERVs.
March 1, 2001... ARLINGTON, VA. -- Following five years of development, the Air-to-Air Energy Recovery Ventilation Equipment Certification Program has been initiated by the Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Institute. The new ERV certification program...

Park, pack your truck to maximum effect.
March 1, 2001... LAST MONTH I talked about the importance of your trucks as moving billboards and promised to speak about their contents and placement. Your well-signed trucks are most effective as billboards if they are parked at a 90-degree angle from the...

Shortcuts can get us all in hot liquid.
March 1, 2001... HURST, TEXAS -- Dan Holohan wrote a good article about the facts of our business and letting customers talk us into shortcuts that can come back and bite us ("In hot water," January, pg. 20). My first job out of college was working for York...

Callers need new number.
March 1, 2001... LORAIN, OHIO -- I just read Dave Yates' article in the February issue of CONTRACTOR ("Learn to hang up on Dial-a-Plumber," pg. 16). He must have the same customers we had. We have been in business 44 years; it took about 34 years to get...

Dial-a-plumber has familiar ring.
March 1, 2001... VIA E-MAIL -- I just want to thank Dave Yates for the article he wrote in the February issue of CONTRACTOR magazine ("Learn to hang up on Dial-a-Plumber," pg. 16). Although I'm not happy others suffer from this problem, it does help to know...

Reader appreciates Schmitt's experience.
March 1, 2001... LEEDS, ALA. -- Thank you for having Joseph R. Schmitt's "Management" column in your magazine. His articles are well-written and come from years of experience. I appreciate his caring enough about this industry to share his knowledge with...

Health on the high end.
March 1, 2001... A luxury Health House in Anchorage, Alaska, uses state-of-the-art technology to improve indoor air quality. Many people when they set out to build their dream home begin with a list of things they want -- the enclosed porch or the whirlpool...

AHR Expo products reveal industry trends.
March 1, 2001... ATLANTA -- One thing I like about attending each year's AHR Expo is that, if you pay close attention, you'll see subtle changes coming about in our industry... trends that may point in new directions. One of a few new directions I noted...

Lonnie's lucky day.
March 1, 2001... LONNIE HAD NEVER won a thing in his life. He had given up on the lottery and refused to set foot in a casino when he went to the big trade show in Atlantic City each year. "Those casino people see me coming," he told his mother, "they...

Bang-bang controls often aren't enough.
March 1, 2001... WHAT IS CONTINUOUS circulation control logic? This question has come up a lot lately. It addresses another one of those areas that is not well understood by American hydronics contractors. It isn't understood because of the American way of...

Software makes CAD work easier.
March 1, 2001... ALTHOUGH AUTOCAD is the source of many construction drawings and is recognized as a CAD standard in the industry, many HVAC and plumbing subcontractors do not need AutoCAD itself. Contractors can participate in the review and edit cycle that...

Timing's everything when making bids.
March 1, 2001... I MET WITH a mechanical contractor recently who was being sued for a lot of money because he made a mistake on a bid he submitted to several general contractors. He caught the mistake and corrected it, but the general contractor said that he...

MCA partners with NetClerk.
March 1, 2001... ST. PAUL, MINN. -- The Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association and NetClerk, a provider of online permitting and licensing technology, have announced a partnership. MMCA members can now submit, process and store building permit...

Literature Showcase.
March 1, 2001... "Smart Strainer"[TM] Reduces Costs The Sly Y[TM], a Smart Strainer[TM], lets engineers know when it needs to be serviced. The new Sly Y[TM], is a unique, new patented piping system strainer, equipped with a switch that lets engineers know...

Product NEWS.(Product Announcement)
March 1, 2001... editor's CHOICE The Comfortmaker SoftSound 1200+ split-system heat pump is offered in capacities from 1.5 tons through 5 tons. It has a 12 SEER rating and a compact design that makes handling and installation easier. Features include: an...

Forget the stats, kayaker's tale tells the real reason for safety.(Cliff Meidl)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2001... THE CONSENSUS AROUND the lunch table last month at the 11th Annual Construction Safety Conference was that mechanical contractors do pretty well when it comes to jobsite safety. The informal conversation among general contractors and safety...