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January 2009 | Issue 23 |
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Contest: Find it in Florida |
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PAY CLOSE
ATTENTION,
WE ARE STARTING
SOMETHING NEW FOR 2009!
We will show you an aerial photo of a project
somewhere in the state of Florida and if you are the first
person to email us the correct answers for our questions, you
will win a
$25.00 gift card to The Home Depot
Take a close look at the project above and answer these 3
questions:
This project is a joint venture development
between
Starwood Resorts and The Related Group.
What is the name of the Project?
Where is it located and who is the General
Contractor?
Email your answer to
flcc@bellsouth.net
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 Congratulations
to the
December Newsletter Winner
Bryan Baswell
Facchina Construction of Florida, LLC.
The correct answers
were:
Thanksgiving Tower overlooking
the Thanks-Giving Square in Dallas, TX.
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In This
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Charity Corner |
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We need your help for a charity with a
specific Construction needs:
www.taylorscloset.org
is a charity that provides new in style
clothing to teenage girls in Foster
care, at no charge, to show them love,
support and hope for the future.
They are building a store locally for
these girls to shop at and are in need
of the following specific items:
Concrete Blocks,
Lighting, Plumbing Fixtures, Kitchen
Cabinets and more.
Click Here for complete detail of their
needs.
If you have these items in your
warehouse to donate please call:
Pike
Rowley, MCR
Rowley Group, LLC
5900 N. Andrews Avenue, Suite 626
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309
Dir. (954) 938-1807 | Fax (954) 938-1812 |
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Demucking
is one of the oldest and simplest form of soil
improvement technique ever devised. Demucking
is performed as part of the building pad or roadway
preparation prior to starting the construction.
Demucking consist of the excavation of any
unsuitable materials (muck, peat, organic
soils, debris, clay,…) in the shallow zones which,
if left in place, would cause excessive settlement
in the structure. |
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 Who
or what agency requires it?
The geotechnical engineer, after performing a site
investigation, will be specifying the demucking procedures in a
Geotechnical Investigation report.
Who
typically is responsible for testing? The
geotechnical engineer will have a full time representative on
site during the excavation to make sure that the excavation is
performed per his specifications and soil compaction tests are
performed. He will then need to write a certification
letter required by the building department prior the foundation
being poured.
Who does
the test? The demucking observation is performed by
Professional Geotechnical Engineering firm. These companies
must be licensed Engineering Companies and have at a minimum a
professional engineer specialized in geotechnical work.
Technicians performing the field work should have either an
engineering degree or at least 2 years of soil testing
experience. |
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 Demucking
is usually specified if the unsuitable materials are within
approximately 10 feet of existing grade or finished grade (if
lower). If the material is deeper or too thick, it may be
more cost efficient to have piles supporting the structure or
use geogrid for a roadway. Remember, there are always
other options.
In order
to better define the area that needs to be demucked, one of the
best investigative tool is the test pit method. Test pits
are performed by using a backhoe and digging a small pit to the
water table and visually observing and classifying the soils.
These pits will be dug in a grid pattern sufficient to generate
an accurate profile of the unsuitable soils. This profile
can then be given to your site contractors in order to get a
more accurate cost estimate.
As a
contractor, you always want to call the geotechnical engineer
and review his recommendations with him prior to starting the
work or even prior to completing your cost estimate or bid. |
How
GFA International
can help?
GFA International can provide all
these services and many more tests and inspections required by
codes and specifications.
Visit
www.teamgfa.com
or call at (561) 347-0070
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The Thrill
is Gone: Responding to a Defect Claim |
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By Ryan B. Lamchick
Because
purchasing a home is typically the largest purchase a person
makes in their lifetime, it quickly becomes a roller-coaster
ride of excitement and emotions, encompassing hours of research,
projections, and financial analysis. So it should be no surprise
that the thrill can quickly disappear and turn to anger if a
homeowner discovers any problem with his or her substantial
investment. All of a sudden, happiness turns to recrimination
where a contractor is sure to be on the receiving end of what
may be unwarranted accusations. But there are a few things a
contractor should keep in mind in order to properly defend
against any alleged defect claim.
Remaining calm and levelheaded so that you can properly evaluate
the situation is a good start. Since the homeowner is so
emotionally invested and because the sudden discovery of any
abnormality or other defect is such a let down, there is a
likely tendency for the unhappy buyer to begin finger pointing.
Rather than responding out of hand, make clear to the homeowner
that you are equally surprised and concerned, and that you are
willing to inspect the problem and are surely prepared to
address what in fact may be your fault. This will allow you the
opportunity to appraise the true extent of the alleged defect,
analyze the expected cost for a resolution, and propose an
effective solution while avoiding what might be a costly
lawsuit.
For example, it is imperative to ascertain whether the homeowner
is even within the proper time frame for filing suit. |
For example, in Florida, the statute of limitations on a
discovered defect requires that a lawsuit must be brought within
four years of actual possession. Be aware this time period
becomes a bit sketchy when the defect is considered “latent”, a
defect which is not discoverable even by the exercise of
ordinary and reasonable care. When dealing with a latent defect,
the statute of limitations allows four years from the discovery
of the defect or when the defect should have been discovered
through reasonable due diligence.
In most jurisdictions, it is not acceptable to simply allow a
defect to sit idle without attempting to prevent the problem
from worsening. This concept, known as mitigation, requires the
injured party to exercise reasonable diligence and ordinary care
to avoid aggravating the injury or increasing the damages. In
fact, the failure to mitigate is commonly used as a defense to a
defect claim by reducing the amount of damages awarded.
Therefore, it is important to discover how much time has passed
from when the homeowner noticed the defect to when action was
actually taken.
What is important for every Contractor to know is that, in many
jurisdictions, the homeowner is not allowed to actually repair
the defect without first complying with certain notice
requirements. Statutes have been implemented in an attempt to
reduce the ever growing litigation surrounding construction
defects. Certain legislatures around the country have imposed a
mandatory notice provision to give the parties an opportunity to
resolve any alleged defect issues without immediately resorting
to litigation. By providing this stop-gap, the contractor is
afforded the chance to conduct inspections and voluntarily
correct the issue or offer a settlement before the relationship
with the homeowner deteriorates into legal action.
Although the various notice statutes may differ between
jurisdictions, the themes remain the same and all are designed
to help expedite defect disputes. If and when you are contacted
by a homeowner who claims to have discovered a defect with your
work, do not panic – stay calm and review the situation; the law
may just be on your side. |
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Article Source: |
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Stress
and a Glass of Water |
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 A
lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience,
raised a glass of water and asked, "how heavy is this glass of
water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer
replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how
long you try to hold it."
"If I hold it for a minute, that's
not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my
right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an
ambulance. "In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I
hold it, the heavier it becomes.
"He continued, "And that's the way
it is with stress management. If we carry our burdens all the
time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy,
we won't be able to carry on." "As with the glass of water, you
have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it
again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."
"So, before you return home
tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it home. You
can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you're carrying now,
let them down for a moment if you can." "Relax; pick them up
later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it!"
And then he shared.. |
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Ways to deal with the stressors of life
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Accept that
some days you're the pigeon, and
some days you're the statue.
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Always keep your words soft and sweet,
just in case you
have to eat them.
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Always read
stuff that will make you look good
if you die in the middle of it.
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If you can't be kind, at least
have the decency to be vague.
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If you
lend someone $20
and never see him again, it was probably worth it.
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Never buy a car
you can't push.
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If you put
both feet in your mouth at once,
you won't have a leg to stand on.
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Who cares if you can't dance? Just
get up and dance.
»
If everything's coming your way, you may
be in the wrong
lane.
»
You're just
one person in the world, but you
may be the world to one person.
»
A truly happy person is one who can
enjoy the scenery on a detour.
»
Kids learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are
pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all
are different colors, but they all
live in the
same box.
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Facts
About January |
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Martin
Luther King, Jr. Day |
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 Most
of the world uses the Georgian calendar,
which has January as the first month of the
year. It is named for Janus, a Roman god.
Roman legend has it that the ruler Numa
Pompilius added January and February to the
end of the 10-month Roman calendar in about
700 B.C. Pompilius gave the month 30 days.
Romans later made January the first month.
In 46 B.C., the Roman statesman Julius
Caesar added a day to January, making it 31
days long. The Anglo-Saxons called the first
month Wolfmonth because wolves came into the
villages in winter in search of food.
In the northern half of the world, January
is the coldest month. Nature is quiet and
the birds travel less. The woodchucks and
bears sleep day and night, in hibernation.
The plants are resting, waiting for the
warmer temperatures of the Spring. In the
southern half of the world, January is the
warmest month. Animals are very active, and
plants are growing. |
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Why is January 20th the day we inaugurate
our President?
The
Constitution of the United States had
established March 4 as Inauguration Day in
order to allow enough time after Election
Day for officials to gather election returns
and for newly-elected candidates to travel
to the capital. With modern advances in
communication and transportation, the
lengthy transition period proved unnecessary
and legislators pressed for change. The date
was moved to January 20 with the passage of
the Twentieth Amendment in 1933. |
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a United
States holiday marking the birthdate of the
Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed
on the third Monday of January each
year, around the time of King's birthday,
January 15. It is one of three United
States federal holidays to commemorate an
individual person.
King was the chief spokesman of the
nonviolent civil rights movement, which
successfully protested racial discrimination
in federal and state law. He was
assassinated in 1968.
The campaign for a federal holiday in King's
honor began soon after his assassination.
Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in
1983, and it was first observed in 1986. At
first, some states resisted observing the
holiday as such, giving it alternative names
or combining it with other holidays. It was
officially observed in all 50 states for the
first time in 2000.
Read More... |
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Technology
Tidbit |
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 Does
road construction
have you frustrated?
For residents in the State of Florida, there is an
easy way to avoid this situation – simply dial 511
on your cell phone to get up-to-date traffic
information. You can also dial 511 to report
incidents, accidents and delays along your travels
to help fellow motorists navigate more efficiently
to their destination.
The South Florida 511 Traffic and Transit
Information Service (SEFL) is a free service of The
Florida Department of Transportation, Miami-Dade
Expressway Authority, and the SunGuide Partnership.
The Florida Department of Transportation advises
that safety come first when you using this service.
For additional information and other services,
please visit their website:
http://www.511southflorida.com/. |
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About Us
Florida Construction Connection, Inc.,
works with employers to not just hire, but make the right
hires. We work with currently employed construction
management, administrative and accounting professionals to
help them make smart career decisions.
Whether you are seeking information to help you in your
current situation or seeking information about the
marketplace and need help, please give us a call.
Phone:
(954) 725-9932 | Fax: (954) 725-9928 | Email:
flcc@bellsouth.net
www.floridaconstructionconnection.com
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