|
|
This
site runs best using Microsoft
Internet Explorer |
|
|
|
|
|
Download
The Newest Version of Adobe Acrobat
Reader |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vermiculite
insulation that is tainted with asbestos can "pose a
substantial health risk to workers and residents," so states a recent
memo from the United States Public Health Service. The National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been asked to
investigate further. More
information on vermiculite. . . |
|
|
|
Indoor air pollution may be higher than outdoors. Indoor
air pollution levels may regularly be two to five times higher than levels
outdoors, according to recent EPA research. At times, the research showed the levels
to be up to 100 times higher. Since Americans spend most of their time indoors, the
EPA has named indoor air pollution among the most urgent national problems. |
|
|
|
23,600 homes had fires that started in
the fireplaces, furnace, or chimneys in 1996,
according to a Consumer Product Safety report. As a result, the Chimney Safety
Institute of America (CSIA) is recommending that annual chimney inspections be performed
by certified chimney sweeps. |
|
|
|
A New York undercover operation fined
twenty-one unlicensed contractors and seized their vehicles, in an
operation aimed at catching fraudulent home improvement contractors. In order to
get their vehicles back, the contractors had to pay all outstanding fines, settle all
outstanding consumer complaints, and obtain a legitimate contractors license. |
|
|
|
Women are owners or co-owners of
230,000 construction companies in the U.S., according to an article in the
Nation's Building News. The article goes on to cite a National Association of Home
Builder's (NAHB) Women's Council member, who indicated that because women owners actually
sign the paychecks, they face far fewer obstacles than tradeswomen when entering the
construction industry. |
|
|
|
Fiberglass-asphalt shingles must meet
tougher standards. The 1997 SBCCI building code uses the ASTM D3462
performance standard which sets minimum requirements for things such as tear resistance,
etc. According to Ted Michelsen, of the Roofing Industry Educational Institute, in a
recent interview with the Journal of Light Construction, "there are still
many fiber-glass asphalt shingle products on the market that are not in compliance with
ASTM D3462". If you are having your roof re-shingled and if the contractor is
using fiber-glass asphalt shingles, be sure to verify that the product being used is in
compliance with the newest standards. |
|
|
|
