Housing starts down, but builders say single-family is strong and permits are up

January federal data for housing starts shows the total fell 8.5% from December's pace, but the National Association of Home Builders lays that to normal multifamily volatility, not weakness.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 21, 2013

Engineer: Steel-laced concrete beams are development of seismic proportions

After working on a 24-story Seattle apartment building using steel-reinforced concrete to reduce the use of rebar, engineer Cary Kopczynski claims the new technique has arrived.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2013

Explore the Trendline➔

Data center construction

New projects from customers like Meta, Google and Amazon make this a burgeoning sector for contractors.

By Construction Dive staff

New coating holds promise of self-repairing concrete

Researchers in Korea say they have developed a coating for concrete that carries micro-capsules of patching material that break open when concrete cracks.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2013

Rising materials prices in Jan. outpaced falling ones for 0.7% net increase

Construction materials pulling prices up out-muscled those pulling the average down last month for a net rise of 0.7%.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2013

Be ready if/when a construction accident happens

Nobody wants it but everybody should expect it and be ready with a plan and procedures to follow before an accident happens.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2013

Tunneling robot analyzes work, saves money and time

Edmonton, Alberta has tested a robot that tracks a tunnel's alignment in real time and generates as-built drawings, finding it to be a major time-saver.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 19, 2013

Commercial construction outlook: Better flat than backsliding

The backlog of signed commercial construction deals stuck at eight months from the third to the fourth quarters of 2012, and ABC expects that to remain the same through the first part of this year.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 19, 2013

Tips on how to win and keep community colleges as commercial clients

Community colleges are in great demand as displaced workers try to retrain, so it's worth hearing how to get and keep growing clients.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 19, 2013

ASCE group is developing building codes to cope with tsunamis

A group of engineers from the West Coast of the U.S. are working on codes to encourage designs that can better withstand the punishment of pounding water.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 19, 2013

Midst Pakistan's problems, perhaps the world's tallest building

A $45 billion investment deal for Pakistan appears to include construction of a tower that backers say will stretch above the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the current record holder.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 17, 2013

You can't buy what satisfied customers say about you for free

Treating customers well and making right any problems regardless of warranty gives you an advertiser for whom you could never pay enough.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 15, 2013

Big name backing big project brings approval in Michigan

Knowing the pain of disinvestment and downturn all too well, Michigan has approved a proposal by a group of investors that includes native son Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 15, 2013

The big mo is behind U.S. motels

There appears to be no doubt among hotel investors that the industry has a bright U.S. future.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 15, 2013

Most Read Construction News of the Week: Labor, Obama and Lumber

Feel like you fell behind on the construction news this week? Get up to date with our recent popular reads.

By Brian Warmoth • Feb. 15, 2013

OSHA fines Ariz. contractor in death of worker struck by shovel bucket

The agency said Ellison-Mills Contracting of Casa Grande, Ariz., didn't take proper precautions that may have averted the accident during a waterline installation.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 14, 2013

Brasfield & Gorrie to kick off work on College Football Hall of Fame

The contractor is ready to break ground on the facility in Atlanta, which is expected to pour $9 billion into the area's tourist economy.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 14, 2013

Boxman Studios reusing shipping containers in construction

The company that has been finding uses for shipping containers for five years has decided that the built environment is a business line whose time has come.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 14, 2013

Mandatory energy-reporting for large buildings reaches Minneapolis

Beginning in 2015, the city will require operators of buildings over 50,000 square feet to report energy and water use.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 14, 2013

People who build glass 'houses' should throw 'stones' first

Engineers in Germany are testing glazing materials to see how they withstand pressures – such as a bomb's blast wave – for a planned, glass-walled San Francisco transit center.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 14, 2013

Obama calls for public-private push to upgrade roads, bridges, schools

Contractors may benefit if Congress agrees with a program of public-private partnerships for infrastructure improvements that President Obama suggested.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 13, 2013

Index for nonresidential construction rises based on industry interviews

An index compiled by consulting firm FMI is at 58.1 for the first quarter of the year, up from 2012's closing quarter.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 13, 2013

For the field, a computer that's all in (well, on) your head

A unit aimed at professionals who need hands-free access on the job, the Golden-i offers voice and video communication capabilities and Wi-Fi access.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 13, 2013

Mixed-use project in Sydney goes green with vertical gardens

As part of the Australian city's sustainability campaign, developers of One Central Park are incorporating 21 gardens on the walls of the towers.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 13, 2013

States' transportation building rose slightly in 2012

States spent a little more on transportation construction in 2012 than the year before, but transport construction overall continued to decline as a part of the nation's total.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 12, 2013

Tilt-Up Concrete Assn. touts products' ability to help meet energy code

The trade group says it can be a resource for design professionals and others looking for ways to comply with the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 12, 2013