Oregon school district sues contractor over substandard work

The Tigard-Tualatin School District claims its elementary school has suffered heavy water damage from defective doors and windows.

By Ron Gallagher • March 25, 2014

Utah contractor to pay $928k to end federal lawsuit

Oakland Construction denies claims by the Justice Department and the other company in a mentor-protege arrangement, but legal efficiency reigns.

By Ron Gallagher • March 25, 2014

Raleigh City Council will help homeowner fight City Hall

One Raleigh, N.C., body decided to yank a building permit that another body had granted about six months earlier, and the city council will take the decision to court.

By Ron Gallagher • March 20, 2014

Paving industry faces regulatory challenges in coming years

Health-insurance requirements and limitations on refined coal tar sealant are two of the ongoing regulatory challenges to paving and maintenance companies.

By Ron Gallagher • March 18, 2014

Arrest made in Delaware construction site burglaries

A 35-year-old man faces numerous charges in connection with copper theft from 14 different home construction sites.

By Roger Riddell • March 17, 2014

NYC construction deaths dropped 62.5% in 2013

All construction site fatalities last year were falls.

By Davide Savenije • March 17, 2014

How the EPA is changing stormwater runoff rules

A central part of the Environmental Protection Agency's approach to construction runoff is eliminating numeric standards for turbidity in the water.

By Ron Gallagher • March 11, 2014

Ever-larger tilt-up panels bring clarification about slab beneath bracing

The Tilt-Up Concrete Association has issued a statement saying it's a building owner's rep who has to make sure a slab can take the pressure of wall bracing.

By Ron Gallagher • March 9, 2014

Ft. Worth construction-fraud case goes to jury, contractor goes to jail

It's believed to be the first time a fraud case like Keith Alexander's has gone to trial in Tarrant County, Texas, instead of being settled by a plea deal.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2014

Quebec senior home fire that killed 32 draws attention to building code

The Jan. 23 blaze in L'Isle -Verte pointed up the complexity of provincial regulations and raised questions about how they address an aging population.

By Ron Gallagher • March 5, 2014

Miami to contractors: Hire local, we're watching

County commissioners approved a strong suggestion that contractors hire 50% local residents.

By Ron Gallagher • March 4, 2014

Barge ahoy, Google 'craft' to set sail out of SF Bay jurisdiction

The Google construction project widely known as the "mystery barge" has to move to an anchorage in Stockton, Calif., because of permitting issues.

By Ron Gallagher • March 3, 2014

Court says preliminary site-conditions report matters in dispute over cost

A contractor said it should be able to get more money when a preliminary soil report was a lot different than what turned out to be true.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 28, 2014

Two contractors fined for fatal explosion at upstate NY wastewater plant

OSHA cited both companies for multiple serious violations.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 25, 2014

Construction worker falls from N.J. bridge site

Crews were installing safety shielding when the 29-year-old fell. 

By Davide Savenije • Feb. 24, 2014

Ohio bill looks to ban use of LEED rating system

Special interest groups hope to halt the use of the green-building rating system in state projects. 

By Kelsey Lindsey • Feb. 24, 2014

Equipment, records, video frozen in probe of fatal Texas accident

An attorney representing the family of a man killed in an accident at Baylor University told a judge he feared some material would disappear.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2014

Workers back at Panama Canal after partial deal

The consortium contracted to build the Panama Canal expansion has sent some workers back onto the job after an agreement with the Panama Canal Authority, but no one is saying what tasks they are performing.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 20, 2014

Sentencing announced for N.Y. company, owner that shorted workers' pay

Applied Construction Inc. did not follow contract requirements on project for New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 18, 2014

Feds plan to demand more mileage from construction, other heavy trucks

President Obama has upped the fuel-efficiency effort for medium and heavy trucks, which already have to get as much as 20% better mileage by 2018.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 18, 2014

Officials call for Okla. school storm shelters

The death of seven elementary school students in Moore, Okla., in May 2013 has officials in Tulsa considering a requirement for storm shelters in new schools.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 13, 2014

Pa. management company in trouble with IRS, union, contractor

FBI agents visited PCM Construction Management's offices in Moosic last week, and a construction company has sued for $256,000.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 11, 2014

Court decisions trend sees insurers covering construction defects

In several recent rulings from top state courts, judges have been finding that, legally, construction defects are "accidents" and damages should be covered by insurance.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 11, 2014

Obamacare change may help contractors, builders

The Obama administration is putting penalties off until 2016 for companies with 50 to 99 full-time workers if the employers are not providing health insurance.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 10, 2014

Is a N.Y. liability law killing jobs and preventing construction?

An opinion piece in the New York Post argues that New York State's "scaffold law" makes construction expensive enough to prevent some projects from happening.

By Ron Gallagher • Feb. 10, 2014