Housing & Construction

Chart: Housing Starts Dip in February; Still Above 2020

March 24, 2021

Housing production continue to slow in February off strong levels as rising lumber and other material prices continue to affect the housing industry.

OSHA: Annual 'Top 10' List of Most Frequently Cited Violations

March 24, 2021

“Fall Protection – General Requirements” is OSHA’s most frequently cited standard for the 10th successive fiscal year, the agency announced Feb. 26 during an exclusive Safety+Health webinar.

Webinar Addresses Contracts in Volatile Lumber Market

March 24, 2021

“Turnkey framing subcontractors are finding themselves in a bind as the cost of raw materials increase, or become scarce, but their contracts with the general contractor don’t give them much of an ability to escalate their payment terms in an equitable way,” says Kent Pagel, legal counsel for SBCA and the National Framers Council (NFC).

Will Proposed PRO Act Change the Contracting Business?

March 22, 2021

The construction industry’s use of independent contractors and subcontractors, even sub-subcontractors, is standard practice.

DOL Revisits Independent Contractor; Joint Employer Rules

March 22, 2021

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it intends to withdraw the independent contractor final rule issued on Jan. 7, 2021, and rescind a current rule on joint employer relationships under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which took effect on March 16, 2020.

Updates on OSHA’s COVID-Related Standard and NEP

March 22, 2021

March 15 was the deadline outlined in Executive Order 13999 for OSHA to issue an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for COVID-19. 

Framers Encouraged to Participate in Vaccine Awareness

March 22, 2021

The SBCA’s National Framers Council (NFC) is a member of the Construction Industry Safety Coalition (CISC), which is made up of 30 trade associations from all sectors of the construction industry, including commercial building, heavy industrial production, home building, road repair, specialty trade contractors, material suppliers, and construction equipment manufacturers.

Why Today’s Housing Boom is So Very Different

March 22, 2021

The residential real-estate market is on its biggest tear since 2006, just before the housing bubble burst and set off a global recession.

Builders Exploring Lot Development Alternative

March 21, 2021

Listening to Toll Brothers’ first quarter earnings call earlier this year, I was struck by a comment CEO Doug Yearley made during the question-and-answer session.

3-D Printed Concrete 'Ink' Seeks Code Approval

March 20, 2021

Black Buffalo, a global provider of large scale, building-grade printers and proprietary cement-based ink, has worked with the International Code Council Evaluation Service to expand criteria in the ICC-ES AC509 – 3D Automated Construction Technology for 3D Concrete Walls report from single- to multi-story building.