DCD July 2008 E-News

Founded in the early 1800's, the SARGENT Manufacturing Company is a market leader in the manufacture of architectural hardware, including locksets, cylinders, door closers, exit devices, electromechanical products, and access control systems for new construction, renovation, and replacement applications. The company’s customer base includes commercial construction, institutional and industrial markets. For more information, visit www.sargentlock.com/.

Carolina Ceramics Brick Company¹s KLADbrick out-performs conventional precast concrete wall panels, because the look and feel of real brick is paired with the cost efficiencies of precast panels yielding successes on many levels. KLADbrick fills the void between traditional brick walls and precast concrete panels. For more information, visit carolinaceramics.com or call 866-788-1916.

Cost Model Instantly on Actual Project Costs
From The Publishers of:
Design Cost Data Magazine
The DCD Archives is an easy-to-use cost-modeling database that houses over 1,300 actual projects, as featured in DCD magazine, along with up-to-date cost indices. Users can choose from hundreds of building types, select a similar project to what they are looking for, change the bid date and location and quickly produce a new cost model. The actual case study, as it appeared in DCD, is also available to print to include with a new cost model report.

    DCD offers access to this massive database Free to paid subscribers of DCD. DCD Subscribers have unlimited access to the DCD Archives for the term of their subscription.
   Subscribers can access the DCD Archives by simply entering their Subscriber Number (found beside their last name on their DCD mailing label) in the Login Box along with their Email address. Special Two-Year Offer only $110.17.
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

July/August Issue of DCD

Submit Your Projects For Publication in DCD.
   Gain national recognition with a featured Case Study, which focuses on your firm's design capabilities.
   Receive 100 FREE reprints of your case study to use for promotional purposes.
   Legitimize your work to your peers. Contribute to the DCD Archives™, a unique historical cost database development tool that enables the construction industry to develop cost models based on actual construction.
   Submitting a case study is easy! Simply call DCD to indicate your interest in having a case study featured and from documents you already have on hand, our editors can assist you in putting a case study together quickly and effortlessly. You supply the information and let DCD do the work!
   To be sent a Case Study Submittal Package or to find our more about how easy it is to have your projects published, call Patty Owens at DCD toll-free at 800-533-5680 or email info@dcd.com!

Doka’s Modular Formwork Helps to Quickly Complete VA Hospital Renovations
As a war continues oversees, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) aims to accommodate injured and ill soldiers returning from combat, along with the thousands of other veterans in the U.S. in need of medical treatment and long-term care. In South Texas, the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital is comprised of 462 authorized hospital beds, offering services that range from surgical care to psychiatric and geriatric care. In an effort to expand the facility and therefore extend capabilities, the VA Hospital received funding from the Department for general renovations to the hospital in July 2007.
Recently, additional funding was provided to the hospital to renovate its existing Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Transitional housing at the new Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center will be added as well, supporting veterans who have suffered multiple traumatic injuries with the goal of returning them to independent living. Read More

DCD Sq. Ft. Cost Guides

The DCD 2008 Commercial & Industrial Building Square Foot Cost Guide
The DCD Building Sq. Ft. Cost Guide
The DCD Sq. Ft. Cost Guide For Medical Buildings
The DCD Educational Square Foot Cost Guide

Construction Nightmares: Jobs from Hell and How to Avoid Them
   Arthur F. O'Leary, FAIA, MRIAI, a 40-year construction project veteran, relates actual jobs gone bad from the world of construction, dealing with plans, extras, delays, interference, scheduling, change orders, defective construction, inadequate supervision, incompetent contractors and just about every other problem that could happen on a construction job.
   After you find out what went wrong and how it went wrong, you get a clear legal analysis explaining the tools and procedures to use to untangle the mess. For example, you'll see how to use mechanic's liens to your advantage, the proper way to use a bonding company, insurance coverage checks, contract preparation and negotiation strategies and much more.
   Packed with real-life case examples describing nightmares like these:
• The mysterious retaining wall collapse.
• Earthquake damage or liable defect?
• The case of the fraudulent shop drawings.
• The contractor who hired his high school buddy.
• The corrupt inspector and the crooked estimator. Read More

SOLATUBE INTERNATIONAL HELPS 2008 OLYMPIC GAMES GO GREEN
Olympic Facility in Beijing Illuminated with New Solatube 750 DS Daylighting Systems

DCD Subscribers: The archives of Design Cost Data are available online at DCD.COM in the DCD Archives™. The DCD Archives contains over 1,100 completed projects, and their actual cost to build, to assist you in developing preliminary cost estimates, building type research, cost modeling and more. The DCD Archives includes cost escalators through 2010 and regional modifiers in an easy-to-use cost modeling database.
Access the DCD Archives with your DCD Subscriber Number that is located on your DCD Magazine mailing label next to your last name. To become a subscriber of DCD, you can subscribe online at DCD.COM or call us at 800-533-5680.

Thank You for being a subscriber
of Design Cost Data.
Please don’t hesitate to give us a call at
800-533-5680 if you have any questions.

DCD
Customer Service
800-533-5680

Editorial, advertising, administration, circulation and production
P.O. Box 948
Valrico, FL 33595-0948
P 800-533-5680
F 888-533-5680

Negative Conditions Remain in Architecture Billings Index
Despite nearly three-point rise, project demand well below positive level
The Architecture Billings Index (ABI) rebounded almost three points in June, after dropping two points the previous month. However, this is the fifth straight month that the index has remained below the 50 threshold, indicating that business levels at U.S architecture firms continue to deteriorate. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI shows an approximate nine to twelve month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the June ABI rating was 46.1, up from the 43.4 mark in May (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The inquiries for new projects score was 51.8. Read More

ZPrinter310/Sweet Onion cultivates ‘green’ architectural model business
“The speed of the ZPrinter 310 enables us to deliver a very quick turnaround as a rule, even when we brand the customer’s models with their 3D printed name and incorporate topography.”
   It burst onto the landscape in early 2007 – Sweet Onion Creations, a company creating premium scale building models for architectural firms and real estate developers around the world.
   The Bozeman, Mont., business, founded by a couple with dual MBAs, is quickly gaining notice for the rapid turnaround of its service and the sustainable way the business operates.
   Sweet Onion “3D prints” its architecture models. 3D printing creates physical objects from computer-aided design (CAD) files much as traditional office printers create documents from 2D files.
Read More

Solatube International Helps 2008 Olympic Games Go Green

As China set out to create the first-ever “Green Olympics,” designers turned to Solatube International Inc., the worldwide leading manufacturer and marketer of Tubular Daylighting Devices (TDDs) to provide natural lighting solutions for a new Olympic event-designated gymnasium at the Beijing Science & Technology University. The company announced today that the installation of 148 Solatube 750 DS Daylighting Systems (approximately each 21 in/530 mm in diameter) is now complete.
The gymnasium will host the judo and taekwondo Olympic competitions, as well as the Paralympics wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball events. The Solatube Daylighting Systems illuminate the facility’s main gymnasium, which includes a 2,400-square-meter competition arena that seats over 8,000 spectators.

Modest Decline in Nonresidential Construction Activity Anticipated in 2008 with More Dramatic Drop in 2009

Commercial projects likely to see largest declines, while institutional projects expected to remain stable
As the nonresidential sector has experienced cutbacks in demand for new space, the projections for construction activity for new nonresidential facilities are for a mild decline in 2008, with a more significant downturn in 2009. The forecasts are more negative for commercial and industrial buildings, with an especially large drop-off in the office and retail sectors. The two largest institutional categories, healthcare and education facilities, should see a slight increase this year and could help offset some of the losses in the other project categories. The continued increase in building material costs in recent years could also adversely affect the construction industry. These are highlights from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) semi-annual Consensus Construction Forecast, a survey of the nation’s leading construction forecasters which is calling for a 1.9% decline in inflation-adjusted activity in 2008, followed by a projected 6.7% decline in 2009.
Read More

Construction Cost Trends

Construction Cost Trends for July 2008

TradeWinds