Volume 3 - Number 9

  September 2008

Some Construction Documents Are Not Contract Documents
It’s Important to Know the Difference
By: Arthur O'Leary, FAIA, MRIAI
    There would be fewer disputes and less disappointment in the construction industry if all parties to construction contracts clearly understood their obligations and were fully aware of their obligations, rights, and privileges. These are to be found primarily in the contract documents. The term contract documents is uniformly used in all AIA standard form agreements to designate the group of documents that comprise the construction contract between the owner and contractor. The terms contract documents and contract may be used interchangeably.
    The contract represents the entire and integrated agreement between the parties.
    Owners and contractors, when making claims against the other, often will attempt to enforce the provisions of conversations, inferences of actions, and any scrap of paper developed in the course of their relationship. Similarly, architects will often search the documents seeking authority to compel the owner or contractor to perform some duty. However, only those documents and promises, that have been reduced to writing and incorporated into the contract, can be relied upon as being legally enforceable.  Read More

The Anatomy of a Perfect Bid
DCD, Industry Associations Announce Best Project Estimate Challenge 
   Preparing an accurate, complete construction bid requires the perfect intersection of a unique (and often evasive) combination of elements. Project knowledge, design insight, historical data, the ability to predict and adjust for ever-changing variables, and a healthy dose of luck all factor into the estimating equation. Cost estimating can be both challenging and frustrating, but it’s the exactness of the science – and the lack of it – that attracts and entices estimating professionals constantly trying to hit the moving target.
   It seems simple enough: An estimate is a calculation of the quantities of various items of work and the expenses likely to be incurred during the course of that work. How the estimate compares to the actual costs, however, depend on the accuracy of the professional’s methods and his ability to visualize the work. Under-estimating can result in a shock to the client – and possible abandonment or drastic modification of the project. Over-estimating may lose the estimating professional his client, his job – or at very least, his confidence. Read More

    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.

• PPG introduces DURANAR powder coatings for architectural applications

• SARGENT® Offers a One Card Campus Access Control Solution 

• Daktronics Shines Through Solar Scoreboards

• PPG introduces glass tints with second-surface MSVD low-e coatings

• eBIDroom Launched to Expedite Construction Bids

• Duro-Last® Roofing System Installed on LEED® Platinum Project In Napa Valley

• 2008 National Conference East

• Llewelyn-Davies Sahni Builds Team With Two New Hires

More Negative Conditions for Architecture Billings Index
Institutional market continues to be lone bright spot in non-residential sector
Despite having its highest score since January, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) continues to point to difficult conditions for the nonresidential construction market. There have been six consecutive months with negative scores, indicating that business levels at U.S architecture firms continue to worsen. 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 July ABI rating was 46.8, up slightly from the 46.1 mark in June (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The inquiries for new projects score was 54.6.  Read More

Arch Aluminum & Glass Improves Solar Mirrors For Renewable Energy Industry 
   Arch Aluminum and Glass Co., Inc. has developed innovative new mirror manufacturing techniques to meet the demand for lower cost and more efficient concentrator photovoltaic units in the burgeoning renewable energy industry.
   The Arch parabolic mirrors optically focus sunlight onto a concentrator containing active solar cell materials that converts the intense light into electricity. The paint backing for these techniques are lead free, which allows Arch to mass produce environmentally friendly lead free mirrors capable of withstanding high temperatures. "Coatings applied to parabolic-shaped glass in a high-volume, high-production manner has never been done before," said Tony Lawson, director of solar operations for Arch. This latest innovation at Arch has the potential to help bring the cost of generating solar power on par with coal-fired power plants, according to Lawson. "We recognized the need for a cost-effective approach and are proud to be the first to provide a product for this demand," he said.  Read More

DCD Cost Trends
Design Cost Data™ magazine and BNi® Building News are devoted to bringing the industry critical information to assist in developing reliable cost estimates. To help the construction professional project future building costs, each issue of Design Cost Data in 2007 includes an editorial section on Cost Trends. Read More

The DCD Sq. Ft. Cost Guide
DCD maintains the DCD Archives™, an archive of over 1,100 actual projects featured in DCD online at DCD.COM. The following cost guides have been compiled from projects archived in the DCD Archives and escalated to the month and year of the DCD publication date and to a historical location factor of 1. To read more
Read More

Kingspan Group PLC ("Kingspan") Announces the Acquisition of MeTecno USA ("MeTecno")
   Kingspan, the leading manufacturer of a range of sustainable products for the construction industry, is pleased to announce it has completed the acquisition of 100% of MeTecno, Inc. a holding company for the MeTecno businesses in the USA, from MeTecno BV, a subsidiary of the MeTecno Group, a global manufacturer of composite sandwich panels. The agreement is unconditional.
    MeTecno, operating under the ASI, API, and Benchmark brands, is the second largest manufacturer of composite sandwich panels in the US market, operating from three sites located in Florida, Ohio and California. MeTecno also comprises a leading architectural metal wall and roof panel profile business, operating under the Morin brand, from two sites in Connecticut and California. The acquisition gives Kingspan critical mass in the United States, and when combined with existing Canadian market leadership, gives unrivalled geographical market reach in North America at a time when demand for insulation products is expected to increase due to economic and regulatory pressures.  Read More