Just a quickie on formwork pressures.  One of my foremen once asked me if we needed more form ties in a 24" thick wall versus a 12" thick wall.  That answer is "no".   Concrete, when being placed, is liquid.  Just like water.  And as all carpenters know, form ties are used to resist pressure pushing against the forms.  The difference in pressure is only a function of two variables:  the density of the liquid ...  Read More >  

I just learned this one a couple months ago from a fantastic superintendent - Mike. One of his foremen called to him to say that he was having a confrontation with a homeowner - we cut down a tree that was shown on our plans to remove, but the homeowner thought for years that he owned the tree. He didn't. It was owned by the City and was just outside of the homeowner's property.

As the homeowner was in Mike's foreman's face yelling and threatening ...  Read More >