 Should
building codes in high-hazard areas—those prone to tornados,
earthquakes, or hurricanes—
require building products and construction practices based
on those used in the Fortified . . . for Safer Living homes?
Take the PCA Poll
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Concrete Provides the Muscle
to Fortified Home
A broad-based
coalition of organizations dedicated to safer home construction
gathered in suburban Chicago last week for the groundbreaking
ceremony of Illinois’ next “Fortified” home.
The Institute for Business & Home Safety’s Fortified…for
safer living® program specifies construction, design, and
landscaping guidelines to increase a new home’s resistance
to natural disasters from the ground up. This is done by adding
protection to windows and doors, providing better connections
between the roof, walls, and foundation, and installing a thicker,
stronger roof that is designed to stay drier and resist hail
damage.
The Aurora home will feature a state-of-the-art precast concrete
panel system for the floors and exterior walls, impact-resistant
roofing, connectors to securely tie the house together from
roof to foundation, and windows with high wind and water pressure
ratings.
Local high school students will build, with professional and
union support, the fully handicap-accessible, 1,400 square feet,
single-family home. Once completed, the house will be sold to
a low-income family with financial and home ownership counseling
from the Joseph Corporation.
PCA and the Precast-Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) joined
the American Red Cross, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency
(IEMA) and the Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)
at the April 2 event in Aurora, Ill.
The ceremony received coverage from several local newspapers
including the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, and WFLD-TV,
the local FOX affiliate.
More
at www.safehomeillinois.org
and www.IBHS.org
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Firehouse
Veteran Weighs In on Lightweight Building Materials
Collapse of burning buildings is a leading cause of death
to firefighters, and the widespread use of lightweight construction
materials is heightening this danger. So concludes 42-year
veteran New York City firefighter Vincent Dunn in his column
"Why Do Burning Buildings Collapse?" which appears
in the March issue of Firehouse magazine.
Dunn cites four contributing factors to the collapse of burning
buildings:
- Age of buildings
- Abandonment of buildings
- Use of lightweight construction materials
- Faulty or illegal renovations
Dunn says that materials such as lightweight wood trusses
and steel joists cost less but fail more readily in a fire
than traditional building materials.
Contact Stephen
Szoke
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2007 Professional Promoters’
Workshop Scheduled
The 2007 Professional
Promoters’ Workshop is planned for May 1-3 at the Doubletree
Hotel and Conference Center in Skokie Ill. This workshop is
the only national forum offering unprecedented network opportunities,
support programs, and sharing of best practices in the local
promotion of concrete.
This year’s workshop will include the ever popular “What
Works” sessions and round-table sessions that allow for
unstructured discussions on contemporary topics of interest.
Scheduled topics include how to set up a local government affairs
program, codes and standards, and an economic outlook for the
industry.
More
information or register online
|
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 February
PPI: Steel Prices Resume Climb
According to the February 2007 Producer Price Index, steel prices
are on the rise again, climbing 1.4% following three straight
months of decline. Other building materials saw more modest
gains for the month: concrete +0.5%, asphalt +0.4%, and lumber
+0.3%.
For the past 12 months, asphalt prices are up 23%, steel prices
have risen 10.8%, and lumber prices have declined 11%. Concrete
is up 4.8% over the same period.
Source:
Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The information
is provided by PCA to aid in the promotion of concrete and cement-based
products.
More
information
Contact
Craig Schulz
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| PCAPAC Awards
Honor Industry Commitment
At PCA's Spring Meeting on March 19, the Government Affairs
Council presented eight PCA member companies with awards for
meeting or exceeding their contribution goals to PCA's Political
Action Committee.
The following PCA member companies received awards:
- Ash Grove Cement Co.
- Buzzi Unicem USA, Inc.
- California Portland Cement Co.
- Capitol Aggregates, Ltd.
- Essroc Cement Corp
- Holcim (US), Inc.
- National Cement Co., Inc.
- St. Lawrence Cement, Inc.
More information and photos at
www.PCAPAC.org
Contact Jessica Hogle
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Ready Mixed Concrete Association
Honors Gleason
The National Ready Mixed Concrete Association
(NRMCA) honored PCA president John P. Gleason, Jr., with an
award for outstanding service to the cement and concrete industry.
Gleason will retire July 1, 2007, after serving 21 years as
president. NRMCA president Robert Garbini presented the award
on his behalf to his son, Sean Gleason, on March 19, 2007, at
NRMCA's annual convention in La Jolla, Calif., also the site
of PCA's Spring Meeting.
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Brown Chair of CAC
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors of the Cement Association
of Canada elected Jim Brown as chair. Brown will serve a two-year
term as CAC chairman. He succeeds Alan Kreisberg (Lafarge) who
stepped down after serving as chair for two years, and who will
remain on the Board as a member representative. Brown is the
current president and COO of Lehigh Northwest Cement Limited,
Delta, British Columbia, a subsidiary of Lehigh Cement Company.
In addition, he has overall responsibility for the Lehigh Pacific
Region on the west coast of North America.
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Jon Bon Jovi, Delta
Air Lines Partner to Build Concrete Homes
Volunteers
from Delta Air Lines are joining rock icon and philanthropist
Jon Bon Jovi, Habitat for Humanity, and members of the Arena
Football League (AFL) team, The Philadelphia Soul, to complete
Habitat for Humanity - New York City’s Halsey Street project
in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Nicknamed "The Coffee Cup Building," this is one of
the first structures in New York City to incorporate energy-efficient
insulated concrete forms. When completed, the development will
create new, affordable homes for nine Brooklyn families. It
is being built in compliance with EnergyStar standards as part
of Habitat-NYC’s Green Building program that creates homes
that minimize waste while maximizing the power of natural resources,
resulting in an environment-friendly home and energy cost savings
for homeowners.
The completion of the Halsey Street Project will bring the number
of Habitat homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant to 41.
In addition to Delta employees, four members of the Philadelphia
Soul, which is co-owned by Bon Jovi, also joined the Habitat
build team.
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Koutsky Joins PCA Market Research
Lynne Koutsky has joined PCA as senior market research analyst
in the market research department. Prior to joining PCA, Koutsky
worked as an analyst for the Chicago Board of Education and
for Accenture. She has a masters degree in public policy from
the University of Chicago and a bachelors degree from Illinois
State University.
Contact
Lynne Koutsky
|
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PCA Sponsors
ACI Field Testing Certification Course
PCA will hold ACI Concrete Field Testing
Technician Grade I Certification examinations on May 11 at
its Skokie, Ill., office.
PCA instructors will administer the written
and performance evaluations for certifying concrete testing
technicians. The program requires a working knowledge of the
following ASTM Standards:
- C 1064 - Temperature of Freshly Mixed Portland-Cement
Concrete
- C 172 - Sampling Freshly Mixed Concrete
- C 143 - Slump of Hydraulic Cement Concrete
- C 138 - Unit Weight, Yield, and Air Content
(Gravimetric) of Concrete
- C 231 - Air Content of Freshly Mixed Concrete
by the Pressure Method
- C 173 - Air Content of Freshly Mixed Concrete
by the Volumetric Method
- C 31 - Making and Curing Concrete Test Specimens
in the Field
Recertification is necessary every five
years, and requires successful completion of both a written
and performance examination.
The program will also be available on September 21.
More
information
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| Results from
Last Week:
Concrete Endures, But Wood Smells Better
What's your favorite construction smell?
- Wood: 9
- Concrete and cement: 4
- Asphalt: 3
- Paint: 3
- Other: 27
Take the
current poll
|
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| For more information
or to register, contact Julie
Lisiecki. |
Cement
and Concrete Overview
April 16-17, 2007
Skokie, Ill. |
Impact
of Cement Characteristics on Concrete Properties
May 15, 2007
Midlothian, Texas
September 19, 2007
Bethlehem, Pa.
|
Raw
Mix Chemistry
May 16, 2007
Midlothian, Texas
|
Pulverized
Fuel Guidelines for the Cement Industry
September 18, 2007
Bethlehem, Pa.
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RCC
for Dams and Dam Rehabilitation
April 25-26, 2007
Atlanta, Georgia
More
Information |
IEEE-IAS/PCA
Cement
Industry Technical Conference
April 29-May 3, 2007.
Charleston, S.C.
More
information
|
12th
International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement
July 8-13, 2007
Montreal, Quebec
More
information
|
Pervious
Concrete—A Stormwater Solution
Detroit—July 10
Lexington, Ky.—July 12
Washington, DC—July 24
Pittsburgh—July 26
Minneapolis—Aug. 7
Milwaukee—Aug 9
More
information
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| The
Executive Report is distributed free of charge to members
of PCA and to individuals interested in PCA activities or
the cement, concrete, and construction industries.
|
View or download
back issues |
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5420 Old Orchard Rd.
Skokie, Illinois 60077
847.966.6200 info@cement.org
500 New Jersey Ave. N.W.
7th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20001
202.408.9494 fax 202.408.0877 |
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©2007 Portland Cement Association
All rights reserved
The Portland Cement Association conducts market development,
research, education, and government affairs work on behalf
of
its members—cement companies in the United States and
Canada.
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