{Re}habitat

The chief zoning official for the City of Columbus, Ohio, says that many homeowners and business managers who don't routinely renovate or build often don't find out about laws that effect them until they have already spent thousands—or even tens of thousands—of dollars on their projects. That's why, he says, despite the size of your renovation or construction project, your first step should be researching the zoning and building rules governing your particular land plot. Local zoning laws state how plots of land within your municipality, neighborhood, and street may be used and developed and the types of improvements that may be made.

Grading activities take place after clearing the project site of demolition debris, vegetation, and top soil. Grading refers to the adjustment of site slopes to the extent required to facilitate new construction and site function, including proper storm water run-off gradients and features. Having both an existing site survey (including a soil investigation) and a new construction site plan are critical to understanding the starting topography and desired end state throughout the project area. Also important is an evaluation of the existing site soils to match new construction purposes such as foundation work, or even to facilitate temporary construction needs such as equipment movement and soil sediment control.

Unlike many other industries, the construction industry is, by nature, required to be highly mobile and portable. In major commercial construction projects, hundreds or thousands of workers converge on a specific geographic location for a period of time lasting from a few months to a few years. Then, everything is packed up and relocated to a completely different location. Due to the dynamic nature of industry relationships and projects, many of the workers will actually be spreading their time across multiple job sites at any one time.

Interested in lowering water resource costs, wastewater costs, and being able to use water during periods of restricted use? If so, consider installing a greywater system. Greywater systems are plumbing systems that recycle wastewater collected from washing fixtures such as showers, tubs, and sinks. The wastewater is filtered so that it is able to be used in non-potable (i.e., do not drink it!) applications such as irrigation and flushing a toilet.

Bentonite is a type of clay having the unusual characteristics of cohesion, binding, sealing, and thickening. It is usually gray in color and when processed has the consistency of fine powder, similar to cement or flour. When bentonite is installed below grade as a waterproofing membrane, it becomes hydrated with the moisture that is naturally present in the soil and forms an impermeable barrier that absorbs and expels water and most chemicals, such as acids and salts (sodium bentonite). Bentonite can expand and contract an infinite number of times and is capable of absorbing seven to 10 times its own weight in water, swelling up to 18 times its dry volume. However, for bentonite to function properly as a waterproofing barrier, it is extremely important that this barrier remain under a constant minimum pressure of 30 to 60 pounds per square foot (PSF).

AEC professionals have a new technology platform to support the old-fashioned notion of planning ahead. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is bringing a sea change to the industry's workflow by facilitating a previously impossible degree of planning, coordination, and communication.

What is "cloud computing" or "software as a service", and what do these terms mean for the AEC industry? While many people have heard of the term "cloud computing", or can conceptualize how working online can be considered working in "the cloud", many in the design and construction industry are still unclear about what this means for the future of our work.

Theodore (Ted) E. Scott is the Managing Member of Stormwater Maintenance, LLC, in Hunt Valley, Maryland. He has provided our audience some insights into the inspection, maintenance, and repair of storm water systems. There are three categories of these systems that we’ll investigate: surface basins, underground structures and drainage systems.