PAINTSQUARE BLOG CONTRIBUTORS

Intent vs. Outcome in Project Purchasing
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Purchasing for construction projects isn’t like purchasing in our personal lives. When we buy things in our personal lives, we go to a store or go online, find exactly what we want and buy it. ... READ MORE

Not 'Equal,' Just Equivalent
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Specification marketing is second only to continuing education presentations as the most effective branding and marketing tool for construction product manufacturers. A product representative must be ... READ MORE

Project Compaction: Not Just for Soil
By Letsfixconstruction.com

I sat through a pre-construction meeting via conference call today to go over the ins and outs of our upcoming flooring installation. This project will be a combination of a renovated facility, with a... READ MORE

Caution: Flooring and High Fly Ash In Concrete
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Is there a problem with flooring glued to concrete with a high fly ash content? Fly ash is the finely divided residue that results from the combustion of ground or powdered coal and that is transporte... READ MORE

Misconception Series—Drawings, Specs Are Complementary
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Recently, I was preparing a masonry architectural specification section for a remodel project. The project has an existing CMU wall that is to receive a small area of new CMU infill. It’s an exterior ... READ MORE

Floored: Advance Actions Assure Acceptable Conditions
By Letsfixconstruction.com

The flooring industry is constantly challenged by the same repeating issues: installing too early, wet concrete, non-flat sub-floors, sub-floor surface not prepared, heat not on, windows not in and la... READ MORE

Is All of Construction on a Fast Track?
By Letsfixconstruction.com

While hosting a Let’s Fix Construction workshop at the 2018 AIA Conference in New York City, a theme struck me during a discussion after a team presented its real-world solutions to a question posed t... READ MORE

Why We Shouldn’t Try to Change the Image of Construction
By Letsfixconstruction.com

For as long as I’ve been involved in and around the construction industry, there’s been an underlying consensus that we need to clean up the public's perception of the industry.... READ MORE

Everyone Needs Coaching, Mentoring
By Letsfixconstruction.com

It is a growing trend for busy professionals to spend some time each week with a coach to help them organize themselves, tackle important issues in the appropriate order and generally do their jobs be... READ MORE

Architects Have a Duty of Professional Service
By Letsfixconstruction.com

There is some misunderstanding, both inside the profession and among the population at large, about what architecture is and what architects do. The misunderstanding begins with popular cultural depic... READ MORE

In Favor of Mass Timber Construction Systems
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’re probably aware of the growing interest in and use of mass timber as a construction system in increasingly significant (larger and taller) building... READ MORE

Financial Safety: Insurance, Bonds, Warranties
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Construction insurance, bonds and warranties are among the most confusing and inscrutable matters requiring the everyday attention of everyone involved with design and construction. Consequently, it’s... READ MORE

The Misconception Series — Spray-Applied Fireproofing
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Fireproofing, as covered by this specification section, typically refers to an application of a spray-applied fire-resistive material (SFRM) to steel structural framing or decking, which then greatly ... READ MORE

The Misconception Series: Gypsum Board
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Misconceptions can be found across the spectrum, in every product category and in every MasterFormat number. I thought it would be fun and enlightening to ask my go-to reps in a wide variety of produc... READ MORE

What Does the Future Hold for Specifiers?
By Letsfixconstruction.com

In the last few years, it has been proposed that owners might benefit from hiring specifiers directly; it has even been suggested that specifiers might help owners choose architects. Specific aspects ... READ MORE

Educating the Young Professionals
By Letsfixconstruction.com

I have become more and more aware of an area where our young professionals are being neglected at an extremely critical time. We need to fix this.... READ MORE

Correlation and Intent in Contract Documents
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Although it didn't seem like it at the time, one of the best parts of my CSI chapter's certification classes was reading the A201—not selectively, but the whole thing, beginning to end.... READ MORE

Construction Costs Unknown
By Letsfixconstruction.com

When architects begin with the design concept as the primary driver, or if they have a personal “favorite move,” the client’s budget is already at risk. ... READ MORE

What Don’t You Know?
By Letsfixconstruction.com

In my humble opinion, the best way to fix something is to learn what you don’t know. Often problems are perpetuated simply because we lack a piece... READ MORE

Does Paint Make the Drywall?
By Letsfixconstruction.com

When you think about painting drywall in commercial structures, everyone is a critic when it comes to appearance... READ MORE

Team Spec: Communication is Key
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Are you communicating with your specifier during construction administration? Are you, perhaps, a little afraid to tell your specifier about something that didn’t get built according to the spec?... READ MORE

Steel Back Your Specification
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Many factors must be considered when a design specifies cold-formed steel framing members... READ MORE

Is Construction Broken?
By Letsfixconstruction.com

This project is named “Let’s Fix Construction,” which implies that construction is broken—or at least not operating optimally... READ MORE

Construction Needs a Fix
By Letsfixconstruction.com

Our biggest challenge comes from working in a bubble. It comes from only seeing things from the perspective of our own discipline. It comes from lack of knowledge of how other disciplines work and whe... READ MORE