Tag: Featured

How to Choose Quality Construction Materials

Choose quality materials that will remain reliable for a lifetime.

When designing a commercial construction project, the quality of materials can affect everything from cost to life span. The building owner will also expect the construction to use materials that he specifies, and will not look favorably upon overages and delays. How a project manager balances this key aspect of construction will determine the outcome of the project. Here are some tips for choosing quality materials.

Find Multiple Suppliers

The first hurdle to overcome is your supplier. Different suppliers will offer competitive pricing on whatever their specialty may be. They have suppliers of their own that they order from, and these suppliers offer different prices and projections for delivery. That’s why it’s crucial to talk with suppliers early and give them a time frame for your project. You not only need a competitive price, you need the timing to be right as well.

Invoice Everything

Create a paper trail for every aspect of the project. One of the first things a construction claims consultant reviews during a dispute is paperwork verifying all of the orders, and that they were delivered on time as specified.

Verify Materials

Upon arrival, verify that everything you ordered arrives to you as specified. If you’re in doubt about something serious, hire an expert. A steel fabrication expert can be called in to verify the integrity of steel, to be sure that your materials will last the specified time. It’s better to pay for that reassurance now than the legal repercussions of failed steel down the road.

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: Lyle Charles is a steel fabrication expert witness for construction litigation. Contact Lyle Charles Consulting if you require construction mediation, or assistance settling a construction dispute.

Article Written by : Home Interior Advices

The Many Uses of Flexible Polyurethane Foam

Written by: Foam Factory, Inc.

Global consumption of polyurethane is overwhelmingly related to foam products. Polyurethane is flexible, but can also be made rigid as well. This flexibility allows a wide range of foam products, which also helps to drive down the costs of manufacturing in some sectors. Foam lining provides insulation in refrigerators, or as part of thermal insulation for construction projects. Foam is even cut and shaped for a variety of applications. Read on for some of the popular uses engineers have found for foam products.

Foam for Bedding

Custom cushions are useful for those who want to refurbish outdoor furniture. The trend is to buy attractive pieces from garage sales that need some work. Typically, new owners will sand and repaint something. Then they cut foam cushions to fit the size. This approach is also good for refinishing boating cushions, or for adding some extra padding to beds and pillows.

Print Industry

The printing industry uses rollers to feed paper through presses. Foam is used to make elastomers, which have a texture not unlike rubber. These rollers help the presses function efficiently and produce several projects in a matter of minutes.

Soundproofing Materials

The density of foam panels makes for excellent soundproofing. Foam with a higher density can absorb bass, and other sound, so it makes for excellent insulation in clubs and sound booths as well. Recording artists require sound deadening foam to reduce the echo in a room for music production, and home theater enthusiasts appreciate the better sound quality foam brings to the room. Acoustic foam panels also help reduce the noise output for neighbors, so enthusiasts enjoy louder sound without disrupting the neighborhood.

Foam is also hardened, like plastic, and used as bezels for electronic instruments.

Straps and Bands

Foam itself is not used, rather a compound similar to elastomers is produced. It comes out like a rubber band, flexible and stretchable.  It’s also highly resilient and able to stretch and bend to immense pressure.

Other Uses

Flexible polyurethane foam is useful in sculptures as well. Modern day plaster pieces that are mass produced often have a foam structure below the plaster. The seats of cars often have a flexible piece of foam just below the cloth or leather covering, and polyurethane chemicals are often used to help shape car seats. The biggest advantage to using polyurethane, besides its cheap cost, is the ability to do so much with so little. This product is one of the most versatile materials used in modern manufacturing.