A three-year-old “whistle-blower” suit unsealed in a federal district court on Feb. 8 claims that a leading manufacturer of polyvinyl chloride pipe widely used for utility collection and transmission lines falsely claimed its products met the performance specifications of industry regulators. It asserts that up to 50% of the pipe produced between 1997 and late 2005 is susceptible to breakage and premature failure at pressure loads below the labeled rating. Photo: Nevada State Public Works Board Nevada water-main job suffered 10 breaks in one year. State officials had sections tested and reported deficiencies in tensile strength. The manufacturer blamed installation

Has construction finally hit rock bottom? New projects are expected to swing up slightly this year, but the economic fog will not fully lift for another year or two, remarked attendees at this year’s World of Concrete. Photo: Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Fast-handed masons competed for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes in front of 4,000 spectators on Feb. 3 at the World of Concrete. > Photo: Tony Illia for ENR Booth spaces shrunk this year, allowing smaller exhibitors to become more visible. Related Links: Stimulus To Lift Cement in 2010 VIDEO: Masonry at Warp Speed Economy Is

Cement consumption will rise by 5.2% this year, aided by federal stimulus spending, according to Portland Cement Association’s chief economist, Ed Sullivan. He gave a 2010-14 forecast on Feb. 2 at the World of Concrete show in Las Vegas. Related Links: Moods and Masons Rise At Annual Concrete Show Last year’s administrative delays releasing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will result in a $22-billion federal spending surge this year, including more money for street and highway construction, which account for 30% of all cement consumption, Sullivan said. But the first half of 2010 will be “slow and tepid,” he

Garrett Hood, a 25-year-old construction worker from Monroe, N.C., just earned $5,000 in cold cash and a new Ford 4x4 truck. Oh yeah, he's also this year's World's Best Bricklayer. Slide Show Photo: Tudor Van Hampton Garrett Hood, 25, breaks new record for trowel time. Related Links: VIDEO: Masonry at Warp Speed "I'm tired, but I'm feeling great," said Hood, holding a shiny trophy in front of his new truck at the annual Spec Mix Bricklayer 500, held Feb. 3 at the World of Concrete in Las Vegas. Hood now becomes a two-time winner of the national masonry challenge and

A new book coming this spring from the U.S. Green Concrete Council, a for-profit unit of American Concrete Institute, calculates the "green-ness" of the world's most consumed building material. Photo: American Concrete Institute Produced at a rate of about 25 billion tons per year and growing, concrete requires a tremendous amount of energy to produce, transport, build and maintain, and it contributes to the world's carbon-dioxide emissions. But it also provides benefits. The book weighs and balances the issues to help designers make more efficient use of the material. "Wise use of this material can make a significant contribution to

In seismic zones, construction of concrete high-rises keeps getting easier, thanks to advances in high-strength reinforcing steel used for confinement of high-strength concrete. The first use of 100-ksi rebar, in a just-opening 31-story tower in Seattle, is getting pretty high marks from the structural engineer and rebar fabricator. And the first use of a more price-competitive 90-ksi rebar in a project in nearby Bellevue, Wash., is getting even higher marks. Slide Show Photo: Cary Kopczynski & Co Avalon Towers benefited from the lower cost of the material, which was produced using standard methods. The advantage of using the material on

A federally funded study has found “a strong association” between imported wallboard made in China and metal corrosion in U.S. homes in which the drywall has been installed, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says. Preliminary studies of corrosion in electrical and fire-safety equipment also support that finding, says CPSC, which commissioned the studies. But no definitive tie has been found yet between the drywall and health problems that home owners have reported, which include asthma attacks, headaches and bloody noses. CPSC, which released the findings on Nov. 23, has received 2,091 reports from 32 states, the District of Columbia and

The perfect storm that sent liquid asphalt prices through the roof in the summer of 2008, creating angst amid road builders and public-sector officials alike, has given way to an outlook for 2010 of stable prices, lower demand levels and less volatility going forward. Since their peak in summer 2008, liquid asphalt prices—the key factor in the cost of asphalt paving mixes—have dropped by nearly half this summer, sources say. The nationwide squeeze on road funding and the general lydown economy will likely keep prices moderate and reduce volatility in asphalt paving mixes through 2010. Source: McGraw-Hill Platts. Liquid Asphalt

China went on a commodity buying binge during the last eight months, snapping up materials that had tumbled from record high levels during the first quarter of 2008 to bargain prices by the beginning of this year. The Chinese purchases were so significant that they were primarily responsible for the recent rebound in global prices for a number of commodities, say industry sources. Photo: iStock Photo China is buying copper ingots and stockpiling it in warehouses and ports. Source: IHS Global Insight Related Links: Competition Intensifies as Recession Deepens Industry Has Little Confidence About Near-Term Market Gains Medical Costs Trump

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce has imposed import duties of up to 31% on steel pipe from China, agreeing with a complaint filed by American producers and steelworkers that the imports were unfairly subsidized by China’s government. The average duties on the pipe, used in oil and gas wells and known in the industry as oil-country tubular products, will be 21.3%, according to Commerce. Roughly $2.8 billion in Chinese steel pipe is imported annually, but industry analysts say that could fall off sharply, or even completely, because of the tariffs. That drop could help complainant U.S. Steel and other domestic