Florida Construction Law

FRSA’s new training center is up and running and open for business. The facility located at 7071 University Blvd, Winter Park, FL 32792 houses the FRSA and Credit Union offices, a conference room for 10-12 people, a classroom training center that can seat up to 100, and a garage and outdoor facility for hands-on training. Rental of the facility includes audio visual equipment (laptop, screens, and projectors), Wi-Fi, storage, receiving and disposal of materials, and seating for indoor or outdoor use. Food and beverage arrangements can be made through FRSA or brought in. From FRSA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

The U.S. construction industry added 12,000 jobs in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary estimate released Nov. 7. September's estimate was revised upward from 16,000 to 19,000 net new jobs. Nonresidential construction slipped in October, losing 1,900 jobs on a monthly basis. From ABC News Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

Florida International University claimed the top spot at the 2014 ABC Construction Management Competition, taking home the first place title Nov. 11 in Miami Beach, Fla. The competition started at the beginning of the school year in September when the students were given a request for proposal based on a real project being completed in Boca Raton, Fla. After months of preparation, the teams presented their bids on the project in front of a panel of judges, testing their skills in project management, estimating, safety, quality control and presentation. From ABC News Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

Passive and active technologies -- including heat exchangers, polyisocyanurate rigid foam insulation and biomass boilers -- are being employed in the Bricker project designed to evaluate the efficacy of energy retrofits compared with building new. The goal is to retrofit three public buildings in Spain, Belgium and Turkey to achieve a 50% reduction in energy usage. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

After a major hailstorm last May, contractors in Billings, Mont., are experiencing a labor shortage as workers leave to join roofing companies. For example, All Star Custom Seamless Rain Gutters had three new employees leave within three months to do roofing work. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606  www.trentcotney.com

3-D printed plastic roofs from waste bottles could replace corrugated iron roofs in developing countries. Another option is modularized roofing materials that piece together akin to Legos. "We're aspiring to have the same aesthetic feel as terracotta tiles but also have good insulation," said Wendy Fok, leader of the project for Harvard spinoff Resilient Modular Systems. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

The U.S. Green Building Council has announced the deadline for LEED projects to register for LEED v4 will be extended from June 2015 to Oct. 31, 2016. USGBC says it is keeping LEED 2009 registration open longer because the market needs additional time to prepare for LEED v4, according to feedback USGBC received during its recent Greenbuild conference.  From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

JetBlue Airways is bringing a patch of the Highline, a popular elevated park in Manhattan, to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Next year, the carrier plans to unveil a rooftop park on top of Terminal 5.   On Wednesday , JetBlue held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its $200 million addition to the terminal. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

Non-farm payrolls were up 214,000 in October,   Friday's   data from the   Bureau of Labor Statistics state. This was slightly below economists' expectations of between 231,000 and 243,000. The construction sector added 12,000 jobs. The unemployment rate decreased from 5.9% to 5.8%. The number of jobs added in August and September was revised upward by 31,000 as well. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

Despite a mild hurricane season last year, the residential roofing industry may see an increase in demand, as more than 60% of homes were built before 1980, David Englander writes. Beacon Roofing Supply is expected to benefit from this increase; meanwhile, nonresidential roofing also has been a source of strength for the company. Beacon's commercial roofing sales, excluding new branches, increased 9.7% over the June quarter, Englander notes.  From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule extending by three years the deadline for crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction final rule, which was published Aug. 9, 2010; the new deadline is Nov. 10, 2017. The rule also extends by three years the employer's responsibility to ensure crane operators are competent to operate a crane safely. The final rule takes effect Nov. 9.  From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

Through the use of 88 rooftop solar panels, an office building in Florida cut its energy costs from about $3,000 per month to $600. Installing the panels at First Housing took about one month. "To retrofit a building never designed or intended, it makes it a little more challenging," noted Brett Emes, president of Solar Energy Management. From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

The University of Tulsa has just donated premium ceramic roof tiles to Grace Lutheran Church in Tulsa, Okla. The idea came about when A-Best Roofing owner Jim Lane inquired about the tiles on the church's behalf while working on the university's roofs. A-Best Roofing will install the church's new roof at a reduced cost.  From NRCA Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com

For the first time ever, more than half of construction projects exceeding $10 million are being completed through design-build delivery, according to research conducted by RSMeans on behalf of the Design-Build Institute of America. Prior to the economic downturn, design-build spiked from 29 percent of the nonresidential market in 2005 to 36 percent in 2008. For the last three years, it has held steady at around 40 percent.  From ABC Trenton H. Cotney Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer Trent Cotney, P.A. 407 N. Howard Avenue Suite 100 Tampa, FL 33606 www.trentcotney.com