construction news stories on Newser

New Vegas Toy: Sandbox for Adults

John Johnson — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:30:05 CDT

Should you need further proof that Vegas is a playground for adults, consider the city's new toy: a sandbox for grown-ups. The new draw across from the Vegas Strip lets visitor plunk down money (as much as $750) to play with construction equipment such as excavators and bulldozers, reports AP...

US Can't Build Things Anymore

Kevin Spak — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 12:25:00 CDT

It took just 410 days to build the Empire State Building, and a mere two years to build the Pentagon. “These days it takes longer to build an overpass,” observes Jonah Goldberg of the LA Times . “This country can’t build stuff the way it used to.” Just look at the...

No Relief for Homeowners With Rotting Chinese Drywall

Polly Davis Doig — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 08:09:55 CDT

Their homes stink like rotten eggs, appliances constantly malfunction, and anything metal turns black and corrodes, but the headaches (and other illnesses) don't end there for homeowners with Chinese drywall, reports the New York Times. Though thousands of lawsuits have been filed, insurance companies aren't paying, homebuilders largely aren't stepping...

Chinese Drywall Trouble Went Unreported

Nick McMaster — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:54:32 CDT

An East Coast homebuilder knew about problems associated with tainted drywall from China two years before the issue erupted on a national level, reports ProPublica . Instead of alerting authorities, the parties involved—including the construction company, the Chinese manufacturer, and the US distributor—dealt with the problems like foul odors...

17 Most Corrupt Industries

Evann Gastaldo — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:17:02 CDT

Goldman Sachs got you convinced Wall Street is the most corrupt place to work? Not quite: The Daily Beast worked with an anti-corruption research organization to determine the 17 most corrupt industries in America. The top five, along with representative examples: Utilities : FirstEnergy allegedly covered up a reactor head that...

Spider Silk Discovery Opens Way to Super Matter

Rob Quinn — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:10:07 CDT

Spider silk is yielding secrets that could pave the way for incredibly strong building materials, researchers say. MIT scientists found that the silk uses a unique crystal structure that makes it both strong and able to bend without breaking. They believe it is possible to copy that structure to turn...

Q&A About Haiti Quake

Harry Kimball — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 18:51:00 CST

Confused about why the Haitian earthquake didn't also hit the Dominican Republic or cause a tsunami? Slate provides answers: Why so much destruction? Haiti has no national building codes, and though some follow best practices, inspection is almost nonexistent. Why wasn't the DR affected? It was, but most of the...

California OKs Nation's Greenest Building Code

Nick McMaster — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:53:00 CST

A California commission has approved rules designed to make the state's new buildings some of the greenest in the country. The building code, known as Calgreen, requires among other things that builders use high-tech plumbing, recycle half their overall waste, and use low-pollutant paints and floorings. The rules go into...

1 in 5 US Men Unemployed

Kevin Spak — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:17:00 CST

Male unemployment has hit an all-time high, with a whopping 1 of every 5 working-age American men jobless, according to the latest government figures. The economic downturn has been especially brutal on traditionally male-dominated fields like construction and manufacturing, the Huffington Post explains, leading some to label it a “mancession....