A must on everyone's list of places to experience in the nation's capital, the blade-sharp triangular structure of the East Building of the National Gallery of Art has become world famous since its dedication in the spring of 1978. Read more
Many commercial and industrial contractors are using a computer for estimating. There is hardly an application more ideally suited to use of a computer than construction estimating. Read more
First-of-a-kind design gives a distinctive appearance to the Eisenhower Avenue Station on Washington DC's Metropolitan Area Rapid Transit System. It is the only side-platform aerial station in the system, with two 600x13-foot platforms flanking the elevated tracks. Read more
Nearly 80 years have elapsed since construction began at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, DC. Yet the structural and ornamental exposed aggregate concrete has weathered the decades better than its immediate neighborhood and is in remarkably good condition today. Read more
Completed in 1932, the Mount Vernon Parkway between Mount Vernon and the Arlington Memorial Bridge was built to commemorate the 200th birthday of George Washington. Read more
Deck repairs on the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge south of Washington, DC were made during the night, with at least two lanes of traffic kept open at all times. But the most remarkable feature of the repair project was that it was completed more than seven months ahead of schedule at a cost nearly 30 percent below the engineer's estimate. Read more
Bars must be placed carefully and accurately to conform to the requirements of placing drawings, schedules, typical details, and notes. Placing drawings should clearly identify such items as top and bottom bars, bars hooked around other bars, and on which side or face of the member the bar is to be located. Read more
A new test for water permeability of concrete has been developed. To make a concrete specimen for test, the open end of a rubber-encased foam cylinder is adhered to the center of the inside bottom of a standard 6x12-inch cylinder mold. Read more
The Kansas Department of Transportation (KsDOT) has developed an inexpensive and effective technique for repairing overstressed concrete girder bridges having shear cracks in the girders. Read more
Theft and vandalism are two problems that plague virtually every construction project. Higher insurance rates for the general contractor and schedule delays for the owners and developers are only two results of these problems. Read more
I'm continually frustrated by references in specifications to ASTM numbers without any clues to what they're about. We don't think we can afford to keep all the ASTM Books of Standards on hand. Is there any place where all the titles, at least, are listed Read more
We have been hired to place a 4-inch-thick concrete slab over an existing one. We plan to break up the old slab with an iron ball. However, one area of the old slab has heaved during the winter, probably because water has gotten underneath the slab and fr Read more
Our pipe company has been asked to produce pipe to resist an acid solution with a pH of about 5.2. How can we calculate what the life expectancy of the pipe should be? What admixture, if any, would make the concrete resistant enough to prolong its life? W Read more
What's this we hear about calcium magnesium acetate as a deicer that doesn't corrode steel? Is somebody making it, and if so where do we get it? Read more
Have there been any anticorrosion applications of epoxy-coated rebars other than for bridge decks and parking garage floors? Read more
I try to do things right, and I've never had a dusting floor before, but now I do. What caused it? Read more