Even though drywall installation is a straightforward job and in many cases homeowners may consider it their next DIY project, it still takes skills and experience to do it right. The scale and importance of your drywalling project is a factor you should take into account. It can be a labor intensive work and at times too technical. If you have already ruled out doing it yourself, you don?t want to end up hiring an inexperienced contractor without the required skills. The moment you choose to hire, you must consider going for a professional drywall contractor with a proven record of experience.

Check out completed projects

It?s not hard to tell a perfectly done drywall project. All the walls should be smooth such that you can?t tell where the joints of the different drywall sheets are located. If you see several projects the contractor has completed in the past with such high quality finishing, it should indicate that the drywalls were properly installed. The cutting, shaping, hanging, fastening, sealing, taping and joint compound coating of the drywall must have been all done right. That makes great results evident once finishing with priming and painting is done.

Request for credentials

A professional contractor with great reputation never fails to provide any information you request to prove how genuine their service is. It is important to work with a contractor that is properly certified, licensed and insured. They must be willing to provide every proof for all these credentials, so don?t just take their word for it.

Ask them more questions

It?s important to find out the contractor?s years of experience, if they have a crew, how they get the job done exactly, whether they will obtain permits, what the inclusions are, detailed estimates, project start and end dates, written contract agreement, etc. A professional service provider will not evade any of your questions, so if they hesitate to provide answers that should raise a red flag.

Ask for references

The willingness of the contractor to let you know what their clients say about them tells you they stand by the quality of their work. If they are great they must already be having happy customers and will gladly prove it to you.

What is it about Boston that makes it such a construction-friendly town? Well, in the first place, the construction market in Boston has developed a new norm. This new normal is especially important when measuring the city's growth and opportunity. Some of the brighter spots for construction, with some of the biggest growth opportunities exist in downtown Boston and Cambridge. However, the further you get from downtown Boston, the less new construction exists.

Private Sectors Pushing Construction

Construction growth opportunities basically stem from projects in the private sectors of Boston. Some of these private sector jobs in construction include healthcare sector, industries in life science, private user developers and residential and school projects that are high density. Comparative to what was seen with the construction boom in the pre-recession days, there has still been steady growth from 2009-2011, with investments continuing in both the education and healthcare sectors.

General Contractors Also Coming Back

Construction and general contract work have made comebacks. That is because many have made it through the hard economic times and are in better shape than they have ever been before. The contractors that fell by the wayside before have essentially helped create a healthy market for those construction survivors.

Yes, it's true. After that hard year of 2008 and the financial struggles of many general contractors. Many Bostonians are surprised at the roaring comeback for residential construction. Boston is incredibly hot for construction, with a rebound that has can best be called a mixed bag.

Not Such A Surprise for Some

For Boston, what it really depends on is the type of construction that is going on. Even though there seems to be an increased payroll for construction workers as well as sales, some have deemed the construction rebound as modest at best. For example, the apartment sector has been doing very well for the last couple of years and continues to operate strong.

Another hot area for construction in Boston is colleges and universities. Expecting to see growth in such areas as biotech, hospitals or pharmaceuticals, the construction business is consistently strengthening. The construction insurance market continues to remain stable.

For Boston's property side, there could be a lot of potential but it also depends on the risk. It boils down to those construction companies that have stayed well managed and good safety policies and loss history still have the range of options when it comes to the insurance. Those general contractors that did survive the recession are much wiser today than they were five years ago.

In Closing

So if you are a contractor in the Boston area you should have already seen an increase in business, if you plan on moving your business or looking for business in the Boston area, check it out, you might like what you see.

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Photo credit: l . e . o / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Photo credit: danxoneil / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Whether you're planning your next construction project or are right in the middle of preparation, one of the most important factors that you always have to consider involves the specific type of drywall that you're going to be using. Due to the fact that drywall is commonly used to make interior walls, ceilings and other properties in a building, it is actually one of the most common types of material in the entire structure. Drywall in general has a wide variety of different benefits that can't be ignored - chief among them is their success at acting as a passive fire protection item to keep everyone in a building safe. One of the unfortunate downsides is that due to the thin nature of the material, it often gave way to noise pollution - especially in buildings where units are designed closely together.

That is, until now. QuietRock Drywall is a high quality product that has been designed to both offer the same benefits that contractors have come to depend on, as well as fix a number of the issues and complaints that people have had over the years.

One of the major benefits of QuietRock Drywall is that it is the first drywall in history that has been designed specifically for noise control in buildings. As a result, it holds benefits across a wide variety of different types of projects - regardless of the intended use of the finished building. If your next construction project is for an apartment complex, for example, QuietRock Drywall can be used to create a much quieter and intimate environment in each unit.

The owner of the building can then use the fact that the walls have been made with such a material as a marketing tool. Single individuals who move in next to a family of four don't want to have to worry about whether they'll hear kids crying at all hours of the night. The reverse is also true - families who would normally be upset to learn that a group of college students have moved in across the hall won't have to worry about loud parties disrupting their important sleep or even daytime activities. By using QuietRock Drywall, everybody wins - from the contractor to the building owner to residents and more.

The same is also true of buildings in other types of industries. If your next construction project is for an office building in and around the Boston, Massachusetts area, for example, you'll want to create the quietest environment possible for each unit so that one business does not disrupt any others in the same area. Office buildings tend to be confined spaces, but the types of businesses may vary wildly from one unit to the next. A certified public accountant could operate right next to a day care facility, for example. With QuietRock Drywall, those businesses won't have to worry about noise pollution from other areas of the building interrupting the important activities that they have going on daily.

To get an example of just how successful QuietRock Drywall is at keeping out sound (and how important sound treatment is in general), consider the Lollipop Lounge. Located on the Upper East Side in New York City, New York, it is a high energy Tapas Bar and Lounge that is incredibly successful. Because of the area where the Lollipop Lounge is located, however, sound pollution is a very real concern. Not only could the lounge potentially be sued by area residents in close proximity if things get too loud, the business could also be shut down completely.

After contractors used QuietRock Drywall during the construction of the Lollipop Lounge, the issue evaporated practically overnight. The owner of the establishment has reported no complaints about noise from area residents, despite the fact that he has a $100,000 sound system installed on the premises.

For maximum success regarding noise prevention and control, it is recommended that QuietRock Drywall be used with the associated acoustical sealants that are also on sale. These sealants will prevent noise leaks in the most efficient way possible, making sure that the occupants of the building in question don't have to worry about a thing when it comes to noise. Also available are various glues and coatings like QuietGlue Pro that will easily adapt to any type of condition or requirement that your specific construction project may involve. These types of solutions make QuietRock Drywall ideal for every situation.

When you begin researching building materials for your next construction project in the Boston, Massachusetts area, it will quickly become clear that QuietRock Drywall is the right choice for you. As the first drywall in the history of the business that has been specifically designed for noise control in buildings, it is an ideal solution for everything from nightclubs to apartment complexes and everything in between.

Not only that, but you still get all of the same great benefits that you have come to expect and depend on from commercial drywall materials. To find out more information about what QuietRock Drywall can do for your next project, don't hesitate to contact us today.

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When you're working on a serious project, sometimes you need a building wrap that delivers more. With the pounding that a commercial job site provides, you need something tougher that will still be there at the end of the project. Though there are many building wraps available for this type of job, DuPont's Tyvek CommercialWrap has some great benefits that puts it above the competition. Here's why we recommend it:

Superior Performance On The Job Site

Though we expect Tyvek to be tough, CommercialWrap is even tougher. It has an even higher tear strength than regular Tyvek, as it's constructed using spun-bonded polyethylene atá7.1 mils. This makes it more resistant to those accidents that would otherwise have you repairing your building wrap. Additional UV protection is built in to the fabric, providing up to nine months of UV exposure before degrading.

You can also use CommercialWrap to build an extremely efficient envelope system for your building evenáin a variety of wall systems, including stucco, stone, metal panels, brick, granite, marble and synthetic stucco. The building wrapáis designed to integrate seamlessly into your project's design, leaving only a beautiful appearance and significantly lower energy bills behind.

Superior Air And Vapor Barrier

CommercialWrap provides significant benefits in creating a superiorábuilding envelope system. These benefits include significantly lower energy bills, a more comfortable work environment and better indoor air quality. The needs that CommercialWrap meets include:

• Air barrier. CommercialWrap prevents significant airáleakage, leading to more efficient building operations.áBy helping reduce movement into and out of the building envelope, HVAC systems operate much more efficiently, reducing energy costs.áCommercialWrap helps prevent air movement withináthe wall system, protecting insulation from drafts and letting it perform to its rated R-value. This combination reduces the energy requirements thatácost commercial buildings across the industryábillions of dollars everyáyear.

• Vapor permeable barrier. In addition to keeping air out, CommercialWrap allows water vapor to escape when excess moisture gets in, such as during a fire or flood. This property allows theáwall system to dry, prevent moldáwhileáprotecting and improving building air quality.á

• Water barrier. By preventing wateráinfiltration, CommercialWrap providesásuperioráwater exclusion, keeping insulation dry and and able to perform atáits ratedáR-value, while preventing costly wood and metal damageáas well asámold and mildew.

Because of this balance of properties, CommercialWrap improves building performance in a diverse range of climates and temperatures through all four seasons.

Superior Green Construction And Energy Savings

Did you know 30-50% of the energyáused in aácommercial building is wasted because of air movement, mostlyáthrough the building envelope?áBy providing a superior seal for commercial buildings,ágood-quality building wrapálowers that figure by up to 85%, according to a 2005 National Institute of Standard and Technology report.áThis drasticallyáreducesáthe energy required toáheatáand cool the structure by up to 40% forágas heat and up to 25% for electric climate control systems.

As businesses are turning to green building practices, energy codesáare changing, recognizingáhow important it is to have aáproperly sealed building envelope. As more focus is put on the impact of energy efficiency and environmental conservation, CommercialWrap helps meet those tight energy codes today and into a more sustainable future. CommercialWrap has been used in a number of U.S. Green Building Council LEED-certified structures and helps provide points towards these environmentally friendly buildings.

Superior Support From A Brand You Trust

If you have questions or need to know what other contractors have done in a sticky situation, CommercialWrap use includes access toáThe DuPont?áTyvek«áSpecialist Network to provide expertáonsite adviceáfrom start to finish.áCommercialWrap also carriesáa 10-year limited warranty from DuPont.

Now that you've had an opportunity to learn more about Tyvek's CommercialWrap, why not take the next step? Contact us for a quote or to schedule a delivery from one of our convenient 4-state locations.

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Unprotected woods in direct contact with soil will rot over time and attract pests like termites. Assuming you don?t want that behavior, here are several ways to protect yourself or at least the structure.

Pressure Treated Woods

The most common material one typically considers here is pressure treated woods. Preservatives are forced into the wood to create a chemical barrier from the soil, thus protecting the underlying wood. The actual preservatives used and their retention (lbs/cu ft) help determine effectiveness and where one can use the wood. The more preservatives retained in the wood, the longer term it could be used with direct contact to the soil. Think top decking wood vs. fence posts vs. foundation wood here for instance. While you don?t want to replace the top decking wood, you don?t need the same retention levels as a fence post which will be buried in the soil. And, foundation wood you never want to replace, if you can avoid it.

If you go the pressure treated wood route, which chemicals to use for the treatment can produce varying levels of success. As previously mentioned theretention of the chemicals determine their effectiveness. But what about the actual chemicals? For about ten years now Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated wood has been banned from residential use. For the longest time, it was the go-to chemical. If you?re dealing with older construction though, you may still run across it. The A there is for the arsenic in the treatment. Since that is a carcinogen, it is to be avoided. Sealing CCA-treated wood annually will keep the danger at bay but for new construction you?ll want to use a different treatment. Some options to consider today are Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ), Copper Boron Azole (CBA), Cyproconazole, and Propiconazole, where the latter two are only for above ground applications.

Plastics and Composite Materials

Termites like wood not plastic. Polyethylene (HDPE or LDPE) plastic or PVC (polyvinyl chloride) survive well on the plastics side where material needs to come in contact with soil. On the composite materials side, you?ll find recycled and reclaimed materials like wood fiber (aka sawdust), rice hulls, and reclaimed plastics (like old grocery bags). Rubber timber, or old tires and plastic, can be considered here, too. Materials of this nature will survive like 10-50 years and are 100% insect resistant without the need for resealing every year. A common way to better preserve wood is to wrap it with plastic, where the wood might be in a cement footing and have a plastic coating wrapped around it. The only thing left touching the soil in the end is the plastic. Check with local building codes for what can be used structurally though. Typically, wood is a required element.

Naturally Durable Woods

You?ll find some wood species are naturally resistant to termites, or at least their heartwood is. The outer sapwood layers help conduct water to keep the tree alive but the inner heartwood of the tree can be used successfully where termite resistance is desired. In fact, some heartwoods are not just resistant to termites, but downright toxic. Consider construction-grade Alaska cedar, redwoods, or Tallowood, where the latter is a common Australian construction wood. Exotic hardwoods like Mahogany also work but are cost prohibitive and low in supply.

Metal Framing

Like plastics and composites, if you avoid the wood, you avoid the termites. Steel-framed structures are considered by many as an alternative to wood-framed homes. Steel however is only termite resistant, not termite proof. The feces from termites can corrode the steel. If they happen to get to the gypsum and eat the paper backing, what they leave behind could cause considerable damage. Also, while they might not eat the metal frame, you still have to worry about window and door frames. Use with care and make sure to spray the slab and protect any other areas that a termite could penetrate.

For structural needs, wood-soil contact is hard to avoid. Use an appropriately treated wood material with the retention level needed to best protect yourself from termite damage. If all else fails, you can avoid all risks of destruction by moving into a cave.

Unprotected woods in direct contact with soil will rot over time and attract pests like termites. Assuming you don?t want that behavior, here are several ways to protect yourself or at least the structure.

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1. Photo credit: cbb4104 / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

2. Photo credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service - Recovery Act Team / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)