Maintenance bonds guarantee against workmanship and defective materials  for a stated time period following a project’s completion. If the project is found to be defective during this time, the bond amount can be used to pay for repairs that need to be made as a result.

After a year of major renovations, the historic Byers Junior High School in Denver re-opened in late August. It is the most recent campus to be added to Denver School of Science and Technology.

The 110,000-square-foot building sat vacant for a decade after Denver Public Schools closed the facility. Arvada’s Swinerton Builders won a hard bid contract in June 2013 to renovate the 1921 building in time for the 2014 academic year.

Under the federal Miller Act requires that performance bonds be used on all federally funded projects worth $100,000 or more. Performance bonds guarantee that contractors complete projects according to contractual terms. If a contractor fails to do so, the project developer can make a claim on the bond to access funds that can be used to pay a second contractor to finish the job.

The new 60,000-sq-ft facility is located at 1380 S. Distribution Dr. in Salt Lake City.  Honnen Equipment, the John Deere construction equipment dealer in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and southern Idaho, celebrated the grand opening of its new 60,000-square-foot Salt Lake City facility with building tours through the parts warehouse, shop and rebuild area as well as an equipment rodeo contest, vendor display area and product demonstrations.

In case lead contractors go bankrupt when working on a project, payment bonds guarantee proper payment for services.  The bond amount can be used to reimburse suppliers, subcontractors and others who worked on a project if the lead contractor is unable to pay them for their work. The federal Miller Act requires that payment bonds be used on all federally funded projects worth $100,000 or more. In fact, these bonds are frequently issued in conjunction with performance bonds.

It’s nothing short of building a city within a city…overnight. That’s the fundamental premise behind a new modular post-disaster housing unit designed by Brooklyn-based Garrison Architects, which was introduced by New York City officials early this summer. The premise is simple but ambitious: the housing will allow city residents to live in their own neighborhoods for months or years after a major disaster while their homes undergo repairs. The full-scale and operational prefabricated prototype—currently displayed in downtown Brooklyn’s Cadman Plaza—is part of a lengthy quest to change how cities respond to disasters in the 21st century.

Bid bonds make sure that contractors submit serious bid proposals and helps to reassure the project developers that bidders have the financial credentials necessary to accept the job. If a bid is selected and the contractor declines the job or retracts the bid, the project developer can make a claim on the bond to recoup the difference between that bid and the next-highest bid.

Three Stapleton residents are poised to give new life to a 70-year-old building that sits on the border between Denver’s Stapleton neighborhood and Aurora. Plans call for a mixed-use redevelopment of the site into a destination marketplace that will house restaurants and retailers.

China-based Yuhuang Chemical Inc. announced a $1.85 billion capital investment in a world-scale methanol manufacturing plant in Vacherie, La. – one of the largest construction projects in Louisiana in the next five years.

But the 18% drop in employment in Cheyenne was among the largest percentage declines in the past year. Construction employment expanded in 215 metro areas, declined in 80 and was stagnant in 44 between June 2013 and June 2014, according to a new analysis of federal employment data recently released by the Associated General Contractors of America.

The Tohono O’odham Gaming Enterprise announced Tuesday that it has selected a construction team for the long-embattled, $400 million, 1.2 million-sq-ft West Valley Resort and Casino which prompted U.S. Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake to introduce a companion bill to an earlier House-passed measure that would prohibit the construction of any new Indian gaming operation on unincorporated land in the metro Phoenix area that is not contiguous to an existing Indian reservation.

Architects often use their own homes as laboratories of expression and functionality. With the 4,500-square-foot infill residence Yudell and MRY architectural colorist Tina Beebe recently completed in Santa Monica, the husband and wife created an exemplar to break through client misconception.

While the new house sports carefully integrated equipment—namely rooftop evacuated solar tubes furnishing all domestic hot water, as well as photovoltaics that produce more electricity than consumed—its creators are decidedly “not techies,” Yudell notes. In turn, Beebe and Yudell had decided to experiment at the outer edges of passive sustainability. As Yudell explains, “We would push the relationship between architecture and natural forces, taking shaping, shading, and air movement farther than we had before.”

There are many custom benefits you can add as an option to a Business Owner Policy (BOP) One such option is:

Employee Dishonesty Coverage: It would be nice if you never had to worry about employee dishonesty but as a business owner it is part of the job. As your business grows and you add employees, there may come a time when one of the employees steals from your company. Whether they take tools or cash, or they arrange shady kickback deals with friends, your company suffers from the financial losses.  Employee dishonesty coverage helps you to recover from that type of loss.

Union Station has been renovated to include a new boutique hotel, travelers’ services and multiple restaurants and shops.  The interior of Denver’s renovated Union Station officially reopened to the public on July 26. The historic train station was closed for extensive renovations on December 2, 2012. The $54-million project was focused on preserving significant features of the 1914 Beaux-Arts building.

According to the team’s July 30 announcement, Fuqua Development, Pope and Land Enterprises and Pollack Shores Real Estate Group will work with the Braves to develop the 74-acre project.

When shopping for exterior lighting for the holiday season, there is a variety of lights to choose from. First and foremost, always use waterproof or water-resistant lights with a tag marked underwriters lab (UL). This means the lights meet national industry standards with the American National Standards Institute. Also, when you are buying holiday lights to use outside, make sure they are rated for outdoor use (just like your extension cords). Never use indoor lights outdoors.

There are many custom benefits you can add as an option to a Business Owner Policy (BOP) One such option is:

Electronic Data:  In today’s day and age many companies keep important business information in electronic form. If your company’s data is damaged or destroyed, a BOP can help cover the expenses involved with replacing those files and specialized software applications that are critical to your business operation.

Some bidders say they were not properly evaluated in L.A. Metro’s best-value contract for the $1.6-billion Westside Purple Line extension project.

Make sure to use a good ladder when installing your lights. Secure them with insulated holders. Do not install your lights on trees that come in contact with power lines. Before installing your Christmas lights, plug them in to make sure all of your bulbs are working. Make sure to turn your lights off when you leave or go to bed at night.

There are many custom benefits you can add as an option to a Business Owner Policy (BOP) One such option is:

Products and Completed Operations (Included in General Liability): BOP will take care of the damages,  If you sell products or complete projects that later cause harm to your customer in some way.

New criminal charges filed against a California utility over the 2010 San Bruno pipeline fire could add $1.5 billion in fines.  PG&E could be facing new penalties of more than $1 billion when it appears in a U.S. federal court in San Francisco on Aug. 18 to address charges under a July 29 indictment that more than doubles the number of its alleged violations of the federal Pipeline Safety Act linked to a fatal 2010 gas pipeline blast in San Bruno, Calif.

When hanging tree lights on a fresh tree, you should plan on using three 100-light sets for every foot of your tree’s height. Here are some simple tips on how to hang tree lights.

Step 1: You want to mentally divide the tree into three triangular sections, from top to bottom, around the tree’s cone.

Step 2: Plug in the first string of lights and nestle the last bulb on the string at the top of the tree next to the trunk. Weave the tree lights back and forth across the triangle, being careful not to cross the cord over itself. When you reach the end of the first string, plug in the next set and continue weaving the lights back and forth until you reach the bottom, connecting no more than 300 lights end to end. Repeat this procedure for the remaining triangles.

Step 3: Step back from the tree and look at it with your eyes crossed, or squint until the tree is blurry. Wherever you see dark holes on the tree, rearrange the lights as necessary to fill in.

Step 4: In order to remove the lights without tangling them, work in reverse.

Although a general contractor can still be found liable for a prevailing wage violation, general contractors will not be separately liable for penalty assessments if it acts in accordance with the following:

1)       The subcontract includes a copy of the provisions of Labor Code sections 1775, 1771, 1776, 1777.5, 1813, and 1815.

2)       The general contractor closely oversees payment of the specified prevailing rate of per diem wages by the subcontractor to its employees, by monitoring of the subcontractors actual payroll records.

3)       Upon becoming aware of any violation, the general contractor should immediately take corrective action to comply with the specific prevailing wage at issue, including retaining from the subcontractor the appropriate amount due for underpaid workers performing work on the project.

4)       Prior to releasing final payment or retention to the subcontractor , the general contractor must secure an affidavit signed under penalty of perjury from the subcontractor stating that the subcontractor has paid the specified general prevailing rate of per diem wages to its employees on the project and any amounts due for overtime pursuant to Labor Code Section 1813.

There are many custom benefits you can add as an option to a Business Owner Policy (BOP) One such option is:

Business Income and Extra Expense:  Business Owner Policy can cover the expenses involved with renting temporary space or provide for losses in income due to the closure, when your primary workspace must remain closed for repairs.

General contractors must take appropriate measures to reduce risk associated with longer enforcement window for prevailing wage violations.  California Governor Jerry Brown signed several bills amending prevailing wage statutes. Chief among these laws was Assembly Bill 1336, which extends the period for the California Labor Commissioner and joint labor management committees to enforce the prevailing wage statutes from 180 days to 18 months from completion or acceptance of a public work by an awarding body.