Reclaimed lumber is perfect for all sorts of wood projects, including a fancy new dining table. The key is to use the right type of reclaimed lumber for different parts of the table, based on aspects such as appearance, durability, and strength. To help you get the best results on building your new table, The Lumber Baron has put together some tips and pointers on using reclaimed lumber. Different Wood for Different Applications Choosing the right reclaimed lumber is important. Dining tables need to be strong enough to support quite a bit of weight without bending or warping over time, the legs need to be strong and straight, and you want a great looking tabletop. With this information, you can narrow your lumber selection to old-growth lumber that is well-cured and offers characteristics only found in reclaimed material. Heart Wood for Strength Knots in a table leg reduce the strength. Pick reclaimed lumber which comes from the heart of old-growth and is free of the knots associated with branch growth in the outer layers of the tree. To make it easier for you, The Lumber Baron has an on-site mill capable of cutting custom lengths and thicknesses out of the reclaimed lumber you select. Reclaimed Lumber as a Tabletop Your tabletop is going to receive a lot of attention over the years. Choosing reclaimed lumber with distinctive coloration, wood grain, and durability will provide you with a unique look that will stand up to the test of frequent use. The top can be a different type of wood than used for the legs, chosen more for aesthetic appearance. Even a few small, tight knots are permissible since the top needs to be sealed. Why Your Tabletop Should Be Sealed There will be spills, things are going to get dropped, and objects may be dragged over the surface. To protect your table, a polyurethane sealant is the best solution. Choose a clear or lightly tinted stain which accentuates the natural coloration of your reclaimed lumber. A few coats of hard sealant add depth and luster to the wood beneath. The Lumber Baron offers several types of reclaimed lumber which can be used for a dining table project. Since you are going to be sealing the finished product, mix and match your lumber choices for best application, and use the polyurethane to maintain color balance across all parts of the project. Stop in talk with us about your project, and The Lumber Baron will help you choose from our hand-selected assortment of reclaimed lumbers
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General contractors are responsible for job site safety and held to high standards by the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations, or OSHA. Penalties for failure to meet safety standards can include fines or in some instances jail time, beyond the much larger cost of having valued and skilled workers who suffer injuries or even death. With these high stakes, experienced general contractors take job site safety seriously, and ensure the safety of themselves, their employees, subcontractors, and others in multiple ways. Common Hazards and Solutions According to OSHA, the six biggest potentials for hazard on a construction site are falls from heights, trench collapse, scaffold collapse, electric shock, improper or non-use of proper personal protective equipment, and repetitive motion injuries. In order to mitigate these risks, general contractors and their employees can utilize safety checklists and simple rules in their construction processes. For example, when it comes to scaffold collapse, which leads to fall hazards as well as materials lofted above the ground coming crashing to the floor of the site and injuring anyone in its vicinity, starting with a structurally sound scaffold can avoid this outcome. This means the scaffold should be able to support its weight and four times the weight of the load it is intended to carry, and be erected on solid footing, avoiding any unstable objects, such as concrete blocks or loose bricks, in its construction. The Use of Personal Protection Equipment Failure to use proper personal protection equipment is another hazard that contractors can address on their job sites, and here, a safety checklist can be a helpful tool. It is recommended that safety glasses and face shields are used anytime foreign objects may impact the eye or when an employee is exposed to electrical hazards. Foot protection like safety-toe footwear is recommended when there is a potential for falling objects or when working around heavy equipment. Similarly, head protection should be used in most construction environments, and should be kept in good condition. These and other recommendations can be transformed into a checklist for employees to use in order to determine which protective equipment is appropriate for the task at hand. Cultivating a Practice of Safety When a general contractor is lauded for their skill and experience, their care and attention for safety on the job site is an important part of those qualities. The conscientiousness and adherence to standards that are at the heart of practicing safety are behaviors learned by contractors who have worked safely on many a project and are meticulous in their craftsmanship. While accidents can and do happen, an experienced and knowledgable general contractor will take all the necessary steps to avoid careless or foreseeable mishaps. Serving the Bay Area since 1983, Mares & Dow Construction’s general contractors practice safety methods throughout their projects. Contact us today to get started on your next project. Spotlight on 1430 Q Street These days, many in Sacramento, California are working to actively cultivate the city’s growth. Sacramento boasts several large-scale construction projects from initiatives to boost the housing supply, to neighborhood renovations and new projects in tourism and hospitality, to a skyline-altering office building in the city center. Business leaders, residents, and visitors alike look to benefit from the city’s new ventures. And with all this work in the pipeline, those in the development industry such as commercial concrete contractors in Sacramento will benefit too from the opportunity to contribute in expanding the cityscape. Many of these project aim to stimulate economic activity across industries in Sacramento. The renovation of the convention center, for example, is meant to make Sacramento a destination for large regional, state, and nationwide meetings and gatherings. This in turn will increase the flow of tourist dollars, bringing new businesses to Sacramento, and enriching the cultural offerings for the city’s residents. The Conco Companies will join many other leading construction service providers in these endeavors as they supply commercial concrete contracting services, concrete pumping, and trucking services to new projects, building on their reputation for providing quality concrete services in the Sacramento area since 1959. One upcoming project Conco will provide concrete services for is the 1430 Q Street project. This luxury residential building will include 73 apartments, multiple on-trend amenities such as bike storage, fitness area, and an outdoor lounge with grilling stations, as well as several thousand square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Conco anticipates it will pour 5,500 cubic yards of concrete in addition to providing rebar and post-tension reinforcement and shotcrete services. HR Group Architects (HRGA), also working on the 1430 Q project, is lending their expertise to the design of the project. Like Conco, HRGA enjoys a solid reputation in the Sacramento area and has contributed to several recent projects including other mixed-use, multi-family buildings. HRGA has also recently been lauded for its work on the Las Alcobas Hotel, a luxurious boutique hotel nestled in a sprawling vineyard in Napa, which received four stars in 2018 from Forbes Travel Guide. The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Sacramento. Colorado Springs rose to prominence during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of the mid-1800’s and was the capital of the Colorado Territory until it was moved to Denver in 1862. What started as a mining town 60 miles south of Denver continued to grow, annexing adjacent land and townships until, after over 150 years, it is the most extensive municipality in Colorado. Many hands have contributed to building up this sprawling city, from notable historical figures and prominent national institutions, to those who construct the physical space of the built environment like commercial concrete contractors in Colorado Springs. Each has played their part in establishing “The Springs” as a bustling fixture of the Front Range.
A Unique History In its history, Colorado Springs has attracted distinctive individuals and organizations for various reasons, and often those reasons were connected to the unique features of the area. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, Nikola Tesla brought his laboratory the Tesla Experimental Station to Colorado Springs to further his research in electricity because it is one of the most active lightning strike areas in the United States. In 1950, due to the city’s geographic location and geologic features, its previously-decommissioned WWII air force bases were revived and named Cold War headquarters for Air Defense Command, and NORAD made its home in Colorado Springs. In more recent history, the city became the site of the United States Olympic Training Center, allowing athletes from across the nation to train in the high altitude conditions of the Front Range. Continued Expansion Behind each of those notable additions to the history and community of Colorado Springs and supporting the city’s continued growth, are those who work to build the new structures needed to house the businesses and organizations that migrate there, as well as the other commercial and residential space and infrastructure needed to sustain an expanding city. Developers, architects, construction companies, and contractors add to the cityscape each year, with concrete laying the foundation for new projects across the city. The Conco Companies, a commercial concrete contractor, is among this group in Colorado Springs, bringing their experience in providing concrete services for urban-growth projects: educational, healthcare, industrial, and parking structures, multi-residential construction, and highways and public works projects. The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Colorado Springs. Seattle is a city famous for its geography, culture, and skyline. Its scenic marine location is dotted with beautiful lakes and surrounded by Elliot Bay and the Puget Sound. Its mild climate, though rainy, allows residents with an umbrella to enjoy the outdoors year round. The unique culture of Seattle is home to art and film festivals and an incubator for musical styles ranging from jazz to grunge. And its singular skyline features the Space Needle, Great Wheel, and the Columbia Center. This attractive combination has made Seattle the largest city in the northwest, with 3.8 million residents in the metropolitan area, and it is continuing to grow at a rapid rate. As the city expands and builds, the developers, architects, and contractors, including commercial concrete contractors in Seattle, are also enjoying some recognition for their contributions to the city, which can now boast award-winning buildings and record-breaking construction processes.
Premier on Pine At the 2017 American Concrete Institute Concrete Convention and Exposition, a Seattle project called Premier on Pine was recognized in the High Rise category. This prestigious competition accepts submissions from around the world and “provides a platform to recognize concrete projects at the forefront of innovation and technology, and showcases these projects to inspire excellence in concrete design and construction.” Winning second place, Premier on Pine was lauded for the work of the developers Holland Partner Group and Weber Thompson Architects; the engineering firm of Cary Kopcznyski & Company; the general contractor, Holland Construction Inc.; and The Conco Companies, the concrete contractor who provided all the cast-in-place concrete, rebar, formwork, shotcrete, and concrete pumping for the project. The award-winning building had a key innovation: compact, high-strength concrete columns and reinforcing steel that take up less space than columns of that strength have historically, achieving for the first time in Seattle the specified concrete strength of 15,000 psi in its columns. 970 Denny Another project that displayed Conco’s industry-leading work in commercial concrete services was the construction of 970 Denny in the South Lake Union area in Seattle. While Conco is known for taking on challenging projects and delivering outcomes on budget and on time, with this 44 story high-rise apartment building, they also impressively expedited the construction process to complete a floor in a four-day cycle with a single shift and without working Saturdays. Others in the industry have noted that in the past it was considered exceptional to complete a floor in six-day or five-day cycles, which also often required overtime and weekend work. The Conco Companies’ mission is to be the best supplier of concrete services in the Western U.S. and to bring expertise and incomparable quality to each project. We continue to upgrade and expand our facilities to better serve the growing market for commercial, educational, parking structures, public works projects, and other development. Contact us to learn more about the services from one of the most trusted concrete contractors in Seattle. |
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