Over the years, I've had a number of companies as clients that make and install signs. Most of the signs are used for commercial applications (stores and hotels) and they are usually made of metal and plastic but occasionally they'll even make one out of EIFS. Either way, they sometimes ask me how to attach their signs to EIFS walls. If you've ever purchased a custom sign, they are not cheap, so it's not a dumb question. Here are some guidelines on how to deal with signs. These notes relate to design considerations, as well as installation issues.

The origin of the EIFS with drainage goes back to the 1990s. The idea of adding drainage came about due to a rash of water intrusion problems on houses in the southeast. Water had gotten behind the EIFS and ruined the supporting wood structure, causing a flurry of lawsuits and repairs, and sparking the interest of building code officials.

If you spend any time working with specifiers, end-users, designers and contractors who are involved with EIFS, you’ll find out right away that the environmental friendliness (“eco-friendliness”) of EIFS is a hot topic.

When I do technical seminars about EIFS, one of the most frequent questions is, “Should I use adhesives or mechanical fasteners (screws plus washers), or even both, to attach the foam insulation to the wall?” The answer depends on a number of factors, and sometimes you have no choice about which to use. 

Everyone’s heard of Stonehenge in England-the weird stone blocks in the middle of a field. But who has heard of Foamhenge in Virginia? It is a full size replica of the real Stonehenge made of EIFS. Who could dream up a cooler name?

I began my multi-year involvement with LEED and the USGBC as an architect dedicated to the design of greener buildings at about the time the LEED v1.0 pilot program was coming to a close.

Under that greenery is hidden something very un-green, very dirty, and very big: Parking garages.

Since when did architects become responsible for ensuring occupant health resulting from exposure to building material ingredients?

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy began work on the development of a voluntary national scoring system used to quantify commercial building’s energy efficiency.

If you are like me, you have a love-hate relationship with screw fasteners.

The variable refrigerant flow is starting to gain popularity in the U.S.

“Green advocacy” is the very opposite of informed consent.

The first LEED Platinum certified building is in danger of an imminent collapse.

The greenest low slope roofing solution really sucks.

Hard work by Green Globes’ committee—and community—shows it’s only getting better.

Do embodied energies deserve greater attention now that buildings are becoming “greener”?

Will passive houses gain more momentum in the U.S.?

The energy saving contributions of thermal mass are well known but not always implemented in an ideal way.

Don’t be fooled, a rainscreen is much more than a cladding system that works well under wet conditions.

In part one; rainscreen and open joint cladding systems were discussed. Part two will focus on test standards determining the performance of cladding systems designed for the rainscreen principle.

If you believe the statistics — and a whole slew of press — Generation Z is an emerging generation of men and women who are trading in their schoolbooks and strapping on tool belts.

The organisation, which has 160 employees, says it is still trying to understand how staff will be affected

The findings come from Third Sector’s inaugural Charity Employer Index

Resolution Engineering Inc., Hudson, Wis.,is a provider of RF/wireless and embedded systems design services, while sister company Resolution Products produces a wide range of common use and wireless security devices. Until recently, “green” qualities weren’t on the radar for these types of products, so today, Resolution Engineering is thrilled to see increased attention focused on sustainability. The company’s products, services and operations have incorporated sustainable attributes for years. John Bergman, one of the founders of the company, is the driving force behind the company’s sustainable practices. 

World Wide Security, Garden City, N.Y., launched its “Go Green!” program promoting energy conservation to its customers. As energy prices rise throughout the United States, the Long Island region is often impacted more dramatically because it is an island with logistics and energy challenges.

SDM had the chance to interview Dr. Bob Banerjee, senior director of Training and Development, NICE Systems, Ra'anana, Israel, recently on “green” initiatives at NICE Systems. 

Sensitive to environmental considerations in the security and video surveillance industry, Panasonic System Networks Company of America, Secaucus, N.J., is taking leadership by offering products manufactured in energy-efficient facilities, using fewer hazardous materials and emitting less CO2, and which also consume less power than previous Panasonic comparable models.

For Metis Secure Solutions, Oakmont, Pa., and many other security-related companies, green trends provide opportunity.

In many ways, being environmentally conscious also makes good business sense. At times, it is just the "right thing" to do.

A leading provider of home automation and technology, Vivint is always on the lookout for opportunities to bring additional value to their customers with new offerings to provide more comprehensive home integration solutions.

K9s United is a dedicated non-profit organization that focuses on providing essential training, equipment and resources to support law enforcement canines.

Columbus, OH — People who incorrectly believe they have “all the facts” may remain overly confident in their beliefs or decisions, a recent study suggests.

Arlington, VA — Mine operators should train miners on recognizing highwall hazards and following procedures for their safe control, the Mine Safety and Health Administration advises in a recent safety alert.

The program invited cross-functional employee teams to submit projects completed during Conagra's fiscal years 2023 and 2024. Each submission was evaluated by a panel of peers, with the final winners selected by the company's sustainability leaders.

CBC Flooring’s Indelval Rubber Flooring is recognized globally for its exceptional quality and environmental benefits, due to its high natural rubber content and proprietary high pressure vulcanization process.

Halo Floors, offered under the CBC Flooring family of products, represents one of the most dynamic and refreshing luxury vinyl tile product lines in the industry.

Flexco introduces Natural Elements, a new line of wood vinyl plank products available in 4” by 36” formats in 18 colors and a luxury vinyl stone tile available in 18” by 18” sizes in eight colors.

Taylor has launched Meta-Tec MS-Plus Resilient MBA, a 100% solids solvent- & isocyanate-free one-component modified silane polymer moisture barrier adhesive for resilient flooring.

Metallika from Surfaces brings “the beauty of pure aluminum, transformed in sophisticated patterns and color combinations with stone and glass.”

Viridian Reclaimed Wood introduces a new line of engineered reclaimed hardwood flooring in four different species, according to Viridian co-owner Joe Mitchoff.

Tile Redinow offers Redi Trench, an incredibly exciting marriage of design and function for the commercial construction sector, in particular for the hospitality industry.

Another short trip report. Just an overnight in Copenhagen to go see a ballet and a little of the city. Since this is on SAS it now fulfills the flight requirements for the status match from BA, and I am now SkyTeam Elite Plus until November 2026....

Trying to get from SSA to Sao Paulo on Monday. Revenue fares $450. Gol has a ticket bookable with AA, SSA- GRU/CGH-GIG. Separate legs not bookable. We have checked luggage. Can we pick up the luggage in GRU and get lost on the way? Or too...

For the first time, CRI awarded the Joseph J.Smrekar Memorial Award to three recipients: John Bradshaw of Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Ashley Young of Mohawk Industries, Inc., and Shawn McGill of Engineered Floors.

For the first time, manufacturers submitting their latest innovations for the must-see product showcase will simultaneously be considered for the Best of Awards, effectively doubling their products' exposure opportunities.

Curated by the Oral History Center, Voices for the Environment: A Century of Bay Area Activism charts the evolution of environmental movements in the region through the recorded voices of the activists who shaped them. From tensions over preservation after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to demands to address the disproportionate burdens of pollution and illness that some communities faced, environmentalism has long been part of the fabric of the Bay Area. Smartphones and headphones are suggested. The Bancroft Library Gallery

From their founding, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) educated as many as 90 percent of Black college students in the United States. Although many are aware of the significance of HBCUs for expanding Black Americans’ educational opportunities, much less attention has been paid to the vital role that they have played in enhancing American democracy. Drawing on six years of mixed-method research that informs The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy, this book talk considers the history of HBCUs and the unique role they have played in shaping American political development since 1837. Moreover, it considers the lessons that HBCUs offer the broader higher educational landscape as we consider the essential role that colleges and universities can play in helping to promote democracy.Deondra Rose is the Kevin D. Gorter Associate Professor at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, with secondary appointments in the Department of Political Science and the Department of History. Her research focuses on U.S. higher education policy, political behavior, American political development, and the politics of inequality, particularly in relation to gender, race, and socioeconomic status. In addition to her newest book, The Power of Black Excellence: HBCUs and the Fight for American Democracy, Rose is also the author of Citizens by Degree: Higher Education Policy and the Changing Gender Dynamics of American Citizenship, which examines the development of landmark U.S. higher education policies and their impact on the progress that women have made since the mid-twentieth century. A summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Georgia, Rose received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University, with a specialization in American politics and public policy.

Curated by the Oral History Center, Voices for the Environment: A Century of Bay Area Activism charts the evolution of environmental movements in the region through the recorded voices of the activists who shaped them. From tensions over preservation after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake to demands to address the disproportionate burdens of pollution and illness that some communities faced, environmentalism has long been part of the fabric of the Bay Area. Smartphones and headphones are suggested. The Bancroft Library Gallery

ArtinSoft’s top seller product, the Visual Basic Upgrade Companion is daily improved by the Product Department to satisfy the requirements of the currently executed migration projects . The project driven research methodology allows our company to deliver custom solutions to our customers needs, and more importantly, to enhance our products capabilities with all the research done for this purposes. Our company’s largest customer engaged our consulting department requesting for a customization over the VBUC to generate specific naming patterns in the resulting source code. To be more specific, the resulting source code must comply with some specific naming code standards plus a mappings customization for a 3rd party control (FarPoint’s FPSpread). This request pushed ArtinSoft to re-architect the VBUC's renaming engine, which was capable at the moment, to rename user declarations in some scenarios (.NET reserved keywords, collisions and more). The re-architecture consisted in a centralization of the renaming rules into a single-layered engine. Those rules was extracted from the Companion’s parser and mapping files and relocated into a renaming declaration library. The most important change is that the renaming engine now evaluates every declaration instead of only the conflictive ones. This enhanced renaming mechanism generates a new name for each conflictive declaration and returns the unchanged declaration otherwise. The renaming engine can literally “filter” all the declarations and fix possible renaming issues. But the story is not finished here; thanks to our company’s proprietary language technology (Kablok) the renaming engine is completely extensible. Jafet Welsh, from the product development department, is a member of the team who implemented the new renaming engine and the extensibility library, and he explained some details about this technology: “…The extensibility library seamlessly integrates new rules (written in Kablok) into the renaming engine… we described a series of rules for classes, variables, properties and other user declarations to satisfy our customer's code standards using the renaming engine extensibility library… and we plan to add support for a rules-describing mechanism to allow the users to write renaming rules on their own…” ArtinSoft incorporated the renaming engine for the VBUC version 2.1 and for version 2.2 the extensibility library will be completed.

PBOT leaders say they’ve already addressed many of the auditor’s recommendations. They also say the scale of Portland’s traffic violence crisis is too big for just one bureau to address. by Taylor Griggs

The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) adopted its Vision Zero Action Plan in December 2016, with the goal of eliminating traffic crash deaths and injuries in the city. But in recent years, Portland has seen its highest numbers of traffic injuries and fatalities in decades. Pedestrians have faced a heightened risk of traffic violence in recent years, and parts of Portland with higher low-income populations and communities of color are also disproportionately impacted. 

The daylight between PBOT’s stated Vision Zero goals and the increase in recent traffic crash deaths prompted scrutiny from the Portland Auditor’s Office. A new report from the Auditor’s Office, released Wednesday, says PBOT “partially completed” safety projects identified in its Vision Zero plan, but notes the bureau doesn’t adequately evaluate the outcomes of the safety projects it completes. 

The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT create a plan to evaluate its projects “to determine which get the desired outcomes and where Vision Zero efforts are most needed.” The office also asks the bureau to install promised speed cameras to help with traffic safety enforcement and recommends PBOT “revisit its equity methodology to ensure it accounts for smaller scale improvements that could have positive equity impacts.” 

“These efforts to collect data, analyze, evaluate, and carefully track which safety projects have the most desired outcomes could help move toward Vision Zero’s goal of zero fatal and serious injury traffic crashes,” the audit report states. 

The audit report highlights concerns about the Vision Zero program that many transportation and safe streets activists have raised for years—though the Auditor’s Office didn’t issue as harsh an indictment of PBOT as some critics may want. Earlier this year, when PBOT leaders presented their 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council, some Portland advocates didn’t mince words about their thoughts on the city’s implementation of the program. 

“There is no question that Portland's Vision Zero Program has been an abject failure,” Sarah Risser, a local transportation safety activist, wrote in public testimony to City Council in April. “Given its abysmal track record, it is reasonable to conclude that it will continue to be a failure.”

The Portland Auditor’s Office didn’t mark PBOT’s Vision Zero plan as a failure in its report, and PBOT leaders ultimately agreed with its recommendations, some of which the bureau says it has already implemented on its own. 

PBOT, too, acknowledges that larger structural changes are needed to save lives on the streets. Bureau leaders say they will continue working on their Vision Zero plans, but they hope the city government transition will break down silos and encourage more involvement in solving the problem of traffic violence on Portland’s streets. 

The year PBOT adopted the Vision Zero plan, 42 people died in traffic crashes on Portland’s streets. In 2019, when the bureau updated the plan to emphasize transportation system safety and focus more on actions within PBOT’s control, 48 people were the victims of traffic violence. In the last three years, more than 60 people have died in traffic crashes in Portland each year, with 69 fatalities in 2023. 

When PBOT leaders presented the 2023 Vision Zero report to City Council earlier this year, they acknowledged the rise in traffic fatalities since the program was adopted. But they said the program is successful in areas PBOT has been able to invest in, and said the bureau’s budget woes have curtailed its progress. The audit report suggests PBOT could get more out of the projects it does complete by improving its evaluation processes, which have historically been lacking. 

“Without systemic evaluation of safety outcomes, the Bureau is missing the opportunity to create more alignment between the work they do on safety projects and the overall goal of Vision Zero,” the report states. “A more systematic approach would allow trends to be identified and analyzed to better understand the outcomes of completed projects, and which may need to be altered or dropped. As traffic deaths continue to increase it is vital that the Bureau consistently evaluate completed safety projects so they can see which are working best at shifting the trend towards the intended goal of zero traffic deaths and serious injuries.” 

The second major recommendation the audit report suggests is that PBOT “do more to enforce speed limits” by following through on its promise to install more speed cameras throughout the city. Despite research showing the effectiveness of enforcement cameras as a way to reduce speeds and increase traffic safety—without involving the police—PBOT has been slow to install them. The bureau has blamed its camera vendor for the lag in speed camera implementation, but says it now has 37 cameras in operation or construction, and current contracted cameras will be online early next year. (By March 2023, PBOT had only installed nine cameras in the prior eight years.) 

The report also states despite PBOT’s attempt to prioritize and fund safety projects equitably—based on both crash data and neighborhood demographics—it may be missing “smaller safety projects with possible equitable outcomes” if they aren’t located on high-crash corridors. The Auditor’s Office recommends PBOT use more qualitative data to determine the projects it carries out. 

In response to the auditor’s recommendations, Public Works Service Area Deputy City Administrator Priya Dhanapal and PBOT Director Millicent Williams said while they “largely agree with the recommendations in the audit,” it’s a bit outdated. Last year, PBOT issued a Vision Zero Action Plan update for 2024 and 2025, which addresses many of the issues outlined in the audit report. 

“Our current Vision Zero Action Plan includes priorities directly tied to evaluation, delivery of the camera program and speed management as well as equity objectives,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “The audit was conducted on work and commitments outlined 3-5 years ago and work that took place during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Dhanapal and Williams also said PBOT needs help from other city bureaus to solve the crisis of traffic violence. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries in Portland is possible [and] PBOT can lead the way,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote in a letter responding to the auditor’s report. “However, Portland will not reach Vision Zero with street design alone…. A societal commitment to meet basic human needs and implement strategies to change current conditions are necessary to reach many of our shared goals, including Vision Zero. These changes require leadership, investment, and commitment from partners beyond PBOT.”

PBOT leaders say they hope that collaboration and commitment will be easier due to the upcoming changes in Portland’s government. 

“Eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries is a City commitment and goal, but as a City we have focused the discussion on what PBOT does to change streets,” Dhanapal and Williams wrote. “We believe the City transition provides an opportunity to reengage City bureaus in Portland’s Vision Zero commitment and integrate the Safe System approach to traffic safety as a comprehensive prevention strategy to save lives.”