With today's design focus on creating fluid living spaces, curved walls that add an organic feel to a structure are becoming more and more popular. But if you're trying to frame in that wall, you may feel constrained to using lumber framing as metal framing has not done well with this type of technique in the past. But as newer, more innovative products come to market to help with this problem, the average contractor isn't sure how well these products will work in their situation. Here's the rundown on two popular new metal framing solutions for curves: Flex-Ability and Radius Track:

The Case for Flex-Ability

Flex-Ability Concepts is an American manufacturing company based out of Oklahoma. Focusing on providing curve options for metal framing, it has a number of different products. Here's a bit more information about their most popular product, Flex-C Track:

• Available in a wide variety of widths in its popular 18-gauge line, including 2-1/2", 3-5/8", 4", 6", 8" and 10".
• Manufactured in 16, 18 and 20ágaugeáhot-dippedágalvanized steel to provide plenty of strength and durability, with a lightweight version called Flex Lite in 25 gauge.
• Available in 10' sections that can be cut down according to the contractor's needs.
• Features the company's proprietary Hammer Lock technology to prevent a curve from being shifted out of place by the simple blow of a hammer.
• Curve radius can go as tightly as 7" in 2-1/2" variety.
• Meets ASTM A653 structural grade 33 or 50, depending on specific product used.

Other Flex-Ability products that help provide additional options for metal framing customization include Flex-CáAngle in 1-3/16" and 2" widths, Flex Arch in 2-1/2", 3-5/8", 4" and 6" widths,áand Flex Header in 3-5/8" and 6" widths.á

How Radius Track is Taking the Market

There's something to be said about heartland ingenuity, and Radius Track out of Minneapolis drives the point home with a wide variety of products to help contractors meet their clients' needs. With the hand-bendable Ready Track product line making it easy to alter design on the fly, this innovative company has quickly become an industry leader in an area of framing that had previously been thought too difficult to conquer.

• Availableáin a wide range of widths in its Ready Track lineup, including 2-1/2", 3-1/2", 3-5/8", 4", 5-1/2" and 6".
• Created from 18 or 20 gaugeágalvanized steel.
• Available in both 8' and 10' tracks to provide more flexibility in sizing and estimating your project.
• Can reach a maximum radius of 10-20" for sharp curves.
• Holds its shape well once formed, with framing screws are added easily to one side of the tab to lock the design in place with better support for your walls.
• Meets or exceeds ASTM A653áG-60 coating requirements.

Radius Track is offering a wide range of additional products, including Ready-Hat in a single 7/8" width and 10' length, Ready-Angle in 1-1/2" by 1-1/2" segments in 8' and 10' lengths and Ready-Arch in 3-1/2", 3-5/8", 5-1/2" and 6" widths and 8' lengths.

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The OSHA Respiratory Standard

This part of the OSHA standard covers many different area. It includes a requirement that in areas where there is an expectation of dust, fumes, gases, smoke, spraying or vapors that the area be sealed off if possible. This is commonly achieved using plastic film and tape to secure it. Some construction products are available that make it easier to enter and exit the work area by having a pair of zippers or hook and loop fasteners that can be opened for passage. Ventilation and filtration should be provided to ensure that workers in the area are not being subjected to hazardous conditions.

But above and beyond limiting the spread of the pollutants, OSHA also requires PPE for the workers in those environments, to ensure that they are limiting their exposure to any of the above materials to the respiratory tract. The type of PPE used depends on the hazards present. If it is simple dust or cellulose, a simple mask may be sufficient. If there are fumes from painting or spraying, a respirator or powered air-purifying respirator may be required. In extreme situations where sufficient oxygen is not present to be purified or there are other extremely harmful circumstances, a self-contained breathing apparatus potentially including an environmental suit may be required.

Common Personal Protective Equipment

• N- versus R- versus P-: So what's the difference between these masks, beyond the letters? An N-95 mask is not resistant to oil aerosols. This is important because these masks trap particulates through an electrostatic charge, which is broken down with the addition of oil, allowing contaminants in. An R-95 mask is somewhat resistant to oils, while a P-95 mask is virtually oil-proof. If you're using oil-based substances, you'll want to upgrade to a P- grade filter.
• P-95 versus P-99 versus P-100: This number refers to the percentage of particulates that are removed from the air. A P-95 mask removes 95% of the particulates, a P-99 removes 99% of particulates and a P-100 removes 99.97% of particulates as the air travels through the mask.
• Valve or no valve: Many people choose valveless masks because they are more affordable and don't have a chance of letting any air back through the valve. That being said, valve masks are often much more comfortable because condensation doesn't build up, fogging safety glasses and in general are more comfortable to work in.
• Mask versus respirator: A mask filters air on the way in, but it doesn't typically give you an air-tight seal. When you're working with many chemicals, you'll want an air-tight seal to ensure you're not breathing in a lot of vapors. Though respirators are more expensive, they're also reusable for many years and full-face masks offer eye protection as well.
• Powered air-purifying respirators versus self-contained breathing apparatus: When you're in a serious air-quality situation, you may run into these type of PPE devices. A powered air-purifying respirator uses a fan to push air in the environment through filters and into your mask, reducing the amount of work you have to do to pull the air through the filters. A self-contained breathing apparatus, on the other hand, provides tanked air exactly as a scuba tank would, ensuring high quality air.

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Fire treated lumber is used in structural building as a means of limiting fire potential. To put it simply, fire treated lumber is used to inhibit a fire from progressing, at least long enough for any individuals to escape. Therefore, knowledge of the different types of fire treated lumber is essential for any builder or contractor. There are different types of fire treatment for lumber and each one has advantages and disadvantages.á

Surface Applied Coating

The simplest, and typically cheapest type of fire treatment, is the surface applied coating for lumber. This can come in the pre applied variety or the contractor applied. The process by which it potentially limits the progression of fire is by charring.

Charring prevents a even transfer of heat from the source to the material. However, with both variants of surface application coatings, is that after charring has occurred the char will burn off and expose the wood underneath. This type of fire treated lumber is known as intumescent.

Pressure Applied Fire Retardant

Another type of fire treated lumber is the pressure applied fire retardant. The pressure treated wood is infused by high pressure and heat to allow the retardant to penetrate the surface of the wood. This allows for a more even protection at the surface.

The process is similar to the applied coating in that the treatment is designed to char and not oxidize and thereby limit heat transfer. However, due to the infusion of the treatment to the underlying layers of the wood this process further limits the ability of a heat source to continually transfer heat. This means as soon as the heat source is removed the heat ceases to transfer at all, making the chance that the wood will catch fire, that much less likely.

Advantages to using fire treated lumber are:

• Relatively Inexpensive
• Better Insurance Rates
• Family Protection
• Increased Home Value

Using fire treated lumber is an excellent way to help protect a home, structure and family from the hazard of fire. Any extra expense in using fire treated lumber is more than balanced out by allowing a family to escape and to potentially limit any damage to the structure.á

Fire treated lumber saves lives and limits property damage. Honestly, there is very little reason to not use this type of treated lumber. For protection and value, fire treated lumber cannot be beat.

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Photo credit: Kake Pugh / Foter / Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

When you have a commercial building, it can seem as though every little change can impact your overhead costs. As the Department of Energy has realized this, it has made available a wide range of rebate and tax credit initiatives to help reduce the amount of energy used by businesses in their daily operations. The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 is just such an opportunity, with savings for lower energy lighting, more efficient HVAC and hot water systems and better building envelope systems. Here's more on this initiative and how to take advantage of potential savings in building envelope innovations.

Energy Policy Act of 2005

This federal initiative was originally focused on creating a tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings and building systems that were put in place in 2006 to 2007, but it's been extended a number of times in the past decade. But the initiative is now planned to expire on December 31, 2016. This means if you want to take advantage of the potential tax savings, you'll need to act quickly.

The Act was originally developed to provide a $0.60 per square foot savings in three different areas, up to a total tax deduction of $1.80 per square foot available. These energy efficient options include interior lighting options, a more efficient building envelope and HVAC and water heating systems. These upgrades must reduce the energy consumption of the building by at least 50% when it's compared to a similar structure that only meets the minimums as laid out in the ASHRAE standard 90.1-2007.

Individual deductions for each area of $0.60 per square foot can be used if they would provide a reasonable contribution towards building energy savings of 50% or better if the additional systems were also installed. That means that if building envelope upgrades or improvements would significantly decrease the building energy use, it would qualify for the lower deduction without having to install the HVAC, hot water heating and lighting upgrades at the same time, making it a better option for many business owners and contractors. Though these deductions are typically provided to building owners and tenants who make their own construction upgrades, it's also available to those responsible for the system design when the upgrades are made on government properties.

As with many tax deductions, the deduction is claimed the year the construction is completed. The IRS has a number of documents available for the certification process, further rules classifications and guidelines on how to model and inspect the required energy savings. Because this program offers immediate benefits on tax returns, it's a great way to approach business owners who may otherwise be wavering over the cost of building envelope upgrades due to the cost of construction, even if they already appreciate the cost savings they'll see down the road. The limited time frame also provides some amount of leverage to get the job initiated more quickly, as the benefit ends at the end of this year, helping get reluctant business owners and managers into gear to get the job done now instead of continuing to wait for a better option.

Beyond the basic certification processes, the deduction can also be calculated by adding natural ventilation features to reduce heating and cooling costs and envelope improvements to semi conditioned spaces to improve energy efficiency. Inspections are undertaken by engineers and contractors who are able to meet the National Renewable Energy Laboratory guidelines.

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You know what it's like. You get done with a relatively simple task, then need to change to corded tools that provide more power. Once you've completed that project, you need to switch back to a lower-powered tool system again. You know you could get better efficiency out of your crew's time if you could avoid all the switching! Fortunately, the innovative engineers at DeWalt have heard your call and have developed their new FLEXVOLT batteries and line of tools to create exactly what you need. Here are the details to help you get started.

Cordless tools tend to be saferáthan corded tools in rough worksite conditions, as there is less hazard of accidentally cutting a cord or being shocked by a short in your extension cord. But cordless tools also often have drawbacks, primarily in terms of power available to get the job done. What's even worse, you often have to work between the convenience of cordless tools and the power of corded alternatives. You can spend a lot of time going between these two systems, losing precious time that could be better spent getting your project done. Though we could imagine that the future could have a better way, it seems a long way off. Fortunately, DeWalt has brought tomorrow's technology to your hands.

Set up to be backwards compatible with DeWalt's 20V tool series, the FLEXVOLT battery can automatically detect the required amount of power for 20 volt, 60 volt or 120 volt tools. When used with DeWalt's classic 20 volt tool line, each of these batteries will deliver four times the amount of power you'd expect compared to the batteries from that series. The 60 volt batteries can also be paired to form a single 120 volt battery, providing the same amount of power you'd expect from corded tools.

The company has also developed a line of tools to work with the 60 and 120 volt power sources. In the 60 volt line, you can now purchase a powerful grinder, circular saw, recip saw, a table saw and a powerful stud and joist drill kit. In the 120 volt line, two batteries can be paired to run a couple different 12" miter saw options. Though they are both double bevel compound miter saws, the first has a fast charger while the second is a sliding miter saw that includes DeWalt's Cutline blade positioning system and a dual-port fast charger. Both miter saws include two 60 volt batteries, a 120 volt AC adapter.

DeWalt has also developed a line of accessories, including blades, hole saws and abrasives, to maximize your tool run time before you need to change batteries. With all these options available, you can quickly improve your job site efficiency. Instead of spending all your time chasing down and changing out different tools, you'll be able to keep your crew running effectively. At the same time, you won't have to start with a completely new tool system - you'll simply need to build out your collection with the higher voltage tools while using your existing tools with the new batteries. You instantly get the flexibility of a wide range of tools, including those you're already very familiar with. Watch the video below to learn more!

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