Once again technology has made our old proverbs obsolete, take the old “square peg/round hole” saying, for instance… I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere, but I can't find it. Currently your choices for hole saws and drill bits are round and more round, so those pesky square holes that need cut for electrical boxes require a jab saw or a router. It’s not terribly difficult to cut square holes using those methods, but, one company has taken it upon themselves to make the process much quicker.
Read moreTests Have Begun on “Living Wall” to Cover Scaffolding with Grasses, Plants
via Arup
One of the toughest aspects of construction in heavily populated or close-quarters areas is the control of noise and other pollutants. The public’s worries about these items can stall or kill projects before they begin. If and when they project actually begins, complaints can roll into the governing agencies causing project delays and/or fines.
Arup, a design, engineering, and consulting team in the United Kingdom, has been developing a living wall system, which they think can reduce the noise and improve the air quality surrounding ongoing construction projects.
Read more[VIDEO] Watch 58 Cranes Fill the Construction Site of the World’s Largest Airport
via Youtube
There’s no doubt that Liebherr, the popular manufacturer of cranes used throughout the world, works on some of the coolest projects. Last year, the company shared a video of one of their cranes working 10,000 in the air on top of the Wetterstein Mountains, which also happens to be the highest point in Germany. They also created one of our favorite construction videos ever when they displayed one of their gigantic cranes lifting three other cranes at the same time. This time, Liebherr is showing off their swarm of 58 tower cranes gracing the skies of the new largest airport in the world in Istanbul.
Read more1933’s House of Tomorrow to Finally Be Restored After Falling into Disrepair
via the National Parks Service
World’s fairs have been held in varying locations across the globe since 1844 and are responsible for some of the most memorable buildings and structures that still stand today. The Eiffel Tower in Paris was originally built for the 1889 Exposition Universelle, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge was built to coincide with the 1939 World Fair, and Seattle’s Space Needle was designed and built for the 1962 World’s Fair (you can check out photos of the construction here), just to name a few.
At the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago, 16 homes were constructed for display to promote new building products and materials to the fair-goers.
Read moreThe World’s Tallest Building Gets Its Own World’s Tallest Lego Building Replica
Photo by John Christian Fjellestad, CC BY 2.0
The Burj Khalifa currently holds 18 world records, including the ever-coveted “tallest building in the world” honor. The United Arab Emirates’ 2,717 feet tall behemoth of a structure has held that title since its completion in 2009. Because of that, it seems only fitting that a replica of the skyscraper should hold the record for world’s tallest Lego building.
Read moreForeman Convicted After Trench Collapse Kills 22 Year Old Construction Worker
photo by Andy Rogers, CC BY-SA 2.0
Every year, an average of 35 construction workers are killed by trench collapses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With proper shoring, benching, or sloping, each of these deaths is easily preventable. Generally, any trench that exceeds 5 feet in height needs to be properly protected, as the weight of soil can reach up to 3,000 pounds per cubic yard. For more on OSHA's trench safety guidelines, click here.
Read moreMakita Just Released the Lightest, Most Compact 18V Tools on the Market
As tools are continuing to drop the cords and move more towards battery power, the race is on to not only have the battery with the biggest runtime and most power, but also the lightest and most compact. Milwaukee and DeWalt seem to be battling it out at the top for the power and runtime category with the release of DeWalt’s 20V/60V FLEXVOLT battery and Milwaukee’s 9.0Ah 18V battery, but Makita has recently emerged as the company to beat in the light and compact 18V competition.
In the past, the compact tool market was dominated by 12V tools, offering a lot of convenience, but less power than some of your tougher jobs may require. With Makita now creating a new class of compact and utilizing their 18V batteries while doing it, tool users will get the benefit of using the same 18V battery that their other favorite Makita tools use, but the size and convenience of the 12V tools. That reduces the need for different batteries, different chargers, and even a different size of the same tool.
The first two tools released in Makita’s new LXT Sub-Compact Brushless tools, as they are calling them, are the 18V LXT Sub-Compact Brushless ½” Driver-Drill (XFD11ZB) and the 18V LXT Sub-Compact Brushless Impact Driver (XDT15ZB). Here’s the quick specs:
18V LXT Sub-Compact Brushless ½” Driver-Drill (XFD11ZB)
- Weight: 2.8 lbs with 2.0 battery
- 6-3/8” long
- 0-500 & 0-1,700 RPM
- 350 in-lbs of Max Torque
18V LXT Sub-Compact Brushless Impact Driver (XDT15ZB).
- Weight: 2.6 lbs with 2.0 battery
- 5-5/16” long
- 0-1,300/0-3,000 RPM & 0-1,600/0-3,900 IPM
- 1,240 in-lbs of Max Torque
Compared to the 12V versions, you’ll get roughly the same tool specs, but in a new black color. Makita currently only offers a 3/8” Drill/Driver in the Brushless 12V variety, so it’s not quite an apples-to-apples comparison. The tool lengths are roughly the same (18V drill/driver is 5/16” longer, impact driver is the same) and the 18V are a tad heavier (18V driver-drill and impact driver are each ½ lb heavier). The 18V driver-drill does have a higher RPM (0-450 & 0-1,500 vs. 0-500 & 0-1,700) and more torque (280 in-lbs vs. 350 in-lbs). Utilizing the 18V system will definitely increase the wattage of the tool, however.
The cost of the new tools falls between the 12V line and the full size 18V line. The combo kit, which includes the drill-driver, the impact driver, (2) 2.0Ah batteries, charger, and bag retails for $229 (you can get it here on Amazon). It also appears to have replaced Makita’s 18V compact line, which came in white, as they are shown to be discontinued on Makita’s website.
While you may not be able to toss your current full-size 18V drill-driver and impact to the side just yet, these new sub-compact tools are a step in the right direction, especially since it can eliminate the need for the 12V battery platform.
What do you think? Will you be investing in Makita’s new sub-compact tool class?
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[VIDEO] Watch Massive Five-Alarm Fire Engulf an Oakland Construction Site
via Youtube
Imagine working on a building for an entire year, only to come to your jobsite and find that it had burned to the ground. That was the reality for a construction crew in Oakland last week, when a massive five-alarm fire started overnight and completely destroyed all of their hard work.
Read more[VIDEO] Finally, a Wrecking Ball Demolition Video in 2016
via Facebook
We here at Construction Junkie headquarters enjoy a good demolition video. We’ve shared implosion videos, timelapse videos, and even demolition fails, but since our inception, we have yet to share a wrecking ball demolition video. Growing up, I thought my adult life was going to be littered with wrecking balls (and anvils, for that matter), because of all the cartoons I watched, but as our industry’s heavy machinery and explosives have become more precise, the need for wrecking balls has slowly diminished.
Read moreThe Ultimate Construction Holiday Gift Guide 2016
Now that we've got Halloween out of the way, it's time to start eating some turkey and buying gifts for your favorite people. Historically, construction professionals can be difficult to buy for, so we've compiled a list of products that we think would be home runs for that special person on your list or even help you decide what you'd like to ask for. We've got hands-on experience with many of these products and we like some so much that they also showed up on our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide! The list is broken up into four categories: stocking stuffers (small and inexpensive), apparel, tools, and kids.
Read more
Last summer, Hilti announced that they had developed their first exoskeleton designed for construction tradespeople in a partnership with Ottobuck, a prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton provider. Earlier this month, Hilti officially released the exoskeleton, announced more details, and published its retail price on their website.