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SHEETROCK® Glass-Mat Liner Panels

SHEETROCK® Glass-Mat Liner panels feature a non-combustible, moisture and mould resistant gypsum core encased in moisture and mould resistant glass mats. They offer a 12-month exposure warranty, and they can be used in any fire-rated Cavity Shaft Wall and Gypsum Fire Wall System assembly where regular SHEETROCK gypsum liner panels are specified. All SHEETROCK liner panels are designed and tested for use with SHEETROCK Cavity Shaft Wall and CGC Gypsum Fire Wall System steel framing components. Product substitutions are not recommended and are not supported by CGC.

The 1″ x 24″ panels feature double-bevelled edges that allow for easy installation. They are available in 8-, 10- and 12-foot standard lengths. Other lengths available by special order.

The panels comply with C1396, CAN/ULC S114 (non-combustible core). and CAN/ULC S102 (flame spread 20, smoke developed 0). They are ULC listed and CUL classified as to fire resistance (Type SLX), surface burning characteristics and non-combustibility. In independent lab tests conducted on SHEETROCK Glass-Mat Liner panels at the time of manufacture, per ASTM D3273, “Standard Test Method for Resistance to Growth of Mould on the Surface of Interior Coatings in an Environmental Chamber,” the panels achieved a score of 10, with 10 being the optimal rating.

 Features & Benefits:

• Mould Resistant- High resistance to mould and mildew.
• Resists Water: Glass-mat sheathing facer on both sides sheds water.
• Quick, Dry Installation: Quick score-and-snap, no sawing or special tools.
• Exposure: Can be exposed to weather for up to 12 months after application.
• Warrantied Performance: SHEETROCK Brand Glass-Mat Liner Panel is guaranteed for five years against manufacturing defects and has a 12-month limited-exposure warranty.

Bentall Four tower deaths highlighted dire need for job safety

Three decades on, even with improvements, construction remain’s B.C.’s deadliest occupation.

Thirty years have come and gone, but Ruby Bennett still clearly remembers the moment she learned her brother, Don Davis, died as a result of one of the worst construction accidents in Vancouver’s history.
“I was sitting on the stairs at home, crying, after [my sister] Carole phoned to tell me about the accident,” an emotional Bennett recalled Friday, the anniversary of the deaths.
“It’s something you never, never forget,” she said.
Davis, a 34-year-old construction worker and father of three, fell 36 storeys to his death Jan. 7, 1981 from the top of the Bentall Four tower at Melville and Thurlow streets after the wood and metal form he was standing on broke away from the building’s 36th floor.
Co-workers Gunther Couvreux, 49, Yrjo Mitrunen, 46, and Brian Stevenson, 21, also lost their lives in the fall.The tragedy highlighted a dire need for improved safety on the job.

And, three decades later, the mood hasn’t changed. Even with improvements, the construction industry remains the deadliest occupation in the province.
More than 300 fatalities were recorded in B.C. between 2000 and 2009, the result of both traumatic workplace incidents and occupational diseases such as lung conditions from exposure to asbestos.
In December, two men were killed in separate incidents while working for the same company on sites downtown.
They were among 31 construction workers who died in 2010. “Perhaps,” Tom Sigurdson, executive director of the BC Building Trades Council, told a small gathering of supporters at a downtown ceremony Friday commemorating the Bentall victims, “it’s timely to go and have the message delivered once again.” Al Johnson, WorkSafeBC’s regional director for the construction sector, agreed there is room for improvement in the industry. In particular, too many employers still cut corners when it comes to health and safety on the work site. “Our officers, on a regular basis, shut down jobs,” Johnson said.

There are encouraging signs the industry is changing. Work-SafeBC data shows the injury rate associated with the trade has fallen steadily from 1991 to 2009. Johnson said B. C has beefed up its on-site inspection program over the years, with a current dedicated team of 40 to 45 inspectors, many of them with industry training, policing constructions sites, both big and small, across the Metro Vancouver region. New and young workers are also subject to mandatory work site orientation and basic safety training in an effort to reduce injuries on the job. Those in the industry say the province should be applauded for its efforts to boost job safety, but added more work site inspections would be welcome. “If they [employers] know that someone is coming, they are going to make certain there is adequate worker protection. Quite frankly, they don’t want a write-up,” said Sigurdson. Grant McMillan, president of the Council of Construction Associations, said he’d like to see more emphasis on bringing smaller construction firms into line with safety standards. Large and mid-sized companies, which make up 2,000 of the province’s 38,000 total registered contractors, feel “they are being picked on” when it comes to inspections because of their high visibility, McMillan said.

“Many of the problems occur in small companies that are either not registered with (WorkSafeBC) at all or flying under the radar with no names on trucks or equipment,” he said. Johnson said work site inspections have their benefit, but health and safety on the job is ultimately a shared responsibility between employers, employees and clients. “In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to inspect anything, but that doesn’t happen,” he said.

At Friday’s ceremony, held behind the Burrard Street SkyTrain station, across the street from where the accident occurred, Ruby Bennett and her sister, Carole Dixon, recalled their brother as an easygoing man whose dream it was to earn enough money to build his own log house out in the country. “He was planning his future,” Dixon said =. Mitrunen’s widow, Hilkka Mitrunen, and son, Peter Mitrunen, also attended the event, bringing with them a bouquet of red and white flowers in memory of the beloved husband and father they lost. Peter, who was six at the time of the accident, said his father was a skilled tradesman who immigrated to Canada with his mother from Finland in 1967. His death remains painful for the family, but they hope that by public remembering the event standards in the industry will improve.

“Hopefully, it helps the future generation of workers be safe and think about what they are doing,” Peter said.

dahansen@vancouversun.com

Originally published By Darah Hansen, Vancouver Sun January 11, 2011

Mould forces Moncton hospital to cancel surgeries

Half of the six operating rooms at Dr. Georges L. Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, N.B., are closing due to mould. (CBC)

Half of the operating rooms at the Dr. Georges L. Dumont Regional Hospital in Moncton, N.B., are closing temporarily due to mould in the hallway leading to the operating rooms.

Three of the hospital’s six operating rooms will be closed for the next two weeks while the mould is removed and the drywall repaired.

Richard Losier, the executive director of the hospital, said the operating rooms are old and located underneath the kitchen. He said a leak was spotted last month.

“Something happened with a pipe so it leaked,” he told reporters on Monday.

Dr. Daniel DeYturralde, the medical director at the hospital, said further checks revealed the leak — along with black mould — had spread to some drywall.

“We saw the leak and then the people who do the cleanup sort of went in and looked beyond the tiles, and that’s where the drywall was seen,” DeYturralde said.

“It was obvious.”

All elective surgeries have been cancelled until the drywall is repaired; emergency surgeries will take place in the remaining three operating rooms.

Although air quality tests show there is no problem with the air, DeYturralde said he does not want to take any risks with patients who have open wounds.

“All of a sudden, you have 134 patients who are sort of pushed back,” he said.

“They have to go somewhere, so they have to go back on the list; they’re going to push back the patients who are already on the list.”

DeYturralde said he understands a lot of patients will be frustrated.

Canadian contractors warned about LEED certification failure

JEAN SORENSEN 

correspondent

VANCOUVER

There’s a green Sword of Damocles dangling over Canada’s construction industry, delegates attending the “LEEDing the Contractors” session heard at the 2010 Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) national conference held in Vancouver June 8-10.

So far, no buildings in Canada have failed to meet their LEED certification because of contractor or integrated design team error, but it is something that has happened in the U.S., said Cam Munro, LEED AP, CTR, and Alberta contractor, whose company Clark Builders has worked on 35 LEED projects.

The failure of the U.S. projects to obtain the certification has been highly publicized.

The Canadian contractor or design team that fails to meet the standard would be the very first to blow it, said Munro.

“The news would go through the industry like wildfire,” he said. “Will you ever get another contract?”

He discussed one project in the U.S. that was embroiled in a lawsuit and the Green Real Estate Law Journal, which tracks LEED litigation, has recorded a number of other cases relating to LEED buildings, their content and certification.

The earliest case was Southern Builders v. Shaw, which settled out of court.

It was originally filed in Maryland in 2007 with a proposed hearing date of 2009.

The building didn’t receive its expected LEED rating and the developer didn’t get the Maryland tax credit.

Southern foreclosed on the project and Shaw counter-sued. No details of the out-of-court settlement were disclosed.

In spring 2010, owners of the condominium units in LEED Gold-hopeful Riverhouse development in lower Manhattan’s Battery Park City filed in New York County Supreme Court seeking damages of $1.5 million from the project’s developer.

The lawsuit was for a variety of alleged construction defects and an alleged faulty green heating system, which differed from the official plan.

This is the first case against a developer of a green building, who failed to deliver the project as represented during pre-construction.

Another spring 2010 appeal case before the U.S. Green Building Council review committee involves the Northland Pines High School in Eagle River, Wisc.

It was certified, but didn’t meet the exact specification it aimed for. It was the first time that a third party has appealed LEED certification.

The appellants maintain it shouldn’t have received certification and has drawn attention to the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification process.

As more contracts are setting LEED certification as a condition of contract fulfillment (not merely a proposed target) with penalties attached for non-compliance, there is a greater need for the contractor to ensure clarity.

They must make sure they determine what areas of the construction fall within their responsibility and how those points are to be earned.

The contractor must also ensure they have a clear understanding of what LEED documentation is required both in the office and from sub-trades and tradesmen to meet and verify those targets.

He said it has been his experience that if a contractor didn’t get the documents while the sub-trade was on site, the chances of getting it were slim to none.

A strategy that contractors could employ, he said, was to write in a “hold-back” clause into the sub-contractor or sub-trade work agreement or contract, which hinged upon documentation delivery.

This kind of system also allowed for an incentive payment that rewards sub-contractors, who deliver documentation early.

Munro talked about having clearly defined systems in place that allowed employees to meet target objectives, such as waste recycling.

“How do you deal with all those bins on site?” he asked.

“You put signs on them (designating contents),” he answered.

Also, safety and jobsite cleanliness can impact the site.

To better understand the efficiencies of a paperless office, he said, he’s hired some younger employees who are more used to working on computers.

He also advocated joining associations, which can serve to network, educate and provide new information.

Manufacturers and suppliers, Munro said, have made strides in developing the documentation required to use their products on a LEED site.

“FSC wood was nearly impossible to obtain at one time. Now, it is readily available,” he said.

There still remains work to be done.

“If there is one area, where I think manufacturers and suppliers can step up to the plate, it is sitting down at the table with sub-trades and contractors,” he said.

This would inform those on the integrated design team of new products, product uses as well as provide suppliers and manufacturers with a better understanding of what documentation requirements are for certification.

Originally published @ http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id39320

Health Canada Recalls Nailgun!

Health Canada has issued a recall for a brand of pneumatic coil nailer — used to fire nails into drywall, wood and other surfaces — because the tool sometimes ejects nails sideways.Manufacturer Hitachi Koki has received three reports of injuries in Canada, including one case of partial blindness. There have been 15 reports of injuries in the U.S., including five reports of partial blindness.The nail guns were manufactured between October 2002 and September 2005. They were sold as model number NV83A2.People who bought the tool are advised to stop using it and call Hitachi Canada for a free repair.

15,340 units were sold in Canada and around 50,000 were sold in America.

Marijuana operation found in lumber store

A reputable and long-standing Vancouver lumber supplies store has been temporarily closed after two of its employees were discovered illegally growing marijuana on the premises. 

Slegg Construction Materials, at 560 Raymur Ave., was slapped with a legal notice earlier this month and had its gas and electricity cut off after the city deemed it “unsafe to occupy” because the upper floor had been used for a marijuana-growing operation.

Brad Gagnon, who runs the company’s Delta shop, said the company was alerted to the illegal operation by an ex-employee. The police were called, he said, and the two employees immediately fired.

He said it was a bad day for family-run Slegg Lumber, which is headquartered in Sidney on Vancouver Island and has been in business 62 years.

“[The owners] put a lot of trust in the people they hire to run their stores; they’re very family-oriented,” Gagnon said.

“It was shocking and upsetting for the owner that somebody in the company would take advantage of them like that.”

Will Johnston, the city’s director of licensing and inspection, said the city was alerted to the site by police after the growing operation was discovered upstairs.

According to the notice on the building, the inspection revealed the electrical wiring “was modified to accommodate the grow operation resulting in hazardous conditions.”

The occupants were told to cease using the building until all the mould has been removed and there has been another inspection by a qualified environmental consultant and building inspector.

Gagnon said the company is in the process of cleaning up the mess and preparing for a city inspection. He said he hopes the store can be reopened in the next month.

Vancouver police Const. Lindsey Houghton said Monday no charges had been laid.

Originally posted by Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun

Toxic Drywall In Canada?

Toxic drywall is causing concern across North America, and may make some home buyers hesitant when shopping for a new home. In an article by Bob Aaron, a Toronto real estate lawyer, called Chinese Drywall Creating Crisis, the Toronto Star reported last month that defective Chinese drywall emits toxic hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide and other gasses when exposed to humidity. When the drywall off gasses it creates a noxious odour, which can result in serious health conditions and illnesses, such as breathing problems, eye irritation, fatigue, dizziness, insomnia, sore throat, bloody nose and headaches.

Bob Aaron reports that hundreds of millions of sheets of the defective drywall were imported into the United States between 2001 and 2007. It was also reported an estimated 929,000 square metres arrived in Canada through Vancouver in the same period. According to reports, much of the imported product was used in the lower B.C. mainland, but there is a good chance some made it to the Prairies, and even as far east as Southern Ontario.

Industry watchers have estimated that as few as three sheets of drywall in a house can be enough to contaminate all the walls, reported The Star. In the United States, the crisis has caused the House of Representatives to introduce the Drywall Safety Act to protect citizens. In Canada, industry experts told The Star that the scope of the problem remains to be seen. CREB® will be monitoring this issue as well.

Originally posted by  Jim Sparrow on Saturday, July 4th, 2009 at 11:32am.

Migrant workers protest Kitsilano developer and contractor for unpaid wages

Migrant workers protest outside the “Pulse” condo development at Maple and Broadway in Vancouver March 20 2010. Photograph by: Jon Murray, PNG 

Homeowners pin hopes on judge in drywall cases

By Allison Ross
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

In the complex, ongoing mess created by defective, sulfur gas-emitting drywall, U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon is regarded by many homeowners as the best hope for providing solutions.

The 71-year-old Louisiana judge is presiding over federal lawsuits filed around the country against home builders, suppliers, installers and manufacturers of defective Chinese drywall.

The judge with the soft Southern drawl and penchant for courtroom civility and deadlines is the man whose rulings could set standards on fixing affected homes and determining the extent of damage the wallboard has caused.

In June, when a federal panel of judges ruled that the various defective drywall complaints filed in federal courts would be centralized in New Orleans, it cited Fallon, whom the judges said has “the ability and temperament to steer this complex litigation on a steady and expeditious course.”

Panel chairman Judge John Heyburn II said recently of Fallon: “There are tremendous federal judges across the country, and he’s one of the best.”

Already, lawyers working on the case say they’ve been surprised with the rapid timetable that Fallon established for the litigation.

Today, he will start a first trial on the issue: A Louisiana family has filed against a manufacturer of defective Chinese drywall.

Fallon has extensive experience with complex litigation. He navigated a $330 million settlement between Louisiana homeowners and Murphy Oil Corp. over an oil spill that occurred in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

He tackled his first multi-district litigation with the injury claims against the manufacturer of the heartburn drug Propulsid, and most recently mediated a $4.85 billion settlement in the consolidated class-action case against the makers of the drug Vioxx.

“Regular cases will get him bored,” said attorney Daniel Becnel Jr., who has worked with Fallon both before and after he became a judge.

President Clinton nominated Fallon to the federal court in 1995 after Fallon’s career as a trial lawyer. He’s a former president of the Louisiana Bar Association and was an adjunct professor at Tulane University Law School for almost two decades.

Fallon declined to comment for this story, but colleagues described him as having a good sense of humor and being a stickler for good manners.

“He says a lot with either a nod or a frown and an eyebrow,” said Russ Herman, plaintiffs’ liaison counsel for the drywall case.

“He’ll give you non-verbal cues that’ll tell you when you’re out of line,” Herman said.

He’s the type of judge that Rosa Silipo of Port St. Lucie had hoped would get the consolidated cases.

Silipo discovered in August that her house contains defective Chinese drywall. She doesn’t have the money to move out, and her fears continue to mount that the tainted drywall may be causing serious harm to her 7-year-old son.

With no one else to turn to, Silipo said she’s placing her hope for a solution in Fallon’s hands. “I hope the New Orleans trial will give us some relief,” she said.

Silipo said that when she heard Fallon had thrown out a remediation technique being offered by one of the Chinese drywall manufacturers because it didn’t have enough scientific support, “I knew then and there that he was fair and that he’d work to help us.”

Photo (below): contaminated Chinese drywall corrodes, and turns copper black, among it’s many defects.