Topic
Construction Materials
Aiming to disrupt construction, building products start-up Nexii to open new production plant in Squamish, B.C.
February 19, 2020 David KennedyA British Columbia building products start-up looking to upend the construction industry’s conventional building process is scaling up its operations with a new 90,000 sq. ft. production facility. Nexii Building Solutions Inc. announced plans to invest in the new commercial-scale…
Alberta jumps federal gun, will allow 12-storey wood buildings
January 27, 2020 On-Site StaffAlberta won’t await changes to Canada’s national building code before allowing developers to get moving on taller wood buildings. The province’s Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu said Jan. 24 the Alberta government will allow for wood construction projects of up…
Canam Group founders, Quebec investor group buying back Canadian operations of steelmaker
January 21, 2020 Julien Arsenault, The Canadian PressThe deal comes less than three years after the company was taken private with the help of a U.S. private equity firm
Fredericton-based L.S.W. Wear Parts starts distributing Metso products
January 7, 2020 On-Site StaffA significant parts supplier in Atlantic Canada is now carrying screening media, as well as lining and conveyor accessories from aggregates firm Metso Corp. Fredericton-based L.S.W. Wear Parts Ltd. and the Finnish equipment maker announced the new partnership covering Newfoundland…
Federal scientists study how to adapt building codes to climate change
January 6, 2020 Bob Weber, The Canadian PressCanada’s building codes are modernized every five years. The next update is due this year and is likely to be the first to address climate change realities
BASF sells Construction Chemicals unit to U.S. private equity firm Lone Star for $4.6B
December 23, 2019 On-Site StaffThe chemical giant had been shopping for a buyer for the business that employs 7,000 people worldwide for more than a year
Freeland signs new NAFTA pact that includes updated provisions for steel
December 11, 2019 Lee Berthiaume, The Canadian PressOTTAWA—Canada joined the United States and Mexico in heralding a new era of North American prosperity Dec. 10 as they formally agreed to changes to the new continental free trade deal. The amended pact comes after years of intense negotiations…
Manitou introduces telehandler with 12,000-pound capacity designed for construction materials
December 6, 2019 On-Site StaffIn response to customers looking for a machine capable of moving heavy construction materials, Manitou Group has introduced its MTA 12055 Series III telehandler to North America. The telehndler, which has a high boom mount, has a maximum lift…
Cortec MCI 2020 Gel aims to protect embedded rebar from corrosion
November 29, 2019 On-Site StaffCorroding rebar can be a big problem for reinforced concrete. Topical inhibitors can counter the issue when a surface can be properly prepared, but corrosion control specialist Cortec Corp.’s MCI-2020 Gel is designed to work even when concrete can’t…
Non-permanent construction materials and rental equipment: To lien or not to lien
September 30, 2019 Tim SportschuetzA number of construction industry participants subscribe to the principle that contractors (and subcontractors) who provide to a construction site non-permanent rental equipment or materials do not have builders’ lien rights. In this article, I discuss whether the British Columbia…
Adding to the mix: Using admixtures to get your concrete to do what you want it to
August 19, 2019 David KennedyLooking up at the coffered dome of the Roman Pantheon, several thousand tonnes of ancient concrete overhead, the majesty of the nearly 2,000-year-old temple is lost on few. The building’s dome, still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world,…
Sidewalk releases grand vision for controversial Toronto development
June 25, 2019 Ian Bickis, The Canadian PressExpanding on the project’s initial scope, the subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet has mapped out an elaborate urban development project that could cost $38 billion over the next 20 years
From the editor… The tariffs are gone, but don’t hold out for cheaper steel and aluminum
June 12, 2019 by David KennedyPrime Minister Justin Trudeau, with several cabinet ministers in tow, took a victory lap through the Hamilton, Ont. Stelco plant May 17, hours after news of the tariffs being lifted first surfaced last month. Predictably, Trudeau credited his government’s countermeasures…
It’s not easy going green: For contractors, embracing the sustainable building ‘paradigm shift’ isn’t optional
June 10, 2019 David KennedyWith exposed concrete on all sides and piping from mechanical systems overhead, a compact drilling rig bores slowly into the ground beneath the Arthur Meighen Building in Toronto. The rig takes about a day to drill a 13-centimetre (five-inch) borehole…
Long awaited end to Canada’s tariff standoff with U.S. finally at hand
May 17, 2019 Mike Blanchfield and James McCarten, The Canadian PressThe U.S. imposed the tariffs nearly a year ago, souring relations with Ottawa, which has blasted them as illegal and absurd
Freeland leaves D.C. with no tariff deal, despite early optimism from U.S.
May 15, 2019 Mike Blanchfield, The Canadian PressOTTAWA—Close, maybe, but no cigar. Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland came and went from Washington May 15, shifting diplomatic gears and jetting to Havana on a day that saw early hope that the end of the Canada-U.S. tariff dispute was…
Taking shape: 3D printing revolution on the horizon
April 24, 2019 Jillian MorganAt Sika AG’s research facility in Widen, Switzerland, the nozzle of a 3D printer pumps out billowy concrete at one metre per second. The material cures almost instantly, just in time for the machine’s printing arm to deposit the next…
Breaking it down: Crusher evolution prompts contractors to rethink aggregates
April 22, 2019 Jillian MorganThe steep cost of hauling off and disposing of rubble from job sites, only to purchase and truck in virgin aggregate from far-off quarries, has motivated the construction industry to turn its garbage into gold. Geoffrey Faber, territory manager West…
Canadian construction costs balloon as steel and aluminum tariffs exact a heavy price
April 12, 2019 by David KennedyThe trade battle was expected to be brief, but nearly a year after the U.S. imposed duties on Canadian steel and aluminum, the tariffs remain firmly in place
Engineered wood to be put to use in two B.C. megaprojects, Horgan says
April 8, 2019 Hina Alam, The Canadian PressVANCOUER, B.C.—British Columbia is moving to help revive the provincial forest industry by requiring the use of engineered wood on the new St. Paul’s Hospital and the upgrade to the Royal B.C. Museum. Premier John Horgan told the Council of…