Podcast: Episode #010

Subtitle: A Finish Tradesman's August

Post Date: August 31, 2019

Host: Eric D. Lussier

Co-founder of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier returns to the mic to host episode 10. As a subcontractor that handles floor finishes, Eric commiserates about the month of August, which tends to be absolute hell for installers.

Project schedules are being impacted on the front end more commonly due to weather delays, yet the completion timeframe of the buildings aren't being compensated for on the back end. Jobsites aren't ready. They aren't weathertight. Other trades work isn't complete. The HVAC is not on.

Eric talks through multiple jobsites that have had water infiltration issues, even though the buildings were  supposedly weather tight and ready for flooring. He also talks about the real issues that he is confronted with on almost every job - high concrete moisture rates and concrete planarity and levelness.  An 1/8" in 10' radius is the standard in the industry, yet it is getting increasingly more difficult to achieve that.

What is the key of a successful flooring project?  Be aware of the moisture threshold of your concrete slab. Know how to properly test, as per ASTM F-2170 (Standard Test Method for Determining Relative Humidity in Concrete Floor Slabs Using in situ Probes). Understand and know that concrete moisture is an issue, whether you are working on a renovation, or in new construction. On renovation projects, any concrete vapor barrier that may have been used would be compromised or deteriorated. Understand that until the ground is taken out of play that you will always have moisture traveling into and out of your slab (unless it is capped or a concrete admixture is introduced). Eric references Peter Craig in the podcast. Visit his website at www.floorworks3.com Lastly, know what your concrete tolerances are and how you can minimize or eliminate saw cuts, where curling is commonplace.

Eric has a real concern that project jobsites may be getting worse before they get better. There are 300,000 vacant jobs in construction now, with the fear that there may be 1,000,000 vacancies by 2026. Skilled tradesman are retiring and novice professionals are having to elevate before they acquire the skills that were traditionally held by their predecessors.

Podcast Introduction and Outro by Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com

Podcast: Episode #008

Subtitle: CONSTRUCT 2018 Preview

Post Date: September 18, 2018

Hosts: Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside

Show Notes: Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside, host the latest episode and start talking about the Summer construction season

Summers as a contractor, as Eric's company is, is typically filled with project management and the physical construction of a building. However, this Summer of 2018 was filled with a heavy bidding climate for Eric, as well as many other contractors that he spoke with. Cherise, in contrast, who works in a design studio, found that 2018 has found that projects are not bidding when they would typically bid. Owners are looking for alternative methods to save money and get their projects built, including looking for alternative schedule to build. 

As a finish trade, Eric bemoans how the construction schedule typically squeezes the Division 9 contractors, especially the flooring guy, who are forced to work with other trades in the room in sub-par conditions such as non-weather tight rooms or with HVACs not running.

The skilled labor workforce is discussed briefly as Eric spoke to a large Northeast General Contractor who is tackling not one, but two large projects in Burlington, Vermont.  They presently don't envision having a labor problem themselves, but they do foresee that many of their specialty subcontractors will have issues staffing their work. The wages are out there, especially on prevailing wage projects.

Turning the page on the Summer, Fall is quickly approaching. Typically in September, CSI's annual convention and affiliated tradeshow, CONSTRUCT is held. Eric and Cherise met at CONSTRUCT in Phoenix in 2012 and then went on to attend Nashville in 2013, Baltimore in 2014, St. Louis in 2015, Austin in 2016 and Providence in 2017.  

This year CONSTRUCT moves to October 3rd to the 5th in Long Beach, California and is coming up in just two short weeks. As Eric and Cherise outlined previously on the Let's Fix Construction blog, they find themselves quite busy in 2018.
 
A new presentation debuts in 2018 for Eric and Cherise, titled 'Facing Danger: Public Speaking for Non-Public Speakers' and Eric wrote the concept for this session around Cherise's public speaking career, which launched at CONSTRUCT in Nashville five years ago.  You can read more about the CONSTRUCT session here.

The next presention hosted at CONSTRUCT will be the flagship presentation, 'Let's Fix Construction: An Interactive, Problem Solving Workshop'. CONSTRUCT in 2017 hosted an abbreviated version of this workshop, with about 150 attendees in 45 minutes.  Being given twice the amount of time in 2018, many interesting conversations will be held about hot-button issues in the industry, and given the opportunity to talk to other disciplines outside of the contract, open conversations are typically held and enjoyed.

In this year's Luncheon session is the 'Archispeak Interactive Luncheon: Real Talk About Challenges, Opportunities & Innovations Surrounding AEC Teams' hosted by Evan Troxel, Neal Pann, and Cormac Phalen. Cherise met Evan, Neal and Cormac through Twitter a handful of years ago and as a member of the CONSTRUCT Education Advisory Council, Cherise offered their name to speak at CONSTRUCT. You can check out their podcast at www.archispeakpodcast.com and more on the session here.

Cherise hosts the fourth annual Young Professionals Program on Wednesday, October 3rd, which was built for those 35 and under to provide the attendees with the training, networking, mentoring, and education that they need to boost their careers to the next level. The core session of YP Day is the two hour speed mentoring session where the attendees will meet one on one with leaders in the industry. Each party takes turns to learn more about their career paths, challenges they have overcome, and advice they have for each other. There is still time to attend YP Day at a discounted rate. Check out www.CONSTRUCTshow.com/YPday for more details on the schedule. 

The last CONSTRUCT 2018 session that Cherise is involved in is the 'POWER PANEL--Millennials as Successors: Misconceptions & Realities - Hear it from them!'  Joined by Michael Riscica (aka Young Architect), Cam Featherstonhaugh, Kyhla Pollard and Tiffany Coppock on stage, Cherise is hoping to dispel some commonly held beliefs about their generation and what they want for the future of the industry. Read more about this panel here.

Thursday night, October 4th will be the second annual Partners and Pints event with our friends at Clark Dietrich. We hosted year one at Narragansett's production brewery in Pawtucket, RI and this year we will be taking over Gladstone's at the historic Pike Pier.  FREE to attend, Partners and Pints features food, drinks, games, and giveaways and another chance to hang out with friends new and old. There is still space and still time to register at www.PartnersandPints.com

Speaking of still time to register, there is still space to attend CONSTRUCT.  All new registrants can save 20% on the education package or receive a FREE Expo pass You can use the promo code SMFB06 or visiting here.

Podcast Introduction and Outro By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com 

Listen on YouTube here: ​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY-VSdZ4300&

Podcast: Episode #005

Subtitle: Just Like Groundhog Day

Post Date: February 2, 2018

Hosts: Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside

Show Notes: Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside, open by discussing the movie 'Groundhog Day' and its premise of reliving the same day over and over again is much like construction and how we do the same things over and over again and expect different results: the definition of insanity!

Cherise kicks off by talking about how one of her major peeves is the lack of coordination with keynotes on the architectural drawings and the disconnect between the design team and the architectural specifier or whomever is taking lead on the standards.

Eric's first Groundhog Day insanity is how the typical building product marketer leads off a typical sales call by regurgitating marketing speak: the age of their company, how they've never had a product failure and how wonderful their warranty is.  Meanwhile, they aren't achieving what they should be tackling: ensuring that they answer the questions and delivering the answers that the designer wants to hear. Cherise is able to offer the importance of billable time when it comes to her role as an architectural specifier and how crucial observing timeframes are when she allocates 15 minutes to a building product marketer who is making a sales call. 

Coordination with consultants and Division 01 General Requirements, a topic that is touched on in the Let's Fix Construction Episode 3 (http://www.letsfixconstruction.com/podcast/ep-003) is echoed as the next part of Groundhog Day insanity.  This topic was what kicked off Cherise's public speaking career and is an LFC workshop: http://www.letsfixconstruction.com/aecoordination.html 

Eric closes the podcast by discussing his biggest issues that he deals with as a sports flooring subcontractor: concrete moisture and condition of the concrete. For 12 years, Eric deems concrete as the bane of his existence and seemingly from job to job, he deals with the same issues with concrete. He suggests that having a conversation about expectations up front will save lots of headaches and money at the 11th hour.

Podcast Introduction and Outro: By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com 

YouTube: Stream or listen on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/zYa3YjYgIoc

Soundcloud: Stream or listen on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fix-construction/podcast-ep-005

Podcast: Episode #004

Subtitle: Pursue Opportunities at CONSTRUCT

Post Date: January 9, 2018

Hosts: Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside

Show Notes: Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside discuss CONSTRUCT (www.constructshow.com). CONSTRUCT, which will be held in Long Beach, CA from October 3-5, 2018, is the only dedicated national trade show and educational conference for the commercial building teams that spec, source and purchase building products and coincidentally, is where they met in Phoenix in 2011.  

Eric and Cherise talk about their past personal experiences at CONSTRUCT, some of the professional benefits they have received in attending and presenting, the people they have met and the value of an event that includes education from many disciplines in the built environment. 

Learning sessions at CONSTRUCT are selected by an Education Advisory board, which both Eric and Cherise took part in for Providence in 2017 and will again for 2018. 

They close the podcast with a call to the listeners to consider submitting for the opportunity to share their expertise, knowledge and solutions in a presentation at the CONSTRUCT Show.  The call for sessions is due by January 31, 2018 and information on how to submit is located here

Read a summary on CONSTRUCT in Providence 2017, including quotes by attendees & exhibitors by visiting here.

Podcast Introduction and Outro: By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com 

YouTube: Also stream or listen on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/MLXScr418AE

Soundcloud: Also stream or listen on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fix-construction/podcast-ep-004

Podcast: Episode #003

Subtitle: Division 01: Essential Project Particulars

Post Date: December 11, 2017

Hosts: Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside

Show Notes: Co-founders of Let's Fix Construction, Eric D. Lussier and Cherise Lakeside continue the conversation on Division 01: General Requirements that Cherise started on the blog post 'Division 01: The Project Road Map' which you can read at http://www.letsfixconstruction.com/blog/div01.  Cherise speaks about creating the Specs 101 class and the rules of the project that are found in Division 01.

Eric talks about how obtaining his CSI CDT (http://csiresources.org/certification/cdt) was an eye-opening and enriching education that demonstrated how architectural specifications operated far beyond the Division 09 that his flooring finishes were found in. 

The architect and their consultant document coordination are a source of conflicting information and Cherise's original presentation 'Architect/Consulting Engineer Coordination: Closing the Gap' was generated as a result of these issues. 

Read more about 'What ARE specifications?' including the definition of Division 01 from our friend Liz O'Sullivan on her blog here: http://www.specificationsdenver.com/

Read more definitions from A201- 2007 General Conditions of the Contract for Construction from the American Institute of Architects: https://www.aiacontracts.org/contract-documents/22076-general-conditions-of-the-contract-for-construction

Podcast Introduction and Outro By Mel Allen www.therealvoice.com

Podcast Theme: "Let's" is performed by Milton Busker www.miltonbusker.com 

YouTube: Also stream or listen on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/SDrG3mSxU80

Soundcloud: Also stream or listen on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fix-construction/podcast-ep-003