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Concrete

April 30, 2012

Bot Construction tops in ORBA green awards

Bot Construction Group is the winner of the 2012 ORBA Green Leadership and Sustainability Award.

April 13, 2012

Ontario College of Trades reviews concrete, cement worker apprenticeship ratios

The Ontario College of Trades is going to review the journeyperson to apprentice ratios for precast concrete erectors, precast concrete finishers, cement concrete finishers and cement masons. Panelists will include David McKee of the Ontario Labour Relations Board plus Stanislav Panasyuk and Clive Thurston from the construction industry.

April 13, 2012

Merit Foundation takes aim at Ontario College of Trades

The Ontario College of Trades (OCOT), which is reviewing journeyman to apprentice rations in construction and other skilled trades, is the first target on the radar of Merit Foundation, chaired by Bernie Melloul, which was formed to help raise funds for lobbying and coordination efforts issues important to Merit Ontario. The foundation will be formally constituted on May 2 at Merit Ontario’s annual general meeting in Oakville, Ontario.

April 10, 2012

Precast concrete patches make the grade on Ontario highways

It’s been several years since precast concrete patches were first trialed on Ontario highways as a fast track repair and the data so far shows they’re standing up to the test of traffic and time.

April 5, 2012

Ontario College of Trades invites submissions for construction apprenticeship ratio reviews

The Ontario College of Trades’ (OCOT) review panels are calling for submissions for the college’s first ratio review. The first trades up for review include floor covering installer and crane operator.

April 5, 2012

Concrete stars at Burlington, Ontario Performing Arts Centre

At the recently completed Burlington Performing Arts Centre, concrete gets top and permanent billing.

March 21, 2012

Concrete infrastructure maker Con Cast Pipe fined after worker injured

Con Cast Pipe Inc. has been fined $55,000 by the Ontario Court of Justice for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act after a worker was injured. The Guelph, Ontario firm makes concrete infrastructure products. A worker suffered multiple fractures and a punctured lung after an accident involving a steel concrete form in August, 2010.

March 19, 2012

Bellingham, Washington construction project uses recycled toilets

Greenroads, a rating system developed at the University of Washington (UW) to promote sustainable roadway construction, awarded its first official certification to a Bellingham project that incorporates porcelain from recycled toilets. The Greenroads Foundation made the award last month to the Meador Kansas Ellis Trail project which was recognized for doing things such as using low-energy LED streetlights, managing storm water with porous concrete and accommodating cyclists and pedestrians.

March 15, 2012

Canadian Construction Association recognizes outstanding contributors

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) has recognized outstanding contributions of individuals, associations and firms in its annual national awards program. In all, eleven awards were handed out.

March 9, 2012

Nova Scotia government invests in concrete product that uses carbon dioxide

Nova Scotia crown corporation Innovacorp has secured $1.1 million in venture capital funding for CarbonCure Technologies Inc. The CarbonCure Block System, designed to make stronger, greener and cheaper concrete, will be installed at concrete plants owned by Atlas Block of Midland, Ontario, The Shaw Group of Lantz, Nova Scotia and Basalite Concrete Products of Dixon, California.

March 12, 2010

War Memorial arch in Woodstock, Ontario is restored

Mississauga-based Roof Tile Management spent over three months restoring and rebuilding a First World War memorial in Woodstock, Ontario about five metres away from its original location. Pow Petermann Consulting Engineers was the consultant and the city received a grant from the Department of National Defence.

March 12, 2010

Artist transforms his land into a gallery of concrete sculptures

About 50 kilometes north of Huntsville, Ont., Peter Camani is perfecting his castle — a real-life concrete structure the artist and sculptor has been working on for almost three decades.

March 12, 2010

Institute for Research in Construction tests new concrete mix

A new high-performance concrete mix developed by researchers at the Institute for Research in Construction holds out the possibility of extending the life of bridge decks by as much as 20 years over decks fabricated from ordinary high-strength concretes.

March 12, 2010

A ballet of tight timing and logistics on Hospital for Sick Children Research Tower in Toronto

The concrete component of the new $419 million Hospital for Sick Children’s Research Tower in downtown Toronto is a tightly choreographed team effort. Construction by EllisDon Corp. is scheduled for completion in 2013.

March 12, 2010

Century limestone landmark at St. Michael Catholic School in Belleville being restored

The Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic District School Board is going the extra mile to restore its early 20th century limestone school, a landmark on the main street of Belleville.

March 12, 2010

Graduate took a shine to polishing concrete

For Lucas Rolland of Grimsby, Ont.-based Contemporary Concrete Solutions, each concrete polishing job is a business card for the company’s next project.

March 12, 2010

Workers reinstall original bricks from 1925 car dealership on the face of a new Toronto condo

Cameras are a masonry heritage contractor’s best friend when dismantling, cataloguing and storing historic building faades and architectural details.

March 12, 2010

Boring machine ‘Big Becky’ nears completion on Niagara Tunnel project

Excavation of the tunnel by Big Becky, a Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with a 14.44-metre-diameter drill profile, has been underway since 2006 and is scheduled for completion at an Ontario Power Generation facility near Niagara Falls this April.

March 12, 2010

Dome, sweet dome: going back to the future

The Great Lakes Dome Company has more than a dozen construction projects under its belt, most of them residential. The technology used to build the domes allows for the construction of buildings up to 1,000 feet in diameter.

March 12, 2010

Going green makes green sense for Ready Mixers as demand grows

Taking green-friendly design seriously is smart business for member plants of the Ready Mixed Concrete Association of Ontario (RMCAO) these days.