There's a reason the population of Alberta has grown faster than any other Canadian province. With the area being renowned as Canada's leading producer of conventional crude oil, the construction of new "oil industry highways," subdivisions, commercial enterprises, and parking lots has spurred tremendous economic growth. Here's how one commercial construction company has led the charge in both the building of oil-related projects, and in the utilization of Canadian oil products for its heavy machinery.

Looking to provide some heat relief for your renovated office or retail spaces? Engineered originally for the residential housing market, this externally extracting baffled ridge vent is able to suck out the heat and moisture from overhead spaces by allowing the continuous movement of air. Ideal for residential buildings that are rezoned for urban commercial use, the Xtractor Vent XLP Turbo is available in convenient 25 ft rolls.

It's truly a one-of-its-kind truck: a modified, military, two-and-one-half ton work horse that services New Jersey's Tom's River sewer and tunnel system. This custom line-cleaning truck was developed from "the truck that won the war" (WWII that is), and was constructed purely from Tom's River innovation, know-how, and necessity.

When you think about mobile compressors for the commercial construction site, chances are you automatically picture a cumbersome trailer-mounted, two-gal, one-horse, belt-driven machine that takes time and manpower to unhitch and deploy. But all that's changing with new commercial-grade compressors that are light enough to carry, yet powerful enough to get the job done right.

In the wake of the 2007 I-35W Bridge disaster, Minnesota engineers are taking a serious look at the concrete materials they'll be utilizing in the design and construction of the replacement structure. To create a bridge that will perform at levels far higher than those specified, the contracted concrete producer has come up with not just one concrete design mix, but four different ones to strengthen the new bridge's four structural levels.

Can you imagine attempting a commercial or industrial interior wiring job without utilizing fish tape (or poles) for pushing and pulling your wiring through tight interior wall cavities and conduits? Maybe fish tape has been around as long as structures have been wired up for electricity, but new engineering advances in fish tape are making the electrician's job easier and safer than ever. And in the electrical contracting business, easy means efficiency and savings.

Not long ago, the newly-constituted nation of South Africa announced a major architectural/engineering competition to design and construct a complex for the Mpumalanga Provincial Government. The winning entry would not only reflect traditional African building approaches, but also modern. In particular, the building would be fully sustainable and feature renewable materials. A winning entry would also be judged according to "its excellent structural, thermal, and aesthetic qualities."

The State of Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for performing some very sensitive air, water, and land testing. Which means that when it came time for its laboratories to be renovated to meet 21st century standards, Green and sustainable flooring products were exclusively specified in the project documents. According to the project architect, "...durability plays to the sustainability of the floor and contributes to the overall sustainability of the building."

Tired of being the last General Contracting firm to know about an important, not to mention, lucrative commercial project about to occur in your home territory? Instead of being "scooped" by the competition, it's now possible to get an insider's view of what projects are about to be privately negotiated or publicly bid. This interactive and informative Web site not only provides investigative construction leads regarding all phases of projects in development, but it also allows you to market your own services to potential developers, engineers, and architects.

Waste Not Want Not

Where does all the construction waste go after we toss it into the 50 yard dumpster? By most accounts, construction waste and debris make up more than 25% of many landfills worldwide. That's a lot of garbage. It's also a lot of waste material that can be relegated to the "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" portion of our brains. But in their book Cradle to Cradle, M. Braungart and W. McDonough pose the question, "When something is thrown away, where is 'away'?" Cradle challenges current approaches and pooh-poohs the notion that commercial structures are bad for the environment.

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Heavy-Duty Hybrids: Say it Ain't So!

Are hybrid machines the wave of the future for heavy construction? Or, despite rising gas prices, should we stick with utilizing tried, true, and powerful fossil-fueled equipment?