Windows Follow Up

Last week I wrote about a window job in Hawaii that I had significant concerns about.  I was thrilled to hear from many people with additional thoughts on the project and I wanted to cover a few of them this week as a follow up.  First off, I did get told that the windows were not floor to ceiling.  They are floor level but only going up 30”.  So that obviously makes a difference in the scenario of an adult walking through it.  Even with that I am still not a fan of the design and still don’t believe it’s logical.  The opening still can be very dangerous for a child or a pet.  How that’s not a bigger issue is surprising to me.   Plus as I mentioned last week- without a safety screen this makes it an opening for debris to fall and cause damage on the street below.  I guess this make up is common, though it really makes no sense to me.  If you want fresh air, it seems to me that there’s got to be other ways.  The other avenue that a few brought up was energy loss.  That’s a healthy opening to allow air in- how does this effect the energy usage?  I am not sure- I’d assume the climate in Hawaii may be OK for this as the AC may not need to run at night if you can get air flow from the window openings.  Anyway, it’s been a fascinating ride and I’ll continue to monitor.

Elsewhere…

--  The Architectural Billings Index popped back into positive territory for February.  I had a feeling that was going to be the case.  The real positive takeaway was that the AIA feels March and April will be strong- so here’s the thing to watch… Most expect 2016 to be a good year.  The put in place spend is already there.  2017 is something we just don’t know.  This forecast (because it hits our industry a year out) is one of those indicators that could give us a clue- so the next few months are important in relation to the start of the 2017 cycle.

--  If you have not seen the incredible video from Guardian Industries on how float glass is made, do yourself a favor and check it out.  Well done and a great tool for showing those in the industry who have never been to a float- how it works.  Kudos to the team at Guardian responsible for this one!

--  Time is running out for you to get your nominations in for the prestigious Glass Magazine Awards. April 8^th is the cutoff.  So many great projects and products in our industry- I love this stuff!

--  So time for another list… Forbes did a rundown of the Top 10 most traffic-clogged cities… so I know have had this subject before because it always intrigues me.  This one is missing a doozy location in my opinion… here’s the countdown

  10- Honolulu- Wow I may move HQ of this blog to Hawaii since that area keeps coming up!  You know to be closer to the news and action of course!

  9- Atlanta- It’s bad- but not top 10 bad for me- those who live there may disagree

  8- Chicago- Absolutely brutal.

  7- Boston- When it rains- this is top 3.

  6- Seattle- Traffic a mess because of layout of city.

  5- New York City- Is this true or reputation?

  4- Houston- Been there, taken side streets to avoid the backups, only to be more miserable

  3- San Francisco- All of the public transport doesn’t help?

  2- Washington DC- no question- deserved…

1-    Los Angeles- Is this like NYC?  Reputation over reality?

Who’s missing?  Dallas/Ft. Worth.  That is a top 5 traffic nightmare city for me.  Between construction and rush hour and those crazy GPS destroying on and off ramps, how this is not in the top 10 is amazing to me.

LINKS of t he WEEK

Denver got crushed with a blizzard last week.  Thank goodness I was not there for that…

Good stuff- hopefully this young man can keep climbing at that organization

Nice work Cam Newton!

VIDEO of the WEEK

If you know me- you know I LOVE dogs.  This video is great- a stray dog, living on the streets is rescued and rehabbed.  Video captures the amazing journey…