Congrats! You've survived your first week of summer weather in the Pacific Northwest. If you're like me though, 90+ temperatures mean you're actually spending more time inside, mooching off whoever is wise enough to pay for air conditioning. Though the winter is where...
Have you noticed that Oregon is changing? In the metro areas anyway, the apparent influx of people to Oregon in recent years has seemingly changed everything from the landscape to the traffic. But change isn't always a bad thing, especially for local rental and...
Generally, it's safe to assume when someone does work on a construction project, that person will expect to be paid. How soon that obligation to pay arises, however, is likely determined by the contract between the parties. In some cases, when it comes to a prime...
Things can change in an instant in the construction business. For example, a contractor may make a bid relying on a bid proposal from a subcontractor. Any number of circumstances can then cause that subcontractor to withdraw after the contractor won the project bid....
Last month we wrote about some of the potential liability construction businesses can avoid by hiring licensed contractors. We noted that it would be shortsighted for businesses to see hiring unlicensed contractors as a way to reduce project costs. But what happens...
Last week we wrote about some of the unique qualities of Oregon's Prompt Payment Statute that provides recourse for construction subcontractors and contractors when an owner or contractor fails to pay on time. Though it can be particularly harsh, the statute's...
If there's one thing every person in the construction business knows, it's that you can expect delays in completing any project. But those delays aren't always the result of a negligent contractor, or unexpected costs. Sometimes, an owner or lead contractor can create...
Sometimes the hardest part of a construction planning project is finding a way to stay under budget. One way businesses accomplish that is by hiring contractors who give the lowest bids for a particular job. Sometimes, however, these contractors aren't actually...
We recently discussed the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division's crackdown on construction project safety hazards. Today we want to elaborate on its efforts, and address Oregon OSHA's top ten safety violations for 2013, as published in its February 2014...
In somewhat startling contrast to the uptick in 2013 commercial and residential construction spending we recently wrote about, the outlook for Oregon in 2014 might not be as positive. The annual business outlook report by the Associated General Contractors of America...