The Good and Bad of PEX Pipe

Cross-Linked Polyethylene (PEX or XLPE) is a flexible plastic (polymer) tubing pipe primarily used in both hot and cold-water distribution plumbing systems. During the past two decades in the United States, PEX has also become a common alternative to copper, polyvinyl...

When Bad Things Happen to Good Buildings

The presence of various historically-deficient building materials such as polybutylene piping, fire-retardant treated plywood, and aluminum branch wiring is considered a “red flag” by real estate investors, managers, and lenders. The identification of these...

Making a Difference with PCAs

Sometimes we get caught up in the client requests, the deadlines and the antics of our client managers or co-workers, and the reports just keep flying off our desks into the hands of our clients who sometimes read them but more often than not just glance at the...

The Wild West of Energy Assessments

Besides the creation of various active and pending legislation (such as dry-sounding California AB1103 that requires energy benchmarking data released during property transactions) and the ongoing development of national standards (such as ASTM’s Building Energy...