CSI divisions - past and present

Here's a handy chart that lists the comparison of CSI numbers from the old format to the new format...

The Handy Chart

Some "rules of thumb"

Some miscellaneous items condensed nicely into an incomplete little list...

http://www.mclarneyconstruction.com/ChartTable/ArchRulesofThumb.pdf

Cool bike racks

Bike racks don't need to be boring. Check these out:

DERO bike racks

This one is for hanging on walls of parking garages under multifamily housing units:

Wall Rack

Concrete terminology - heavy and hard...

What's the difference between hydraulic cement underlayment and gypsum cement underlayment? Not much, based on this terminology database:

Concrete terms

Two separate spec sections for hydraulic vs gypcrete, and not much of a difference, it seems. The way hydraulic cement is defined, it seems that it means "just add water"...wha?

Fire rated acoustical tile ceilings

It seems counter-intuitive to think that acoustical tile ceilings can be part of a rated assembly, but they are, based on UL classifications and product literature.

UFAS

Any project that involves federal funding must comply with UFAS. This means direct funding, block grants, vouchers, the whole nine. All tax credit financed projects which take vouchers must comply with UFAS. The short answer here is that 5% of the units must comply with UFAS standards, regardless of the local jurisdiction's requirements (which, depending on where you are, requires 2% to 15% of units to be accessible per the IBC, which references ANSI 117.1).

It seems that in jurisdictions that require less than 5% accessible units, the compliance with UFAS (5%) is a safe harbor.

In jurisdictions that require more than 5% accessible units, compliance with UFAS for the 5% and compliance with ANSI for the remaining required units would suffice. Or UFAS for all of them.

When there is no federal money involved, UFAS doesn't apply.

Quick access to the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards.

And the mother of all checklists for UFAS is here.

Paint colors

One of the most subjective aspects of design, based on opinion and taste, and not at all on empirical reasoning. Couple that with the fact that finishes are often chosen in places where the light that will actually reflect on them in their final built environment is not rendered in the same way, i.e. we're pickin' 'em in our office under fluorescent lighting.

For what it's worth, paint colors by a particular manufacturer on the screen are searchable here.