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Tired of your cramped, dark kitchen? Has your bathroom seen better days? Need an extra bedroom or more space? While some homeowners automatically hire a contractor to get what they want, others toy with the idea of doing the work themselves, acting as their own contractor. After all, you aren’t required to hire a contractor to make improvements to your own property. The law allows you to do it yourself. However, keep in mind that every community has its own rules regarding owner-builders. We know of one, for example, that doesn’t allow owner-builders to do their own electrical work. Always check with your local building department or permit office for specifics before hanging out your construction company shingle. As an owner-builder, you may not need a contractor’s license, but you are expected to get a building permit where required and to comply with all applicable building codes and ordinances.
AMHERSTBURG -- Manager of Public Services Lou Zarlenga has provided an update on various construction projects occurring within Amherstburg. Zarlenga's report came before town council at the October 10 meeting. He had provided a similar report several months ago detailing projects that were ongoing at that time as well. Zarlenga said in his latest report that the sanitary sewer on St. Arnaud St. is now complete and crews have started on Bertrand St. "A few challenges have surfaced in locating existing sanitary connection pipes to the residents," stated Zarlenga. "However few problems have occurred. This work is slightly ahead of schedule." Zarlenga noted that the base asphalt has been placed on St. Arnaud St. from Balaclava to Sandwich St. with the contractor excavating and placing granular material from Balaclava to Victoria St.
PBL has set the Leighton Group a tight deadline to complete its $1.7 billion City of Dreams casino/hotel project in Macau. Announced on Monday, the City of Dreams is set to become Leighton's largest single project in terms of turnover over the next few years, chief operating officer Bill Wild said yesterday. Mr Wild said Leighton had several larger projects on its books, including Melbourne's $2.5 billion EastLink, otherwise known as the Mitcham-to-Frankston freeway. But he said the Macau project had a much tighter deadline with the casino and most of the rest of the project - which includes four hotels, an apartment block and a theatre - due for completion in the second half of 2008. "It will be a challenge to deliver a massive project in a couple of years," Mr Wild said.
(CBS4) BOSTON A masonry contractor faces proposed fines totaling 119-thousand dollars from a scaffolding collapse in Boston last spring that killed three people.The U-S Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced the penalties against Walpole-based Bostonian Masonry on Friday.Federal officials cited the firm for eight alleged safety violations in the April third accident at the construction site for Emerson College's new dormitory and campus center. Two workers and a passing motorist were killed when a construction platform plunged 13 stories.The accident happened when bracing was being removed as the scaffolding was being dismantled. Investigators found there was nothing to prevent the tower and platform from tipping when the bracing was removed.There was no immediate comment from Bostonian Masonry.
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- The contractor running the Idaho National Laboratory has received more than $2 million in overly liberal bonus money, an audit has found.The audit by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General found that Battelle Energy Alliance received the money in reward fees since February 2005 when it took over operations at INL, the 890-square-mile federal nuclear research area in eastern Idaho.The audit, released in August, also found that goals set by the department were months late, and on some occasions came after the work was done.Officials at the department acknowledged that due dates had been missed, but said deciding whether reward fees were reasonable was subjective. "It may be impossible to ever consistently meet the expectations of the (inspector general) regarding fee allocations," Dennis Spurgeon, the department's assistant secretary for nuclear energy, said in a written response.The audit report cited seven cases of bonus fees that were too large.
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