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SkillsUSA 2011 – Day 3

Today is the final day of the competition for all the competitors in all the competitions and the biggest day of hands-on competition around (i.e. if you can only make one day – this is it). In the case of the Team Works competitors, they have until 5 PM to regroup and get everything completed […]

SkillsUSA 2011 – Day 2

Today is the day where the rubber meets the road, not only for all the teams, but the logistics (State Farm), judges (NARI),  volunteers (Stanley), and for those on the Technical Committee that have spent the last 10 months working towards this day. A special shout out also has to be given to all the […]

SkillsUSA 2011 – Day 1

This year I am quite honored to be attending the SKILLS USA National Championships as not only a VIP guest (mrW tradesmen), but as one of the NARI judges for the “Team Works” event. For many (including me originally) one of the first questions asked is – what in the world is SKILLS USA? The […]

Safety Sunday: Fire Extinguisher Primer

Ahhh, the bright red fire extinguisher, you can hardly go throughout a day without hardly seeing one; but how much do you know about them, how will you REACT, and why does everyone want you to PASS the extinguisher (don’t they realize you got it)? The 5 Classes & Rating of Extinguishers: There are 5 […]

Air Sealing: Sealing those Attic Penetrations

In our last few articles we have been focusing on the attic; namely creating an insulated attic hatch, and creating a means to store items & walk through the attic without disturbing blown in insulation. We have been spending a lot of time focusing on the attic as it is one of the most overlooked, […]

Let’s Blog Off: TV Shows & Advice

This week, the Let’s Blog Off crew decided to ask – What’s your Favorite “Guilty Pleasure” TV Show? Well as many of us occasionally like to do, we are going to take this one off the rails a little. I would have to say my favorite show that falls into their criteria (in a roundabout […]

NAHB Business Management Training

One of the interesting parts about NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) as compared to most other certification or organizational entities is an emphasis on Business Management.  For many of their “entry-level” (for better lack of a term) courses one must take Business Management for Building Professionals.  Thus in order to receive the CGP designation […]

NAHB CGP: Certified Green Professional Training

Well, here we go again, same ole’… Yes folks, one more class & another set of initials – this time though it is required for a new Energy Efficiency program being launched for customers of Huntsville Electric  this coming July. Assuming everything works out, expect an article or two later this month or early in […]