A recent article from an engineering journal has shed some new light on an age old issue-the drop of productivity in construction. The article is titled “Don’t Blame the Worker.”

“Italian finish” is the broad term given to a wide range of products that have been introduced into the market. Other names include faux finish, Venetian plaster, colored veneer plaster and I am sure there are more regional names out there in the marketplace.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 30 percent of companies misclassify employees. Misclassification is defined as employees being referred to as independent contractors and it is a violation of the law.

Walls & Ceilings magazine has published a few stories about the “Underground Economy” and “Misclassification” in recently.

In these uncertain times, contractors have to make decisions that will ultimately have an impact on your business and livelihood. What job to take, which ones to pass up, when to cut staff, when to add staff, where do you add them, when to expand or even drop a certain segment of the market that is just not worth it-decisions, decisions.

Water testing is complicated and as a contractor, if you have never had to be subjected to it, you can count yourself lucky. Water testing has made exterior plaster and EIFS work anything but business as usual.

The truth is no designer or contractor wants a leaky wall assembly. Past water intrusion problems into walls have created billions of dollars in damage, struck fear in the hearts of architects and led to some drastic overreaction and insane alterations.

I was a plastering contractor during the last horrible recession of the late-’70s. Work was so scarce that we even bid for one of the more notorious developers in our area. Even knowing this particular developer was infamous for burning subcontractors, running a project site with no regard for proper sequence and avoiding retention payment, we felt we had to bid his work.

Can cement stucco and EIFS work in wet climates? The answer is yes and we can prove it. A recent study from the NAHB Research Center reported that brick veneer was the most dry of all claddings they tested. They really need to know all the facts.

In January, Walls & Ceilings held the Webinar “Continuous Insulation: Plaster & The Energy Code.” During the Q&A following the presentation, many questions were asked.