Guides & Resources
Plain answers for GCs, developers and owners planning commercial work in New York and New Jersey.
Acoustical tile and gypsum board ceilings each solve different problems. Here is how to compare access, acoustics, appearance, cost and schedule, and when the best answer is both.
Read the guide
Open web bar joists and cold-formed C-joists both carry floors and roofs, but they behave very differently on the jobsite. Here is how a framing crew thinks about choosing and coordinating each one.
Read the guide
The Bronx is building large multifamily and mixed-use projects near transit and highways. This guide covers the structure, framing and ceiling planning that keeps them on schedule.
Read the guide
From rooftop additions in brownstone Brooklyn to new multifamily in rezoned neighborhoods, here is how to plan metal framing, floor systems and ceilings on a Brooklyn job.
Read the guide
What cold formed steel framing is, the components that make up a CFS wall, how shop drawings and delegated design usually work, and the installation and inspection sequence on a commercial job.
Read the guide
A field-level guide for general contractors and developers planning a commercial or multifamily project in Jersey City: neighborhoods, flood zones, logistics, winter steel and the framing sequence.
Read the guideEast Brunswick projects look different from Hudson County towers: wider sites, lower buildings and long joist spans. Here is how to plan the structure and framing phases.
Read the guide
Four composite floor systems, four different approaches. A plain-language comparison of Hambro, EcoSpan, ComSlab and Epicore from the crew that installs them.
Read the guide
Hoboken packs a lot of building into a small city. Here is how its lots, flood history and mixed-use buildings affect metal framing, floor systems and ceilings.
Read the guide
The low number is not always the cheapest framing package. Here is a practical checklist GCs and developers can use to pick a metal framing contractor and compare bids on commercial and multifamily work.
Read the guide
A practical look at light gauge and heavy gauge metal framing on commercial jobs: what the gauge numbers mean, where non-structural and structural studs belong, and why deflection and the engineer of record drive the choice.
Read the guide
From the first column to a fastened, inspected deck, here is how steel erection and metal deck installation actually flow on a commercial building, and where schedules usually slip.
Read the guide
Steel studs are the default on most commercial and multifamily work for good reasons. Here is how metal stud framing compares to wood on fire, moisture, straightness and cost, and what to ask before you award the framing scope.
Read the guide
Mineola is building transit-oriented multifamily and commercial space around its LIRR station. Here is what GCs should plan for in the steel, framing and ceiling phases.
Read the guide
A practical field guide to open web steel joists: what they are, how the common series differ, and what has to happen on site between delivery and a finished deck.
Read the guide
Prefabricated cold formed steel wall panels can carry a mid-rise building floor by floor. Here is how panelized load bearing walls are planned, picked, set and coordinated with the floor system on multifamily and hotel projects.
Read the guide
On commercial interiors, framing sets the pace for every trade behind it. Here is how steel stud framing sequencing works, where schedules usually slip, and what a good framing sub does to keep the job moving.
Read the guide
ACT and T-bar ceilings look like a simple line item, but height, tile choice, coordination and phasing can move the number a lot. Here is what actually drives commercial suspended ceiling cost.
Read the guide
Weehawken splits into a low waterfront and a high bluff. This guide covers what that means for structural steel, metal deck, framing and ceilings on commercial and multifamily jobs.
Read the guide