MAIN Business Construction/Maintenance

Visitors to modern cities marvel at the architectural wonders and residents settle in at home or work knowing that they are in reliable and healthy buildings. Few wonder how the place that they visit, live and work in came to be or how those buildings are kept sturdy and safe.

The construction and maintenance trades are the part of global and local business that no one sees. While the workers who construct new buildings may get noticed, there is much more to the industry than just pouring concrete and setting beams to hold walls and roofs.

If you've ever been involved in adding a room to your home, you have had an introduction to how complex this field is. Imagine the planning, detail, construction materials and skilled workers it takes to construct a 30 story building, a skyscraper or a new mall. Finding the best people and supplies at prices within a budget is a high priority no matter how large or small your job may be.

Once the construction is complete the building project needs to be cared for. Catching a problem early on can avoid more damage and costly repairs. Maintenance of existing buildings is as important in the building trades as putting up new projects.

For those in the trades or anyone curious about how the world they live in was built, these sites offer an industry guide to the U.S. and worldwide. Learn more about the industry or find skilled trades people and the best places to get quality materials.

ConstructionWebLinks - A huge, comprehensive directory to the construction industry with a wealth of news, links and resources in hundreds of categories and subcategories, including engineering, project leads, building code guides, legal issues.

The Blue Book - A top searchable source for the American construction industry & related services with contact details, links.

The IFMA Buyers Directory - Comprehensive listings to products and services worldwide.

Arcat Directory - 300,000 products searchable by product name or type, from the Architect's Catalogue.

McGraw- Hill Construction Directory | ENR - A great resource for getting a handle on top design, engineering and construction contractors worldwide.

Building Trades Directory - Extensive U.S. and international directory to architects, contractors, guilds, building products, schools and institutions.

Construction Canada - 15,000 links and counting - to Canadian construction, home renovation, building, supply, contractors, maintenance, manufacturing and design build professionals.

Construction Information Sources - Another Canadian site, but with a huge global reach searchable by keyword or by category including construction, architectural, computer applications, general interest, government, and lots more.

Construction Plus - This U.K. site has it covered with 10 interlinked sites featuring news, features, job listings, and thousands of other industry links.

Also see in Arts & Culture -> Architecture