Just recently some TASM members got involved in helping some high school students. Please take a look at the video below (created by those same students) to learn more.

Greetings from the President.

It is hard to believe that we are only three months away from meeting again for the
TASM annual convention. As you probably already know, the 2011 Convention is being
held in Galveston, Texas at the beautiful San Luis Resort. Donna Landers pulled a major
coup by negotiating a $99 per night rate for our members at this outstanding facility. All
of the hotel rooms are luxuriously and comfortably appointed and have balconies that
overlook the beach and ocean. This resort has all the amenities you could want including
a spa and fitness center, signature steakhouse and a beautiful outdoor heated pool with
swim-up bar. We will be holding a mixer at the pool on the Thursday, January 27, 2011.
This is one Convention that you do not want to miss. We have planned several outings of
interest that will be included in your convention fee complete with transportation. We are
very excited to be working on a charitable project with the Galveston Historical
Foundation in their efforts to save and restore a vintage home that survived the 1900
Great Galveston Hurricane and the more recent Hurricane Ike. The TASM has teamed up
with Lance Renshaw of Modern Hydraulics and we will be working together to lift this
house using one of Modern Hydraulics’ new computerized jacking systems. TASM
member George McMillan has been working in Galveston for the last couple of years and
has graciously agreed to take charge of the project. The lift will take place on Thursday,
January 27, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. Transportation from the San Luis Resort to the lift site will
be provided for you.

TASM member Roy Emmert of Emmert International will be hosting a yard tour at his
Danbury, Texas operation which is a short bus ride from the hotel. We are kicking off our
convention with this outing which will take place on the morning of Thursday, January
27, 2011. There are four great seminars planned for Friday along with an Exhibitors hall
and outdoor equipment display for you to view new vendor merchandise to take care of
your moving needs. On Saturday, we have planned outings to the Ocean Star Offshore
Drilling Rig and Museum followed by a cinematic experience featuring two films
focusing on the history of Galveston. These outings are free and we will provide
transportation for you.

We encourage you to come early this year. Since Hurricane Ike hit Galveston 2 years
ago, there has been a significant amount of work performed by structural movers to help
restore the Island. You should definitely take time on your own and hop on the ferry to
Bolivar Peninsula to witness first hand the devastation inflicted by Ike and tour both
Bolivar and Galveston to view structural lifting and moving projects now taking place. If
you do not want to explore on your own, join us for a guided Segway tour of Galveston
Island.

For more information about the 2011 Convention in Galveston and all that has been
planned for you, please view the convention layout in this magazine and visit the
convention page on the TASM website (www.texashousemovers.com).

Sincerely,

Rhett Hoestenbach
TASM President

Greetings from the Board of Directors.

We would like to invite TASM members to the yard of Dodson House Moving on May 7,
2010. Edgar and Gator Dodson along with other TASM members are preparing a
demonstration to determine the weight of various structures including classrooms and
houses. It is our hope that the information gathered and the demonstration itself will give
us a better working knowledge of relevant weights for the structures that we move
throughout each year. This will be important in our continued effort to create a strong and
open relationship with TXDOT and assisting our movers with proper weight
diagramming on TXDOT Form 109.

The Permits Committee, led by Billy Lemons with the help of his assistant Leslie
Stewart, gathered some very valuable information for the members of our association
concerning the moving of classrooms. The Texas Occupations Code was recently
amended impacting the law for moving relocatable educational facilities (REFs) that are
leased or purchased after January 1, 2010. The language of the new statute proved to be
somewhat ambiguous as to the impact the law had on movers of REFs.

Billy traveled to Austin and went to the offices of the Texas Department of Licensing and
Regulation (TDLR) to find out if movers needed to be licensed to move REFs impacted
by the changes in the Occupations Code. Although he was not immediately rewarded
with an answer, he did strike gold two weeks later with a written opinion provided by
Della Lindquist, Assistant General Legal Counsel for the TDLR. Ms. Lindquist provided
the TASM with the following relevant information:

• 1. Structural Mover do not need a license to just move (transport) the buildings to the site.
• 2. Whoever is responsible for the overall site work, including the foundation, installation on the foundation, completion of plumbing, electrical, HVAC work, etc. to complete the installation needs to be registered as an industrialized builder.
• 3. If the school district has overall responsibility for the installation, then they can either register as an industrialized builder (covers all installations for one year) or obtain an installation permit from the Department for each building installed or they can contract with an industrialized builder for all the work to be completed.
• 4. Any REF that does not possess a decal issued by the Texas Industrialized Building Code Council agency may not be sold or leased to be used as portable classroom facilities after January 1, 2010.
• 5. Contractors, such as plumbers and electricians are required to be properly licensed or registered and it is the responsibility of the installer or industrialized builder who is incharge of the installation to make sure that the subcontractors are properly licensed or registered.

The Legislative Committee has been working hard with former TASM Board member
George McMillan to save sixty plus beach houses that have been targeted for demolition
in Galveston, Texas. After Hurricane Ike, the City of Galveston acquired the houses via a
federal buyout program known as the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. The City
accepted the grant money with the proviso that all of the houses were required to be
demolished and disposed. George is on the ground in Galveston and has gathered strong
community support and the ear of the Galveston City Council to save the houses from a
landfill fate and to be relocated to other areas. At the time of press, this fight continues.
Please call me at 512-328-6683 or email me at rhett@328move.com if you would like to
help with this worthy effort.

Sincerely,

Rhett Hoestenbach
TASM President

The 2011 TASM Annual Convention (our 27th) will be help from January 27, 2011 until January 30, 2011 in Galveston, TX. You can see more detail by clicking here.

Details:
San Luis Resort
5222 Seawall Boulevard
Galveston, TX 77551
Phone: 800-445-0090
Reservations: 800-392-5937

by International Association of Structural Movers on Sunday February 21, 2010no comments


The information below has been condensed from its original format for space purposes. Please contact us for a copy of the full brochure.

All the information contained here is straight out of the International Association of Structural Movers' (IASM) brochure. They are undertaking a nationwide effort to encourage each of the 49 remaining states to enact a program patterned after the Iowa Solid Waste Alternative Program.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, construction and demolition (C&D) debris is a complex waste stream generated during building construction, renovation and demolition projects. While some local waste haulers have made an effort to remove valuable materials for recycling, most waste ends up in landfills. Such materials included concrete, steel, wood and shingles. In addition to these wastes, hazardous materials, such as asbestos, lead and mercury may also be generated.

Some statistics of the growing problem from the Deconstruction Institute of Florida real the magnitude of the problem in four categories: Green House Gas, Energy, Economics, and Land Use:
1. GREEN HOUSE GAS: The United States Environmental Protection Agency has estimated that US companies generate 136 million tons of building related and construction demolition (C&D) waste per year. Of that total, 92 percent comes from renovation and demolition. That's enough to construct a wall 30 feet high and 30 feet thick around the entire coast of the continental United States. That's 4,993 miles!

Thirty-three million tons of this debris ends up in landfills. As anaerobic microorganisms decompose the wood, it will release about five millions tons of carbon equivalent in the form of methane gas. This is equivalent to the yearly emissions of 3,736,000 passenger cars.
2. ENERGY: Every building represents a significant investment in energy. For example, energies consumed at each state of its creation; during the original extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing of the raw materials into usable building materials, transportation of the building materials to the site and by the equipment and tools used to assemble the materials into the final form of the building.

The average house contains 892 million Btu's of embodied energy (the total expenditure of energy involved in the creation of the building and its constituent material), an amount of energy equal to 7,826 gallons of gasoline, or enough to drive an SUV 5 1/2 times around the earth.
3. ECONOMICS: The demolition of a typical 2,000-square-foot home can be expected to produce 127 tons of debris. While disposal fees can vary widely depending upon local conditions, at an average rate of $25 per ton disposal costs for a residential demolition would come to $3,175. Beyond this initial cost are the residual costs related to green house gases and landfill maintenance.

4. LAND USE: On a national level, the timber industry is the single largest user of our county's land. Timber production exceeds even agriculture in terms of sheer acreage. Reducing the consumption of new lumber reduces the amount of land needed by this industry to meet demand. Relocating a typical 2,000 square foot wood frame structure can yield 6,000 board feet of reusable lumber. This is equivalent to 33 mature trees, or the yearly output of 10 acres of planted pine (7 football fields).
A MODEL PROGRAM: The Energy and Waste Management bureau of the Iowa Department of Natural resources has developed a model Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP). Its mission to educate and assist Iowans to protect, conserve and enhance natural resources and the environment for all generations through the sustainable practices of pollution prevention,energy efficiency, and responsible waste management.

RELOCATION BENEFITS ARE MANY AND VARIED: The benefits of relocating a structure are numerous and varied, according to Barb Budelier of Durant, Iowa. The procedure is better for the environment: trees are saved, landfill space is not used and the structure not burned, therefore not emitting harmful smoke into the atmosphere.

WIN-WIN SCENARIO: Moving houses was a win-win scenario for Louisa/Muscatine counties following the floods of 1993 in Iowa. The Reggie Meyer Housing addition of 120 homes in the flood plan was flooded. After the water receded, FEMA decided to offer a voluntary by-out to the owners. More than 100 of the owners sold out. Louisa county was then contracted to oversee the demolition of the homes.

Mare Patton, Executive Director of Muscatine's Center for Strategic Action in Iowa City, sought and received permission from the Board of Supervisors to sell and move the homes rather than demolish them. Over a two-year period, 98 of the homes were moved with the following economic benefits: a) Saved FEMA more than $450,000 in demolition and landfill fees, b) Preserved the tax base of rural school district and actually increased taxes due to the improvements on the moved homes, c) Stimulated borrowing of more than $4.8 million in home mortgages at local banks, d) Benefited an estimated 400 individuals with newly renovated homes.
The International association of Structural Movers (IASM), in cooperation with the Iowas House MOvers Association, is seeking a national policy, both private and public, that would establish a "Consider Relocation First" prior to alternative methods of removal of structures. "It is the position of the structural moving industry that the same criteria and conditions that exits in the Solid Waste Alternatives Program (SWAP), developed by the Energy and Waste Management Bureau of the Iowas Department of Natural REsources, exist in all 50 United States," according to D. Michael Blake, President for IASM. N. Eugene Brymer, Staff Executive for IASM, has been coordinating with officials of the Iowas House Movers Association (IHMA) to enlarge the scope of research originated by IHMA Vice President Rick Goodwin, Goodwin House Moving, Inc,. Washington, Iowa, and a member of IASM, to encourage, IASM member in the other 49 states to bring to the attention of elected officials, executives of financial institutions businessmen in general and local housing authorities to factor "first" relocation benefits of structures."