For this week’s Guest Post Friday Post here at Construction Law Musings, we welcome Brian L. Hill. Brian is a construction defect investigator and business development consultant. While not related to Christopher Hill, he does share the same passion for all things related to the built environment. Brian is the editor-in-chief and publisher of AEC Forensics, a curated blog of news and information pertaining to construction consulting, construction law and building science. Always on the search for quality content, if you are a lawyer or expert in the A/E/C industry, please contact Mr. Hill at editor@aecforensics.com to inquire about guest posting. For more information about Brian, visit BLHill.info.
One of my earliest memories as a child is visiting my father at a house he was remodeling and riding on his lap in a skip loader. I also spent many hours at my grandparent’s real estate brokerage and tagging along for property showings and open houses. I wasn’t always interested in construction and real estate – throughout junior high and high school, I managed a successful professional music business. I realized however, that the life of a professional jazz musician can be very difficult. Construction, real estate, business management and marketing are in my DNA. And I found my niche in the world of architectural, engineering and construction forensics.
In middle school, while the other kids at the science fair were examining whether white or wheat bread were more likely to create mold, or constructing telescopes out of Pringles© cans, I conducted an experiment analyzing lumber. Despite some flaws to the experiment, I was able to successfully demonstrate the relative strength of air-dried, kiln-dried and green lumber using a torque wrench connected to a lever. While it was mildly interesting to understand how the moisture content of lumber might affect structural integrity, I think the biggest impact for me was understanding how important testing materials and components to the point of failure is to the design and construction of the built environment.
