Arcat, First Source, Sweets?

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Author Message David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 973 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 01:36 pm:    Does anybody actually use those books anymore? I RARELY look at them and usually end up with a pile on my desk of unwanted copies. While delivering Arcat, the postal carrier told our receptionist that nobody wants those books anymore. She tried to get the carrier to return the books to sender but the post office has a policy against it. BTW, our latest SWEETS (2004) looks as fresh and clean as it did the day we received it. Richard Baxter, AIA, CSI Senior Member Username: rbaxter Post Number: 66 Registered: 12-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 02:14 pm:    I do not personally use those resources much, but I like to keep them available for project architects in the office. There are still some architects that use them in their product research and I do not want to do anything that could possibly discourage them from doing that research. Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP Senior Member Username: redseca2 Post Number: 82 Registered: 12-2006 Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 02:47 pm:    Doh! I had to go look to see if we even still keep a copy (large office). Yes, there sits a 2008 set, rather slimmer than they used to be, and softbound. Obviously I haven't looked at them in ages, but there was a time when I would take lasts year's set home. For a single user, there is virtue and simplicity to being able to browse several manufacturer's inserts in Sweet's that flipping between websites and opening PDF's will never quite match. But we all have web access at our fingertips now and if the web went away we would never have enough hard copies of Sweet's in our office to give everyone the access we have with the web. Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wyancey Post Number: 400 Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 03:07 pm:    4Specs.com has it all and more. For some reason we have 2008 Sweets. Now occupies one 36" shelf. Marc C Chavez Senior Member Username: mchavez Post Number: 273 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 - 04:20 pm:    Sweets now takes up 13 lineal inches including desk reference and "directory." Less than 12 inches without it. Two years ago I said it had 5 years left. I may have been giving them too much. ARCAT etc. is a waste of paper. All hail 4specs Tracy Van Niel, FCSI, CCS Senior Member Username: tracy_van_niel Post Number: 238 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 10:36 am:    In reference to David's question, I use "none of the above". 4Specs is where I go first to look for manufacturer's information and I refer all of the project architects here too. Lynn Javoroski CSI CCS LEED™ AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 718 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 11:03 am:    We still get Sweets for the architects to use when they can't find something in our rather extensive library. Yes, we also have a product/manufacturer binder library. As was mentioned, when you are looking for "something" and don't know exactly what, the books are easier to browse through. Once a choice is made, it's 4Specs and downloads. I didn't even know Arcat and First Source were still being published! I just tossed a 2006 First Source and 2005 Tectonic Network Construction Building Products National Directory! Doug Frank FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: doug_frank_ccs Post Number: 212 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 11:28 am:    It's sad that Sweets has gotten so much smaller. Now I have to keep last year's edition as well since this year's alone aren't heavy enough for our model builders K George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 394 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:03 pm:    Don't worry, Doug, sweets.com is plenty heavy enough for the virtual models that we will be building with BIM. Doug Frank FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: doug_frank_ccs Post Number: 213 Registered: 06-2002 Posted on Thursday, January 24, 2008 - 12:27 pm:    Good one George Jerry Tims Senior Member Username: jtims Post Number: 8 Registered: 04-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 - 11:27 am:    I've noticed that by the end of each year, our Sweets are in the pristine shape they were the day we unboxed them......well, except that one volume (and it's always received the most wear year in and year out) that just happens to contain the saunas.