| Author |
Message |
Alan Mays, AIA
Senior Member
Username: amays
Post Number: 97
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Monday, June 25, 2012 - 09:03 pm: |    |
Has anyone noticed that when the Gypsum Association updated their Fire Resistance Design Manual to the 20th edition that they removed all the free digital publications? It now even costs to get the 19th edition.
This might be a future trend. Think about all the costs now being applied to just follow industry standards. Who soaks up these costs? While this one is not the most expensive, it is a growing trend. It use to be that you could get the publications from the member companies, but that trend has diminished somewhat. |
Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC
Senior Member
Username: redseca2
Post Number: 348
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 01:20 am: | |
Combine that with how every state license you hold, and virtually all organization accreditations you maintain now require continuing education that involves a combination of time and money and it is getting very expensive to do your job. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 288
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 12:31 pm: | |
GA-600-2009 is still available for free viewing here:
http://www.gypsum.org/store/download-publications-library/
Perhaps if enough of us ask nicely, they'll post the 2012 at some point as well. |
David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI
Senior Member
Username: david_axt
Post Number: 1309
Registered: 03-2002
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 04:23 pm: | |
Gypsum product manufacturers used to include a copy in their product binders.
Same goes with TCNA Handbook and Steel Door Institute, etc.
I wonder if that practice will continue? |
Alan Mays, AIA
Senior Member
Username: amays
Post Number: 98
Registered: 02-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 05:07 pm: | |
Ken, so I get to just VIEW the old guideline. Why not the new one? Here is what my concern is. When I travel, I do not always have internet connectivity. I like to carry guidelines and standards in PDF on my iPad. I usually picked up the good ones for free on-line.
Yes, David, I agree that the member product manufacturers should provide them. What I am finding is that since membership in these trade associations may be shrinking, they are looking to other revenue sources like selling their publications. If they cannot get the product manufacturers to pay for these things, then they look to the other users (us) for ways to gain the revenue.
Steven, correct. That is why I wish we would get out of these state vs fed arguments. If there was a federal license, then, we would be have less issues. We technically take the same test. So what if someone in NY has to take siesmic for CA. NCARB could be that governing body. Think about all the cost savings, even at the state level. Wait, that is a whole other argument that at a political level no one wants to make. |
Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC
Senior Member
Username: redseca2
Post Number: 349
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 05:28 pm: | |
I seem to recall a manufacturer's representative handing me an association hardcopy publication with some outrageous price printed in the bar code area of the back cover.
When I asked them about it they explained that the used that crazy price to control distribution, mostly against contractors who want to do that sort of work but do not want to join the organization than design professionals who also need to use it.
But that they were virtually all given away - to the right people. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 289
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 - 05:51 pm: | |
Hey bud, don't shoot the messenger. As powerful and influential as spec writers would be in a perfect world, no one asks us what they should charge, if anything, for updated standards. At least gypsum.org is more reasonable than ASTM and so many others.
Considering what people are paying in fines for pirating licensed information, $30 for either a hard or e-copy of GA-600-12 doesn't seem too unreasonable. At least they still have lots of free info available on their website. Maybe we need to pressure the gyp board manufacturers about ponying up more cash to GA so they can distribute their stuff for free. I remember when they would send out a free copy to each Architect who sent in a request on their letterhead. They just didn't want people abusing the system. Guess those days are over. Actually, I didn't contact them to ask. |
Jo Drummond (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Wednesday, July 04, 2012 - 02:39 pm: | |
CSI doesn't give away Masterformat. Why should we expect GA or TCNA or any others to give their publications away? And, CSI actually expects us to subscribe to Masterformat. At least the others, for the most part, haven't done that. - yet. |
Karen L. Zaterman, CCS, LEED-AP, SCIP
Senior Member
Username: kittiz
Post Number: 94
Registered: 10-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, August 09, 2012 - 01:42 pm: | |
From my perspective, being in-house and with multiple offices I find the ASTM copyright policy of not allowing electronic distribution of copies very annoying. If someone in another office needs to check a standard and cannot wait for mail delivery, they have to purchase an additional copy.
As far as MasterFormat, I don't know about the rest of you, but I personally refuse to purchase a "new" edition every single year!
Karen L. Zaterman, CSI, CCS, SCIP-Affil, LEED AP BD+C
Moffatt & Nichol - Long Beach, CA |
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