Career and Technology Studies Grades 10-12

Earthquakes can be scary and dangerous — with collapsing buildings posing one of the largest risks. Why do buildings collapse in an earthquake? How can it be prevented? Learn the physics of why it is not the sturdiest buildings, but the smartest, that will remain standing.

Earthquakes happen all over the world. Where you live might determine how severe the damage might be. Watch this short video to see how different the results of an earthquake can be and why these outcomes varied.

Useful calculators designed to help you determine the volume of mulch, roadway fill, and concrete needed for a construction job.

A great set of calculators designed to figuring out the supplies needed for jobs of various sizes.

This calculator is designed to give the result of a math calculation to verify that a foundation (or room, truss foundation, or other 90 degree structure) is actually square and correct in layout. (Be square or Repair...) The calculation is based on the Pythagorean Theorem.

A calculator that makes it a bit easier to convert fraction into decimals

A look anticipated labour demand in the Alberta construction industry.

Learn how changes in the economy affect small and medium-sized homebuilders

This site lets students explore the construction industry (possible careers, opportunities) and how this might fit their interests and lifestyle.

This site has some ideas for classroom lessons/activities about design and manufacture.

Design principles are the fundamental ideas and elements that can be applied to achieve successful design. Learn more about them on this site!

This Chapter provides general design principles that should be considered in the design of all development. Certain guidelines may only apply to non-residential projects depending on whether a proposed project includes specific features

Blog by George Walker of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Looks at the design process as well as other aspects of woodworking.

This video shows you two methods of creating a CAD style drawing inside of Excel.

This elevation drawing tutorial will show you how to draw elevation plans required by your local planning department for a new home design.

Making a floorplan in Microsoft Excel is a lot easier than you probably think it's going to be. Find out how to make a floorplan in Excel with help from a mechanical engineer with 32 years of experience in this free video clip.

Learn about the different drawings used for designing and constructing buildings.

In its simplest terms, the design-build construction delivery method replaces the traditional method of awarding separate contracts for design and construction. The contractor, designers, subcontractors, and owner work together as one team to build a project that meets or exceeds the owner’s expectations.

A detailed about Gantt Charts which are a project management tool that tracks timing of various aspects of the project

A playlist of videos from This Old House that focus on installation and customization of doors.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot that demonstrate how to work with dry wall in construction

A playlist of videos from This Old House that demonstrate how to install many types of lights.

A playlist of videos from This Old House about how to paint and fix common problems with paint in a home.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot that explain how to install doors and windows in a home.

Can you tell if something is square or level? This game shows shapes that need a slight adjustment. Use the mouse to drag the blue square or arrowhead where you feel it is 'right'. Once you let go of the mouse, the computer evaluates your accuracy.

A playlist of videos about how to build fences and decks for homes.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot about how to insulate wall, pipes, and windows around a home.

One of the most complex aspects of construction is designing a plumbing system for a building. Learn the things you need to consider in your design

Learn how to frame a wall for room partitions. We'll show you the steps for building a partition wall, and cover the basics including how far apart wall studs should be and what tools you'll need to build a wall.

This Old House general contractor Tom Silva partitions off a below-grade space.

A video by Home Depot about how to install metal roofing on a home

This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows how to warm up a chilly concrete wall.

Here are some alternative and eco-friendly building materials which can replace concrete and steel. These sustainable materials come from sources you would never have thought such as seaweed, mushrooms and even coffee.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot that provide information about nails, screws, bolts, and more!

We know that glass is fragile - that's like, it's main thing. But research is working on improving how we make glass to make it unbreakable, or at least as close as we can get.

Explore the role concrete plays in global warming and how scientists are working to create a cleaner, more sustainable concrete.

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world, but it does have a weakness: it’s prone to catastrophic cracking that has immense financial and environmental impact. What if we could avoid that problem? Congrui Jin explores how to create a more resilient concrete.

This is a helpful tool to help you figure out what kind of glue you need. Put in the two items that you are trying to glue together to get tips and products that would work best.

Information about the most common types of building materials used in the construction industry

Dig into the engineering of the Hoover Dam, a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River that supplies water to the US southwest.

Explore the construction of California’s Golden Gate Bridge, and dig into the engineering innovations that made the structure possible.

Towering 85 meters above the Norwegian countryside, Mjøstårnet is the world’s tallest wooden building, made almost entirely from the trees of neighboring forests. But as recently as the end of the 20th century, engineers thought it was impossible to build a wooden building over 6 stories tall. So how do wooden structures like this compare to steel and concrete skyscrapers?

Christian Wolmar explains how the London Underground was built at a time when no one had built a railway under a city before.

Discover the engineering innovations that made building Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest skyscraper, possible.

Discover how the English Channel Tunnel was built and the engineering challenges of building a 200 kilometer long tunnel underwater.

Dig into the history of the construction of the iconic Brooklyn Bridge and how John Roebling designed a hybrid suspension system to build it.

Learn about the Delta Works— the most sophisticated flood prevention project in the world.

This free woodworking plan website has been around since 1998. They have a huge collection of free plans.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot that focus on special treatments for wall such as wainscotting, shiplap, painting, paneling, and texturing.

A playlist of videos from This Old House that walk viewers through many small construction projects that can be completed in a weekend.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot that show you how to do basic electrical jobs at home safely.

Building codes, standards, and guidelines that are currently in force in Alberta.

Find OHS legislation, training resources, compliance information, safety programs, and more.

Occupational Health and Safety resources for the residential and industrial construction sectors from the Alberta Government.

The Council is an independent regulatory body made up of industry stakeholders and staff.

Information about what kinds of construction work requires permits and where you can get them.

Preventing slips, trips and falls starts with understanding what causes them, and this video explains the most common, and most surprising, cause of trips and falls, something that almost everyone has in common, but fail to realize. We call it The Fatal Half Inch.

This resource from Health Canada - Environmental and Workplace Health has WHMIS Classes, Divisions and Subdivisions and Corresponding Hazard Symbols.

This article has 10 safety rules for woodworking.

Learn what sustainable construction is and what you can do to implement sustainability into a construction job

The building sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), with occupied buildings being responsible for nearly 40% of global GHG emissions, according to Architecture2030. How can it do better?

A 30 minute video that provides overview of structural load and loads flow through buildings

There are a number of different types of load than can act on a structure, the nature of which will vary according to the design, use, location and materials being used within, or imposer on the structure. Learn more here!

What the heck is a foundation and why do all structures need one? If all the earth was solid rock, life would be a lot simpler, but maybe a lot less interesting too.

A load causes stress, deformation, and displacement in a structure. Learn about the 4 types of structural load here.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot about how to use several types of power saws safely

A playlist from This Old House about how to select the right hand tools for various jobs.

A quick guide about how to understand the information you read from a tape measure.

A playlist of videos from Home Depot about how to safely use many common power tools