What Is It?  This site is designed to be the starting point for Web searches by construction industry professionals.  The Web contains an enormous amount of information -- so much that it sometimes is overwhelming.  Through careful indexing and organizing, this site is intended to help users take control when they use the Web to obtain information.

How Does It Work?  Web sites of interest to construction industry professionals are profiled and linked to.  That is, besides linking to other Web sites, this site profiles the contents of those other sites.  That way, users of this site don't waste their time looking around sites that do not have the information they need.  Instead, they can go right to the sites that are likely to answer their questions. 

How Are These Profiles Organized?  This site is divided into three main categories:

1.   Organizations

2.   Industry Topics

3.   Resources

Organizations that are important to construction industry professionals, such as trade organizations, government agencies and private businesses, are organized into 12 categories under Organizations, and their Web sites are profiled there.

Industry Topics are the issues that are important to construction industry professionals, such as bidding opportunities, better ways to perform projects, technical data, safety information, building codes and job opportunities.  Web sites are organized into 18 categories under Industry Topics and profiled there.

Often, information is cross-referenced and appears under both Organizations and Industry Topics.

Other useful information for construction industry professionals is organized under Resources.  This includes online encyclopedias and other reference materials, travel information, news, people-finders and advice on how to search the Web.  Resources, in effect, puts a reference library on the desktop of users of this site.

Who Did This Work?  Professional librarians and researchers with years of experience and advanced degrees did the profiling and organizing.  They were guided by construction lawyers at Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP, who drew on their decades of experience in and knowledge about the construction industry.  The librarians and researchers located useful Web sites, surveyed the contents of those sites and wrote profiles describing what information the sites contained that would be of use to construction industry professionals.  Because they have worked closely with construction industry clients for many years, the Thelen lawyers were able to guide the librarians and researchers in looking for information of immediate use and value to construction industry professionals.  This site is designed and written for construction industry professionals, not lawyers.

Navigating This Site:  This site is designed so that the same navigation bars show at the top and bottom of each page at every level on this site.  (The home page navigation bar is slightly different from other pages.)  The navigation bar always provides links to this Web site's three main categories (Organizations, Industry Topics and Resources) and to the site's home page, site map, site search engine and index.  A link to the site's Terms and Conditions is built into each bottom navigation bar.  The words "Construction WebLinks" also are a link to this site's home page while the words "Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP" are a link to this firm's Web site.  The navigation bars also contain links to information about this firm.

As you drill down into this Web site in any category, tools are included to help you move around.  On the left in a vertical menu bar will be all other related pages at the same level as the page you are reading.  In the top right corner of each page is a "back to" button that will take you back to a starting page for the category you currently are in.  As you scroll down a page, Back to the Top buttons will be provided at intervals.  Clicking on them will take you back to the top of the page you are in.  Also, control + home always will take you back to the top of the current page.  Control + end will take you to the bottom of the current page.  The thermometer bar on the right side of each page will show you (relatively) where you are in the page vertically.

This Web site also has a search engine. Click here to make a search or to learn more about the search engine. The page contains a detailed explanation of how to use the search engine. Searches cover all pages on this Web site. The search engine can be accessed by clicking on the "Site Search" button on the home page or the "Site Search" button on any top or bottom navigation bar.

All of the tools on your browser's toolbar should work on this Web site.  In particular, the browser's Find function will help you locate a particular word or phrase on a particular page of this Web site.  Once you have drilled down to the topic or locale that interests you, the Find function may help you find the exact word or organization that you seek.

Navigating the Web:  Todd Bennett, one of this firm's librarians who is particularly experienced in Web-based information searches, has written an explanation of how the Web works and provided tips on searching the Web.  To read it, click here.

Information Management:  This Web site was designed to be an information management tool for industry professionals by dividing it into categories that are meaningful to them and organizing its links and site profiles into those categories.  Instead of trying to keep straight dozens of bookmarked sites, construction industry professionals can let this site be their bookmark library.  We have tried to directly link to useful sites or to link to other sites that provide good links to useful sites.  If there are sites you think we should profile and link to, please let us know by clicking here and sending us an e-mail describing the site we should add. 

Finding Tools:  In many categories on this site, we include a choice called Finding Tools.  There, users will find profiles and direct links to other Web sites that do a particularly good job of focusing on a topic or type of organization and providing useful links.  We describe the Finding Tool sites and link to them in order to provide our users with additional sources of information. 

Bad Links:  We regularly check the links on this Web site to make sure they still are good and still work.  However, the Web is in a constant state of flux and growth, so links can go bad literally overnight.  If one of our links is not working and goes deeper than a site's home page, try deleting some of the detailed address information from the end of the Web address.  Each slash or period in the address separates a deeper-level page from its "parent" page.  If necessary, delete everything back to the basic Web site address, such as ConstructionWebLinks.com.  Then, use that site's site map to find the information you need.

If you click on a link and do not get to the other Web site reasonably soon, click on your browser's "stop" button in its toolbar and try clicking on the link again.  If the link does not work the second time, try removing some of the detail from the address, as described above.

If all else fails, one of our Finding Tools sites may have a link that works.  Or, you can use a search engine to search for the name of the organization whose site interests you.  Our profiles always provide the name of the organization or of the Web site as well as its Web address.  Click here for the Web addresses of the major search engines.

If you have time, we would appreciate receiving an e-mail from you reporting any bad links (and the new link).  Click here for an e-mail form.    

Bad Sites, Offensive Sites:  By using trained, experienced researchers, we have attempted to profile and link only to sites that are useful to construction industry professionals.  If you find a site not to be useful or, worse, to be offensive, please let us know.  If you click here, you can send us an e-mail describing the problem and identifying the site.  If you find a site to be deceptive, you can complain to the Federal Trade Commission by completing a form on its Web site at www.ftc.gov or telephoning 800-FTC-HELP.

Marking This Site:  If you like this Web site or part of it, you can easily return to it by bookmarking it.  Your browser should have a bookmark or Favorites button on or just below the top tool bar.  Just go to the page on this site that you like and run the bookmark function.  You also can easily make any page on this site your personal home page on your browser. 

In Netscape Navigator, just:

1. Go to the page on this site that you like.
2. Click EDIT on the browser toolbar.
3. Click on PREFERENCES on the pulldown menu.
4. Choose Navigator from the list on the left.
5. In the home page box on the right side of the screen, click the CURRENT PAGE button. 
6. When you next re-boot your browser, it should open to the page you selected.

In Internet Explorer, just:

1. Go to the page on this site that you like.
2. Select TOOLS on the browser toolbar.
3. Select INTERNET OPTIONS on the pulldown menu.
4. On the GENERAL menu tab, in the HOME PAGE subcategory, select USE CURRENT and hit OK.
5. When you next re-boot your browser, it should open to the page you selected.

Comments?  We welcome them.  If you have suggestions, praise or criticisms, please let us know.  Just click here for an e-mail comment form.

Why Did Thelen Go to All of This Trouble?  This site is provided as a service to the construction industry, which Thelen has served for more than 80 years.  In that time, Thelen lawyers have served all segments of the construction industry in the full range of matters, from counseling and contract negotiation to litigation.  To learn more about Thelen's construction law practice, click here.

Linking to This Site: We welcome links to this Web site. You may link to our home page without contacting us. If you would like to deep-link to another, particular page on our site, please contact us and tell us to what page you would like to link and from what Web site you would be linking. We are happy to consider such requests. Click here for more details.

Links from This Site: If you would like a link from our site or if you would like to update or suggest a correction to our existing link to your site, click here for more details. You are always welcome to post news about your company, its people and its products and services on our Construction Bulletin Board. Click here to post your news. You also are welcome to post news about your events, conventions and meetings on our Construction Calendar. Click here to post your announcement. Such submissions are promptly reviewed, often overnight.