Other stories by Hayden Alfano

  • Building a Sales Team

    Andrew Shore did all the selling for his company, Sea Pointe Construction, for the first decade or so that it was open for business. That changed, the Irvine, Calif., remodeler says, when “I realized that the size of the company was dependent on me doing sales forever — and that there's a finite...

  • Energy efficiency gains ground

    Energy-efficient remodeling is definitely where the market is headed.

  • Rising Construction Costs; Thrifty Consumers. How Is This Affecting Your Business?

    Some of the Big50 discuss how rising costs are affecting their customers and their business.

  • HIRI Consumer Sentiment Tracking Study

    The “Consumer Sentiment Tracking Study,” published quarterly by the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI), surveys homeowners on a variety of remodeling-related topics.

  • Local Forecast: Riding the Waves of Change

    When the housing industry began its slowdown, David Leff says that his remodeling business started attracting an “unexpected” client: “Homeowners who had planned to sell their [current] homes and purchase a home in which to live out the rest of their lives.” But, says the owner of Leff Construction...

  • No Bad News Is Good News

    The latest release of the Remodeling Market Index (RMI) showed a slight increase in activity, but it likely isn't indicative of an imminent housing market recovery.

  • New lead information pamphlet required beginning in December 2008

    On March 31, after years of research, proposals, debate, and revisions, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued its final rule on lead-safe work practices. The rule fulfills the EPA's obligation — laid out in the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 — to “establish...

  • Exclusive Coverage: 2008 Remodeling Leadership Conference

    The Remodeling Leadership Conference -- REMODELING's annual summit of home improvement industry leaders that complements the induction of the new class of Big50 winners -- was held May 4-6 at the Ritz Carlton - Pentagon City, just outside Washington, D.C. This year's program was titled "The Color...

  • Remembering the Fundamentals of Green Marketing

    Outside of a very small minority of remodeling companies, green building practices represent a new frontier for the industry. While the design process, installation procedures, and overall mindset necessary to truly build green are indeed unique, it's important not to forget the basics when it...

  • Census Eliminates Key Home Improvement Survey

    After this month, people who relied on the Census Bureau for in-depth informationon the money spent on residential remodeling in the U.S. will have agap to fill.