The subcontractor market is getting more competitive and more complicated. Remodelers are taking a new look at how they find, manage, and retain top-notch partners.
Concrete is fluid and shapeable. Aesthetically, there are many ways to get different effects.
Few can resist the lure of smooth, wet concrete calling out for carved initials or a quick hand imprint while no one's looking.
While the five remodelers whose marketing campaigns are featured may not have national renown, they've earned recognition from a more important audience: prospective customers.He's found it takes homeowners five to seven years to sign up for another project. And so he stays in the back of their...
A pop-up Craftsman addition calculates all the right angles -- for homeowner, remodeler, and architect alike.Homeowners David Griffen and Kathy Moran had their own exacting demands: to reuse the existing house (forget about a teardown); to double its square footage; to retain the replacement...
Most use fixed-price contracts, and to keep good subs happy, they pay in full, either immediately or within one week of job completion.We ask trade contractors to bid competitively on our projects and we use the low bidder 4%
For most remodelers, customer service is something that happens only after a job is completed. But the most important kind of customer service takes place before the project begins.
Starting on April 15 and continuing for three months, the Department of Energy is running an Energy Star appliance promotion.
Your clients may come to you with concerns about CCA pressure-treated lumber. Know how to answer them.
After a record end to 2003, the housing market took a dip in early 2004.
Assembly member Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, has recently introduced a resolution urging the office of the state architect and individual municipalities to incorporate feng shui principles into their design standards.
At Brothers Strong, we think of the term "takeoff" not as an estimate but rather as that point in time when a project is passed from sales to production and a job takes flight. On large-scale remodeling jobs -- whether large-scale to you is $20,000 or $200,000 -- the systems you develop are the...
I spent yesterday morning chasing down parts for a 1930s John Deere manure spreader and ordering seed for quail food plots. So when I came across a book titled The Accidental Manager, by Gary S. Topchik, the title intrigued me.
When everyone is in alignment and working in rhythm, you can achieve the results you want.
People often remark on the fact that remodeling is an easy business to get into. But changes in the remodeling and home building market indicate that in the future it will be more difficult for individuals to start a remodeling company and stay in business.
Marketing via direct mail requires a quality list, but where can you find one? The best is your own compiled list, providing you've kept it purged, merged, parsed, and it includes past clients and prospects.
Positive-minded people convey attitude with the power of their body. How can you serve prospects instead of thinking, "What's in it for me?" Focus on long-term, meaningful connections.
Finding a good Web site designer is like finding a good remodeler: You get what you pay for.
Want to save some tax dollars and instill a good work ethic in your children?
Cash is king in this business, and that's why Karen Dowd-Carpenter is fanatical about collections in her Alexandria, Va., company, Potomac Builders.
In her new book the architect and not-so-big house proponent attempts to provide that language, clarifying for homeowners what she says many intuitively recognize: that is, the arrangement of light and space that make a house feel like a home.
Remodeler Bob DeHaan found a clever solution to his clients' desire for both a spacious remodeled dining room and custom cabinetry, reaching beyond the footprint without building an addition.
The key to staying on schedule and eliminating costly forgetfulness is to use a form to carefully plan your project, day by day.
Dale Nikula, president of Encore Construction Co., knew that he wanted to grow his $1.2 million company into something much larger.
Many years ago, Rob Lauten of Lauten Construction, in Purcellville, Va., began holding weekly meetings with his clients. Lauten uses the form -- and holds the meetings -- with clients on jobs lasting more than a couple of weeks.
Free Yahoo e-mail offers excellent spam and virus filtering, plus "throw-away" addresses to help avoid zealous marketers. If you want to try online project collaboration without spending a lot, check out free Yahoo Groups (groups.yahoo.com).
If you've ever paid any of your personal bills online, you might have considered how easy the whole process is, especially if you've set up an automatic direct debit from your bank account.
Imagine paying one fee for a list of local prospects, marketing materials to send to them, and an electronic lead and contact management system to track each lead from sales call to job completion and beyond. That's what's on offer if you're willing to drop $3,995 on MarketSharp...
Cash flow is of utmost importance to a remodeling contractor. While most customers make all their payments in full and on time, there are always a few who cause trouble. It's vital that you collect from them promptly, before they paralyze your company. Here are a few tips.
Attractive, professional photographs are an invaluable tool for any contractor.
Beginning with an overview of sound hiring practices and ending with an answer key for the evaluations provided within, Tim Faller's human resource documents for field staff is exhaustingly comprehensive
Since being named Big50 in 1994, Pat Nicholson made the move from deck builder to franchise builder. When he decided to build the deck franchise, he had to create one manual of his systems and a separate one for construction details.
We do all sorts of projects: kitchens, bathrooms, additions, decks, porches, basements, windows, siding, roofing. It's inefficient to be sending guys back and forth, from job to job, just to handle one little thing.
Not warmed by Wisconsin weather, Patrick Benkowski (Big50 1997) sold his share in Custom Design Associates to his brother Mark and headed for Arizona. In Arizona, Benkowski rides one of his six motorcycles year-long and also runs, single-handedly, Roadrunner Custom Remodeling, in Fountain Hills.
No longer glorified fans, kitchen range hoods and ventilation products are getting high-tech. With features like delayed-shutoff timers, clean-filter indicators, and sensors that automatically adjust blower operation to the heat output of a range or cooktop, the newest kitchen ventilation hoods...
Should sales reps be allowed to qualify or confirm leads? Think of it this way: It costs your company anywhere from $50 to $250 to get a prospect to call you.
Typically, Marrash starts by describing what Accurate Roofing & Siding can do for the clients' windows -- installation of lineal surrounds, mantels, corner blocks with rosettes, or the addition of dentil molding or keystones, for a start.
This month's new roofing products, (MonierLifetile, Trimline Building Products, Georgia-Pacific, Tamko Roofing Products, etc.
Whether it's as complicated as a fully automated home theater system with programmed lighting scenes or as simple as a single-room lighting control, homeowners are looking for ways to make their lives at home easier to manage and more convenient.
If you take your scaffold setup for granted, better think again. OSHA has put unsafe scaffolding on its "Most Wanted" list of safety violations in an effort to reduce the deaths caused by bad setups. Fall protection, access, platform construction, guardrails, and proper bracing and support are all...
Several years ago, remodeler Craig Deimler was looking for a detailed millwork product that was more durable than custom-milled wood. Working on older homes as well as newer, Deimler appreciates Fypon's range of millwork styles.
To achieve a quality finished project, remodeler Chris Peterson starts all his jobs with a level line. Whether he's establishing grades for excavation of footings and foundations, leveling floors and ceilings, or making sure crown moldings and chair rails all run at the same height, Peterson uses...
Food preparation areas are popular additions to kitchens, and the prep-sink faucet is playing an ever-larger role as an essential kitchen tool. But several manufacturers offer faucets designed specifically for auxiliary use, sized in proportion to the smaller sinks generally used in these areas.
Kinetico's Purefecta Drinking Water Purifier, available for residential application, uses a seven-stage, multi-barrier process to remove bacteria, viruses, and protozoa from drinking water.
How much money can a company owner expect to earn from a remodeling business? And how many hours should an owner have to work to earn that amount of money?