Table of Contents March 2006

FEATURES

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  Letting Go

  Often, to succeed, you have to get out of your own way. That may be especially true when you run your own business: You can carry all the responsibilities for just so long. You know you need to shed tasks — replacing yourself in the field, in the office, as a manager — but a combination of fear and...

   

• Marketing Masters

  It's only recently that a distinction has been made between replacement contractors —purveyors of replacement windows, siding, and roofing; gutters and gutter protection systems; and decks and sunrooms — and full-service remodelers.

   

• Fielding Questions

  Though most remodeling company owners focus on skills when hiring field staff, many recognize that attitude is equally or even more important than construction skills. “A lot of this business is about attitude,” says REMODELING contributor and consultant Tim Faller of Field Training Services in...

   

Before and After

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  Before + After: Serenity Now

  Seven years ago, when Michael Jensen and Susan Strober bought a 40-year-old home on the Gulf of Mexico, they knew that a renovation was in their future. What the couple didn't know was that the renovation would eventually involve more than 2 years of planning and getting the required permits, and...

   

Reader Panel

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  Handing Off Responsibilities

  Delegation — or the lack of it — is probably the biggest obstacle facing new remodelers. A young remodeling company requires a lot of attention, and 60-hour-plus work weeks certainly aren't uncommon. But if the company is going to move out of its infancy, then its owner must start to pass...

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

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  Clearing a Path

  It starts with the major snowstorm that hit the East Coast this weekend, dumping 8 inches on downtown Washington, D.C., where I now live. Shoveling snow may seem like a mindless chore, but like everything else, it is a problem to be solved. During the hour or so I spent clearing snow from the...

   

News + Notes

• EPA-Proposed New Lead Paint Work Rule

  It's been nearly 15 years since Title X of the Housing and Community Development Act — the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 —was signed into law; a decade since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that contractors would be required to notify homeowners of...

   

MARKET WATCH

• Local Forecast: Housing Glut

  Mark Scott, owner of Mark IV Builders, Bethesda, Md., has noticed an inordinate number of foundations in the ground in the upscale neighborhoods in which he works. This has him worried.

   

• Figure This

  Statistics and figures for the industry.

   
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  2005: A Record Year

  The final numbers from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University confirm what most of us already knew: 2005 was a good year for remodeling.

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

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  Safe Profits

  Many remodelers feel uneasy when they hear the word “safety.” But until recently, there has been little cause for concern that “the man from OSHA” will show up on your jobsite. In fact, unless there was a fatality or a catastrophe on site, a remodeler had better odds of winning the lottery than of...

   

LINDA CASE

• The Enforcers

  It was a wonderful dinner party by and for remodelers. The hosts, a couple who own a remodeling company, started to banter about their differing styles of leadership. She, along with the office manager, wanted to lay down the law to the field staff regarding timely and accurate submission of time...

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• Gracious Decline

  Many years ago I attended a seminar about characteristics of the remodeling client. The speaker said something that really caught my attention: “Approximately 18% of all homeowners will not allow you to make a profit.” I questioned this at first, so I started taking inventory of which of my jobs...

   

SHAWN MCCADDEN

• Profit Myths

  A thriving business should be one that runs smoothly, creates happy customers, fairly compensates the owner and employees for their contributions, and, above all, generates a net profit. As business author Charles Abbott puts it, “Business without profit is not business any-more than a pickle is...

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• Hitching to a Star

  Leads flow almost effortlessly to Osborne Co. Like many other remodelers, the Springfield, Va., business capitalizes on its membership in a respected trade organization. Nearly 55% of its leads come from either the Web site of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) or the local...

   

• Mailing List Smarts

  A direct mail piece generally costs about 35 cents to 75 cents or more per home. If your mailing list isn't current, accurate, and targeted, you're throwing money out the window.

   

• Qualifying the Prospect

  Identify how the prospect will make the decision about whether, when, and with whom they'll remodel. They probably won't volunteer that they're shopping for the lowest price or the fastest availability, but there are ways to “elicit the truth,” says Jack Hauber, a sales coach with the Sandler Sales...

   
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  Seasonal Greetings

  Change the season, step up your marketing. With spring (March 20) and daylight savings time (April 2) just ahead, why not send clients and prospects a reminder of how your company can help them maintain or improve their homes?

   

BOTTOM LINE

• Part-Time Employees

  What is the minimum amount per quarter that I can pay a part-time employee (family member) without having to pay taxes? In the past I thought it was $250 per quarter. Is that still correct?

   
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  Cost of Supervision

  Jim Benoit uses an estimating discipline from his commercial contracting experience to enhance his company's residential remodeling estimates. Instead of including project supervision in overhead, he includes it as a line item in all the estimates produced by Benoit & Czarnecki Design/Construction...

   

BY DESIGN

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  Questions of Design

  Debra Moore, owner of Custom Design/Build, Ann Arbor, Mich., says, “People think design is an expensive, fru-fru thing. What we try to tell them is that it's just a fancy word for planning.” Moore spends time “demystifying the process” for clients with a three-hour home and lifestyle analysis —...

   
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  Stair Well

  Like many old homes, the back stairs in the 1800s farmhouse in The Plains, Va., being renovated by architect Anthony Barnes, Barnes Vanze Architects, Washington, D.C., had small winders, which, while efficient, were neither safe to use nor up to code.

   

FIELD NOTES

• Board of Directions

  For every home it remodels, JW Bratton Design/Build, Renton, Wash., creates a “notification board” containing all the information a field employee or a subcontractor might need in the event of questions or emergencies.

   
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  Beat the Burnout

  The pressure of pleasing homeowners and bosses, of meeting deadlines, delivering products, and creating works of art can take a dangerous toll on almost anyone's mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Here are some tips for avoiding burnout:

   

• Honoring His Subs

  What bugs subs? Six annoying behaviors in particular, according to DuKate Fine Remodeling's trade contractors.

   

GOOD FORM

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  Checks and Balances

  When it came time to balance the books each month, Nancy Klein, co-owner and controller of Klein's Home Improvement in Hayden, Idaho, found herself scrambling to reconcile the company credit card statements.

   

Tech at Work

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  Budgeting for Tech Success

  What would happen if the pilot of your next flight cut back the throttle to save fuel just as the plane was leaving the runway? It wouldn't be pretty. Similarly, business-savvy remodelers seem to morph into their irrational clients when it comes to technology projects, expecting it to take less...

   
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  New in Estimating

  For more than a year, Scott Schubert was a beta tester for an earlier version of XactRemodel (XR), Xactware's latest estimating software package tailored to the remodeling industry. Schubert, who co-owns Post & Beam Design/Build, Forest Hill, Md., now uses XR full time.

   

Ways + Means

• By Law: Are Completion Certificates Worthwhile?

  A completion certificate is essentially a form presented to the client after the job has been completed, usually by the installer. The customer signs the form, indicating that he or she is satisfied with the work performed and that the job is finished.

   

• Monster Resource

  Finding good employees is already difficult. And all indicators show that the labor pool is shrinking. Ask remodelers where they're finding employees and the answer is not newspaper classifieds but

   

• Giving Authority

  You can limit the amount of authority you're giving until you get used to delegating and are comfortable with the quality and consistency of an employee's work. The more experienced and reliable the employee, the more freedom you can give. The more critical the task, the more cautious you need to...

   

• Badge of Honor

  Just after Sept. 11, when everyone everywhere seemed to be nervous, one of Iris Harrell's soon-to-be clients was followed by a stranger and it scared her. When Harrell Remodeling, Mountain View, Calif., was about to begin the remodel, the client wanted to know how she would be able to identify the...

   

• Head On

  Post-project customer satisfaction surveys don't always find their way back to the office, so Greg Antonioli does face-to-face exit interviews.

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

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  Profile: Annette and John Greco

  Owners Annette and John Greco host an annual appreciation party for the employees of Greco Remodelers (Big50 2003) in Manassas, Va. The couple books a restaurant for the luncheon and invites employees and their spouses or significant others. They usually schedule the party for January, after the...

   

SECOND LOOK

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  Second Look: Anthony John Bellomo

  Soon after he was awarded Big50 in 1989, Anthony John Bellomo says he realized, “that as far as remodeling goes, we'd arrived at where we wanted to be. I had accomplished a goal and felt it was time to move on.”

   

SOLUTIONS

• Q+A: Rain or Shine

  Proper clothing is absolutely crucial for us. We wear lots of layers and insulated “bunny boots” that are good to 50 below. We buy chemical foot-warmers and glove-warmers by the case and provide these on jobsites. We also give everyone a set of ice cleats for working on slippery areas.

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

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  Copper Corner

  This artful powder room is the perfect combination of form and function. The corner fixture fits the small space. “We could not fit a standard pedestal sink into this bath,” says Deborah Malone, president of JP Malone Construction in Scottsdale, Ariz. “We had to make everything count.”

   

• Glowing Spirits

  In a brainstorming session for this kitchen renovation, remodeler Robert Kraft and his design team came up with the idea to highlight the wine storage area using color and light. This fulfilled the homeowners' request to add some bright, playful accents to their kitchen.

   

SPEC BOOK

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  Range Hoods & Ventilation

  The company's new satin brushed copper finish creates a rustic look when paired with its Barrel Form ventilation hood.

   

Management

• Design Aid

  Until about a year and a half ago, we solely drafted by hand. We now use AutoCAD LT for everything except hand-renderings or quick conceptual plans/elevations that give a sense of personalization to the project and keep it in the “idea” phase.

   

PRODUCTS

FIRST LOOK

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  Exterior and Interior Products, Plus Tools...

  Vail, a new line of floor, wall, and countertop tile, is ideal for medium- to heavy-traffic areas, the manufacturer says.

   

IN FOCUS

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  HVAC Products

  The Soft-Sound IIS 80 line of gas furnaces provides technicians plenty of room to work with easy-to-remove panels and extra-spacious service compartments.

   
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  Locksets & Hardware

  The Powerbolt 1000 electronic deadbolt runs on four alkaline batteries. It retains the memory of security codes during power outages and allows the use of secondary codes for guests.

   
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  Doors

  Whether it's aluminum-clad, fiberglass, or wood, or for an entry, a patio, or an interior, the look for doors is clearly glass. But the glass can be decorative, creating a dramatic entry; functional, insulating and soundproofing the home's exits; or practical, allowing increased light and producing...

   

TRENDS

• Door Prize

  As a result of homeowners' increased attention to entry-door hardware, manufacturers are seeing a wave of new trends. Considering that a handleset is the first piece of art the Joneses see, “Now it's more important to become innovative, to have different finishes and different looks,” says Minu...

   
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  Great Fakes

  With increasing focus on green remodeling as well as low maintenance, interest is swelling in alternative roofing products — especially those that realistically capture the texture, color variation, and appearance of natural materials while delivering superior performance.

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

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  Focus on the Few

  Remember Pareto's Principle? Also called the 80/20 rule, it says that 20% of the input provides 80% of the value. Stated another way, 20% of your activities account for 80% of the results. Last month we applied the rule to job costs control. Now let's use the 80/20 rule to help develop an annual...