FEATURES

  • Future Boom? Will baby boomer retirement be a demographic bonanza or a washout for the remodeling industry?

    Either that or they sold their homes and moved into childless retirement communities. San Diego marketing consultant Phil Goodman, operator of Boomer Marketing and author of Boomers, The Ageless Generation, predicts that for baby boomers, retirement in the conventional sense is "not an option." A...

     
  • Finders Keepers

    Robert Criner, president of Criner Construction in Yorktown, Va., says remodelers must be proactive in their quest to retain employees. More than just money "In every statistic I read on retention priorities, money is fifth or sixth on the list," says Doug Nelson, president of New Spaces in...

     

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

  • Yesterday's Weather

    Remodeling sales in Seattle or Denver don't have much to do with tomorrow's leads in Boston or Atlanta. The good news is that every company more than a few years old has sales and marketing records that are a much more reliable barometer than national figures.

     

News + Notes

  • Remodelers' Show Deal Struck

    The NAHB's Executive Committee last November approved an agreement to sell the Remodelers' Show to Washington, D.C.-based Hanley-Wood, LLC, REMODELING magazine's publisher. Under terms of the agreement, Hanley-Wood has assumed management of the industry's largest trade show and will partner with...

     
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    Industry Responds to 9-11

    Part of the overwhelming charitable response to the September 11 attacks came from organized efforts by remodeling industry groups. The National Association of the Remodeling Industry created the NARI Relief Effort, which, in addition to raising thousands of dollars for victim relief funds from its...

     
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    Build Green

    The NAHB Research Center's Fourth Annual Green Building Conference is scheduled for March 24-26 in Seattle. "I have a high regard for this kind of event," says Kate O'Brien of O'Brien and Company, a consulting firm specializing in green building issues. "The bar is going up," says O'Brien...

     
  • Hardie Settles Suit

    James Hardie Building Products settled a class action lawsuit stemming from the premature delamination of roof shakes it sold between 1989 and 2001, the Mission Viejo, Calif., company announced last November. The products were sold under the names Hardieshake, Hardieslate, and Hardieshingle, and...

     
  • HUD Grant Boosts Lead Abatement Demand

    The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced distribution of more than $67 million in grants to local lead safety programs across the country last October. According to a HUD press release, $59 million of the grant money will be used "to remove lead hazards from approximately 7,000...

     

MARKET WATCH

  • Looking Up

    Second mortgage interest rates increased slightly again in December. Support for an upturn in the spring comes from an increase in the Conference Board's Index of Economic Indicators for November 2001.

     

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

  • How to Prosper in a Down Economy

    In 1991 to 1992, when the economy last slowed, Swing Line was a five-year-old corporation with $1 million in annual sales. Swing Line is ready for this downturn, and when the upswing comes, we will be one of the prosperous survivors. --Ken Moeslein is president of Swing Line Windows, Pittsburgh.

     

LINDA CASE

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    Attitude Counts

    When you start out in business, you tend to measure employees strictly by results. The first is actual results in their job and the second is their attitude toward the job, or their buy-in to the company's culture. How would you rate your current staff on the results they achieve and the attitude...

     

WALT STOEPPELWERTH

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    Re-Thinking Subcontractor Relationships

    Historically, few full-service residential remodelers have hired subcontractors for anything more than plumbing, electrical, and HVAC work, trades that require licenses in most states. Larger specialty contractors may have used subcontractors to install roofing, siding, and replacement windows, but...

     

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

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    Developing an Ad that Works

    Mason F. Lord Jr. figures even a company that relies almost entirely on referrals ought to advertise. To ensure that potential clients recognize the company name when they hear it, Lord paid an agency $3,230 to develop a 12-times ad for the Litchfield County Times' color magazine. During the...

     
  • Survey Primer

    When BOWA Builders wants to know what clients think of its work and processes, the solution is simple: Ask them. "We ask exactly what we're looking for," says marketing director Stefani Eckenroad of the questionnaires her company mails to clients. The surveys are dispatched over the nine-month span...

     
  • Third-Party Market Research Pays Off

    Remodelers often ask, Where's the opportunity for growth? Where should I invest marketing dollars?Derek Reijnen of the $5 million-a-year The Reijnen Co. in Bainbridge Island, Wash., tackled those questions at his design/build firm. He contracted a Seattle consultant for $7,000 to analyze his market...

     
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    Woodn't You Hire Him?

    About 20 years ago, contractor Tom Mulligan of Goshen, N.Y., received an unusual birthday gift from his wife -- wooden business cards in 25 different species. He's been buying them ever since. Most popular among the 25 species produced by Lenderink Technologies are hard maple and aromatic cedar.

     

BY DESIGN

  • Selling Design/Build

    Eventually, I talked with enough design/build practitioners to realize that it is a method of doing business, rather than just a service to provide clients. This requires some discussion about project size, general scope of work, types of finishes, and so on, but we are typically able to provide a...

     
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    Revival of the Unfittest: Condemned House Gets a Pardon

    Condemned and scheduled to be demolished by the city of St. Paul, Minn., this house had just a few days to live. Square columns to match those on either side of the house, a round bump out in front, and hefty balusters above create a Classical Revival porch for this once-condemned St. Paul...

     

FIELD NOTES

  • Good Pre-Construction Meetings

    Pre-construction meetings are important because they facilitate the hand-off from sales to production. "It sets expectations for day-to-day operations," says Halsey Platt, owner of Walter H.B. Platt Builders and Cabinetmakers in Groton, Mass. Platt says using a formal list of items shows the client...

     
  • Punch List Knockout

    SawHorse, a design/build remodeling company in Atlanta, doesn't want to finish up their punch lists. "With Zero Punch, we walk away with an account that is paid in full," Quinn says. On those jobs, says vice president of operations Norman Joss, they average 4.6 items per closing.

     
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    Jobsite Time Management

    Here are some tips for gaining control of time on the site: Plan the next day's activity. You'll reduce time lost while team members wait for directions. Good clean-up habits will allow you to start immediately into the planned work in the morning.

     

Tech at Work

  • A Product Selection E-tool

    A second-generation electrical firm owner has teamed with a business strategy consultant and Internet adviser to form a company offering contractors Web-based selection books. As the middleman, TrulyCustom earns from 2% to 10% sourcing, purchasing, and invoicing products and making sure they're...

     
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    Threads for Wires

    The SCOTTeVEST's 15 pockets hold handhelds, cell phones, digital cameras, portable keyboards, and other devices.The fabric conduit sewn into a durable vest allows the wearer to connect wires to and from an array of electronic gadgets. The SCOTTeVEST keeps wires in place with narrow, hidden...

     
  • Go Paperless

    You may be leery of the "paperless office," but the fact is, it costs less to manage documents electronically than to keep buying filing cabinets (and a place to put them). Subscribe to eFax Plus and fax paper documents from your fax machine to your own eFax number. They'll show up attached to an...

     

Ways + Means

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    Cancellation Blues

    The client's on the phone, saying he has lost his job, filed for divorce, or been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Like many remodelers, Kacey Fitzpatrick, owner of Avalon Enterprises in Mountain View, Calif., says she is seeing "more people back off on projects." Just like at Avalon Enterprises...

     
  • Log the Job

    For the past year and a half, crews at Classic Construction and Remodeling in Charleston, S.C., have been filling out a job log every day. "So if I called the electrical sub," says production manager Marty Kersey, "there would be a note in there on what we talked about." Because it records times...

     
  • Attitude Adjustment

    A few years ago, Ben Tyler of Ben Tyler Building and Remodeling in Louisville, Ky., had a problem. To resolve the problem, Tyler first tried talking to each of the employees separately. When that failed to produce results, he sought the help of a human resources expert, who suggested testing to...

     
  • Behavior Modification

    Bill Owens, owner of Owens Design/Build, Powell, Ohio, was playing a waiting game. So six months ago, Owens came up with the idea of offering clients a 1% discount if they would commit to making the decisions in a timely manner. Owens says that at some point soon he expects to see 7 out of 10 of...

     

BIG50

CLOSE UP

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    Profile: HartmanBaldwin

    In the next few years, Claremont, Calif., design/build firm HartmanBaldwin will likely reach its target of $10 million in sales volume. Devon Hartman (left) and William Baldwin, pictured in 1993, when they were named to the Big 50. "Our long-term goal is to offer curb to curb services -- from...

     

Live + Learn

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    Rising Star

    CompoaTim Cross is only 31, but he's built a solid remodeling company by listening to more experienced remodelers and applying what he learns. "The architect liked the way I was working with customers and the suggestions I had made, so he started to refer me to his clients," Cross says.

     
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    Milking Technology for Profit

    Electronic IDs, special software, and a computer workstation can track milk produced, births, cow activity, and sickness at Wolfe's PowerLine Dairy. Next time your crews resist a high-tech improvement, tell them about Ray Wolfe's cows. Wolfe, who runs Wolfe's PowerLine Dairy off RR 1 in Milton, Pa...

     

SECOND LOOK

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    Second Look: E.C."Chappy" LeBlond

    Compoa Three bad clients in a row were enough to convince Chappy LeBlond to close LeBlond Ltd., his 40-employee, $5 million-a-year full-service remodeling business. LeBlond works all over the country putting together window packages made by such companies as Zelock Inc. of Brooklyn, N.Y. Most...

     

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

  • No Waiting Game

    Remodeler Jack Philbin won't start a kitchen or bath remodel until all the products have been delivered. Besides avoiding delays during the job, Philbin says this system also results in fewer change orders because clients make decisions early and the product list becomes part of the contract. But...

     

SPEC BOOK

  • Kitchen Lighting

    Ranging from Old World to ultra-modern to downright off-the-wall, today's kitchen lighting products offer flair for any decor. The Blue Swirl/Opal low voltage pendant light features a snifter-style pendant with a hand-applied blue swirl accent. The Slique T2 undershelf fixture incorporates an...

     

REPLACEMENT

DECKS

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    In the Ballpark

    It's surprising how good you can get at ballparking," says Tom Resek, owner of Archadeck of Minneapolis, a deck-building franchise. "If you feel like your chances of getting the job are slim, that's a good reason," Resek says. Because Resek can't afford to build a deck for less than $5,000, yet...

     
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    Who Sells Well?

    I'm often asked what type of person makes the best siding/roofing/window salesperson The learning curve on these products is shorter than it would be for full-service remodeling projects. Someone good at generating his own leads will enjoy more success here, because the need for exterior products...

     

SIDING

  • Siding Upsell: Move Customers Up a Rung

    Mike Bodkins, president of PAPI (Professionally Applied Products Inc.), an exterior remodeling company in Des Moines, La., estimates he upsells siding products 90% of the time. Then Bodkins took on a steel siding franchise, to round the company's product offering out with what he considers the...

     

PRODUCTS

FIRST LOOK

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    First Look: Products For the Remodeling Market

    Lasco Bathware. Available in the Champagne Bubble bathtub series, Air Bubbler technology encircles the bather with warm bubbles from air portals at the bottom of the deep bathing well. The TrimCraft Cornice System includes engineered wood trim, soffit, and ceiling panels made with a manufacturing...

     

IN FOCUS

  • Caulks, Sealants, & Adhesives

    Side Winder siding and window sealant offers permanent flexibility and durability and will not shrink, crack, or yellow, says the firm. The sealant can be applied in rainy weather and in temperatures below freezing.

     
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    Glueless Laminate Flooring is a Snap

    Thanks to realistic looks and an attractive price point, laminate flooring products exploded onto the scene a few years ago and continue to experience double-digit growth. Glueless laminate products are installed via locking mechanisms similar to tongue and groove. The result is faster installation...

     
  • Landscaping Products

    Trex. Composite landscape edging is rot and insect resistant and installs with traditional stakes and fasteners. The line includes Smart Deck composite decking and railing, which is made from recycled wood fiber and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), Carefree HDPE decking and railing systems, and...

     
  • Flooring Toss aside the glue and the rags. Glueless laminate flooring is a snap.

    Thanks to realistic looks and an attractive price point, laminate flooring products exploded onto the scene a few years ago and continue to experience double-digit growth. The result is faster installation -- up to 50% quicker for some lines -- and little to no cleanup.While popular among DIYers...

     
  • Caulks, Sealants, and Adhesives

    DAP. Side Winder siding and window sealant offers permanent flexibility and durability and will not shrink, crack, or yellow, says the firm. The sealant can be applied in rainy weather and in temperatures below freezing.

     

ON THE JOB

  • They Look Radiant

    My folks lived in a 100-year-old house, complete with cast iron radiators. Charlie Bethel, a Burlington, Vt., plumber passes along these tips for adding panel radiation to an existing hot water heating system: Size the radiator to the calculated heat loss for the space; check the BTU output of the...

     

READERS CHOICE

  • Reader's Choice

    Windows of OpportunityRemodeler: Jack Tenhulzen, CGR, Company: Tenhulzen Remodeling, Redmond, Wash., Product: Pella windows, www.pella.comOffering Pella windows means Tenhulzen Remodeling is armed with a brand clients know and trust. Fab FaucetRemodeler: Alan Hanbury, CGR, Company: House of Hanbury...

     

OTHER ARTICLES

  • Helping Hand

    Shortly after Mark Wysinger finished paying off the 15-year mortgage on his North Philadelphia row house, the house burned down. Unfortunately for Wysinger, a laborer employed by the design/build remodeling company Gardner/Fox, Bryn Mawr, Pa., he'd also stopped making payments on his homeowners...