Table of Contents February 2003

Features

• Have A Nice Life

  No one has ever polled the remodeling industry to find out how happy or fulfilled remodeling company owners are, but it's a safe bet many are living a life somewhat different from David Moore's.Many overstressed remodeling company owners who've found a proper balance between life and work say there...

   

Before + After

• Before+After: Work Triangle

  Bob DeHaan was the only contractor who responded to a call about a leak. When Traci Polacco bought her Kalamazoo, Mich., house, she was already renting in the neighborhood. Bob DeHaan used Chief Architect, a program he's used for seven years, to create the design on Traci Polacco's house.

   

Other Articles

• Have A Nice Life

  No one has ever polled the remodeling industry to find out how happy or fulfilled remodeling company owners are, but it's a safe bet many are living a life somewhat different from David Moore's.Many overstressed remodeling company owners who've found a proper balance between life and work say there...

   

View Point

• Mixed Signals

  The National Association of Realtors' Housing Affordability Index rose dramatically in the fall. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped sharply in December. The current level of 80.3 is perilously close to October's 79.6, when the index dropped precipitously to its lowest level since November 1993.

   

• Beta-Testers Wanted

  Calculated Industries, maker of construction calculators, is looking for beta-testers to try its new Pocket PC version of Construction Master Pro.

   

• Makita Recalls Circular Saws

  Makita USA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have announced a recall of 180,000 Makita circular saws. For more information on the recall, contact Makita USA at (800) 462-5482 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

   

• Suffering From Success

  During the last half of the 1990s, just about everybody in the remodeling industry found out what success tastes like. I was reminded about the dangers of too much easy success while listening to Richard Teerlink's keynote address at the 2002 Remodelers' Show last October in Indianapolis.

   

• Florida Man Wins $1.8 Million Asbestos Verdict

  A Florida jury has found Union Carbide Corporation liable for a former drywall worker's asbestosis. Carbide's Musser says the first phase of the West Virginia trial provided significant grounds for appeal.

   

• NAHB Opposes New Building Code

  The NAHB has urged its members to oppose a new National Fire Protection Agency model building code, reviving a debate between the two associations over stair tread and riser standards. The NFPA 5000, issued in August 2002, requires a minimum tread depth of 11 inches and a maximum riser height of 7...

   

• ThermoView Consolidates, Looks to Expand

  ThermoView Industries, owner of five exterior replacement and full-service remodeling operations, has announced plans to consolidate its subsidiaries under a new national brand. They include ThermoView of California, Rolox Industries, Leingang Century Siding and Window, Primax Home Center, and...

   

Commentary

Linda Case

• Group Think

  On those occasions when an individual scores higher than the group, it usually signals that the group leader failed to get everyone's input. Not only that, but -- as survivor games demonstrate -- the group is likely to come up with a better solution.

   

Mark Richardson

• The Right Client

  The more you can discriminate between good and bad customers, the healthier your company will be. --Mark Richardson is president of Case Design/Remodeling, in Bethesda, Md. (301) 229-4600; mrichardson@casedesign.com.

   

Walt Stoeppelwerth

• Make Lead Carpenters More Efficient

  In the past 10 years, the lead carpenter system has gained acceptance and dramatically changed the way many contractors work in the field. Most people agree the lead carpenter system, with its one-man crew, significantly increases productivity.

   

Guest Columnist

• Disassembly Required

  We decided at Case Design/Remodeling that package projects are not the business we're in. We're in one-of-a-kind remodels.For Case to offer package remodels would be like a French restaurant offering value meals. It's not what we're about

   

Your Business

Ways + Means

• White-Glove Treatment

  Seattle contractor Rich Gaspar spares no expense when it comes to protecting the jobsite. On big jobs, Gaspar Construction crews lay bubble wrap covered with Masonite on wood floors and install plastic walls.

   

• Arbitration Clauses

  Apart from the time and expense involved in a trial, Texas attorney Stephen Bell, of law firm Coats, Rose in Houston, suggests remodelers usually fare better before an arbitrator. "With an arbitrator, a businessperson, the chances of getting a non-emotional result are better," he says.Mike Carden...

   

• One More Walkthrough

  Mike Weiss, owner of Weiss & Co., Carmel, Ind., regularly assembles trade contractors for an on-site conference prior to bidding on -- or designing, if it's a design/build job -- complex projects. In addition to the walkthrough, Weiss & Co. prepares a site information sheet for large jobs.

   

Bottom Line

• Credit Caution

  Steve Halt, CPA and president of accounting firm Halt, Thrasher & Buzas, Alexandria, Va., warns that credit lines are potentially dangerous tools for those who lack business savvy. Undercharging, poor job cost accounting, or overdue receivables are not good reasons to tap into a credit line.

   

• Chump Change

  Every company ought to track change order revenue as a percentage of total job cost. Below-average revenue may signal change orders that are not being processed, and that can cost you.If change orders average 10% of total revenue, a company with $500,000 in total sales is handling $50,000 in...

   

Sales + Marketing

• Selling With No Money Down

  Carmen Pretopapa has sold all his jobs -- 1,000 over the past three years -- with no money down. Because his company, NOVA Exteriors, Vienna, Va., reinvests profits back into the business, it doesn't depend on week-to-week receivables. Sales immediately picked up after that policy was implemented...

   

• How To Nurture New Salespeople

  Remodelers Jeff Talmadge of Talmadge Construction, Aptos, Calif., and Andrew Shore of Sea Pointe Construction, Irvine, Calif., offer the following tips.

   

• A Marketing Formula For Growth

  How do you determine what to spend on marketing when you need to boost sales efforts for growth?Joaquin Erazo Jr., marketing vice president at Case Design/Remodeling, Bethesda, Md., uses a formula that relies on history as an indicator of future performance. "The goal is to make sure you are not...

   

Field Notes

• Luncheon Seminars

  Chris Avant of Canyon Construction feels strongly about educating his workers. He pays for one hour of work time and crew members volunteer one hour of their time.

   

• Spanish Construction Dictionary

  A new pocket-sized book, English/Spanish For Painters & Contractors, offers translations of commonly used construction terminology, such as the names of tools and materials and words used to give directions and instructions at the jobsite. The book covers safety terms, too, and common office...

   

• Lead Carpenter Production

  Many remodelers are curious about the benchmark for how much dollar volume a lead carpenter can produce in one year. Trying to complete $1 million by doing 20 small projects is next to impossible.

   

By Design

• Scientific Design

  The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the University of Minnesota have launched a Web site that covers a range of research on design and human behavior. To that end, informedesign.com also features online discussion topics, a monthly newsletter, and a calendar of research-related...

   

• Designs for Seniors

  A new demonstration house features design techniques and products that facilitate aging in place. The senior-friendly LifeWise house was built by the NAHB Research Center, a subsidiary of the NAHB.

   

• Essentials of Design

  A new book breaks down timeless design into 10 essential tenets. Identify the elements that make houses comfortable, beautiful, and dynamic

   

Tech@Work

• Sketching an Estimate

  Xactware, makers of a popular estimating program used in insurance restoration, plans to release a package in March called Xactimate for Remodelers.Ken Badalamenti of Riviera Construction, Solon, Ohio, who participated in a focus group and has explored several estimating programs, says the...

   

• Creating Easy Multimedia Presentations

  To increase referrals, compile an end-of-project "memories" CD, with crew interviews, clips of the client's family, and critical project documents. Other ideas: sales presentations featuring customer testimonials and training presentations with expert installers.

   

Big50

Solutions

• Q+A: Details, Details, Details

  If it's a contracted price, we don't show any detail except for allowances for items to be selected, like light fixtures or floor coverings. If we're doing a cost-plus job, we give them detailed estimates of all the costs from a list of 24 categories.

   

Other Articles

• Do You Charge For Estimates?

  Professionals pay professionals and know they must. I charge for estimates and keep the money because I believe that a contractor's time is extremely valuable. The homeowners receive 45 minutes to an hour of free consultation during the first meeting. After that, they pay for our time.

   

Replacement

Decks

• Decks: Repair or Replace?

  Hidden substructure damage often turns a repair job into a full-blown makeover. The deck's far from new, but the client's only interested in having some boards replaced. What now?

   

Other Articles

• Benchmark: Worth the Risk? Part 2

  By relating owner compensation to total revenue, the Risk Quotient (see Benchmark, January 2003) helps a remodeling company owner balance risk with reward. Making a bad situation worse, a single major change order can easily add 20%, 30%, or more to the original cost.