FEATURES

  • SWOT Analysis: Refine business systems

    Analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can lead to improved systems and dynamic marketing.Using SWOT analyses, other remodelers, too, have acted on opportunities to open new business lines, often a gutsy move in down economies but made less stomach-churning by these...

     

  • Competition-driven sales process

    Who's your competition? The new-home builder? The SUV dealer? The remodeling company on the other side of town? All of the above.

     

Before and After

Reader Panel

  • Company's culture and core values effect on business

    Many companies include questions in their job interviews about how an employee will fit into their culture, and nearly everyone communicates their guiding principles to employees. As a gut feeling, how does reinforcing core values affect profit margins?"

     

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

  • Give up responsibility, information, and solutions to employees

    A lot of remodeling company owners talk a good game about delegation and accountability, but their actions make it clear they still believe they're indispensable. If you want to let go of the reins but don't know how, here are the first three things to give up:

     

News + Notes

  • Housing affordability highest in 30 years

    While the remodeling industry as a whole is thriving, business in certain parts of the country has slowed somewhat in the past year or two. The good news, however, is that although national trends are somewhat difficult to predict, all signs point to that lull being temporary.For example, in the...

     

  • Lumber dispute ruling

    The World Trade Organization (WTO) has preliminarily ruled that duties on imports of Canadian softwood lumber imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department are flawed and should be rescinded. A final ruling from the WTO is expected later this month.

     

  • Chomated Copper Arsenate (CCA) banned

    Beginning in 2004, virtually all residential uses of products treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) will be banned.

     

  • Remodeling Reality Show

    "House Rules" takes three lucky duos and turns them loose in three unlucky houses, giving them three months to do their best Big50 impression.Each week, contestants will participate in a home improvement-related contest to win a larger budget for a certain project. Contestants will be allowed to...

     

  • AmeriGuard: Structural warranty for resale homes

    It's no wonder new-home buyers purchase structural warranties. According to Criterium Engineers, a nationwide home inspection firm based in Portland, Maine, structural defects occur in 10% to 20% of the 25,000 homes they inspect each year.

     

  • Disease linked to hot-tub use

    In today's society, the hot tub is a popular symbol of relaxation. "Hot-tub lung," as it's been dubbed, is caused by Mycobacterium avium, or MAC.

     

  • 2003 Remodelers' Show education program

    The education program for the 2003 Remodelers' Show is currently available online. You've read their columns -- now you can see and hear these regular contributors at the Remodelers' Show:

     

MARKET WATCH

  • Market Watch

    Remodeling and repair Recently released data from the Department of Commerce confirms the strength of the industry. However, the recently enacted tax cut should provide a boost.

     

COMMENTARY

LINDA CASE

  • Culture, core values, and vision

    If you have six draft horses and want to plow a field, would the time spent harnessing those horses be a waste? Culture, core values, and vision are ways you help your team pull together, make effective decisions, and work with the true end in mind.

     

MARK RICHARDSON

  • Reasons to go to the Remodeling Show

    The Remodelers' Show is still three months off, but now is the time to start planning. The Remodelers' Show is a three-day event that gives you months of lasting value.

     

WALT STOEPPELWERTH

  • Selling services to past clients

    Up until the past 10 to 15 years, the only segments of the remodeling or home improvement industry that emphasized the lifelong-customer concept were electrical, HVAC, and plumbing companies, since service calls are a major part of those businesses. That can result in a reduced price or the...

     

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

  • Winning bidders best satisfy client's emotional needs

    Like it or not, your prospective clients get bids.It's a search for someone who best satisfies the client's emotional needs. Is it how you set the trusses, or how you're going to finish the great room to satisfy the client's entertainment needs?

     

  • 1930s town square showroom

    Disney's Main Street USA concept has always intrigued remodeler Tim Thompson. While clients who visit the new Thompson Building Associates showroom in Columbus, Ohio, stand agape at the facades, Thompson says it's the employees who get the real kick out of the $45,000 extra he spent to make his...

     

BOTTOM LINE

  • Using actual costs or standard mileage to calculate driving costs

    Standard-mileage calculation tallies the number of business miles driven and multiplies the result by .365 cents. --Howard Scott is a business writer and small-business tax preparer in Pembroke, Mass.

     

  • Pricing Labor-Only Jobs

    Presumably you already have an accurate burdened-labor figure, but make sure you're including both "hard" and "soft" costs for each employee (see "The Labor Burden"). The result is $20.34, which will cover overhead when added to the hourly labor charge.

     

BY DESIGN

  • Dual purpose bathroom

    Remodeled during phase one of a whole-house project, this first-floor bathroom was designed to serve, during phase two, as the primary bath for guests and the owners' two young children. Separating the vanity from the bathing area, the shelf creates a partially enclosed space above the sink in...

     

FIELD NOTES

  • Jobsite sign

    Gayler Construction has a new spin on that old standby, the jobsite sign. It certainly piques interest," says co-owner Darlene Gayler.

     

  • Continuing learning and education

    If you need help getting started, ask your employees or your boss. Yearly goals can include attending a trade show, attending a business conference unrelated to construction, and enrolling in a college, community college, or trade school.

     

  • On site mailbox to exchange information with clients

    Typically the box contains information that isn't time-sensitive: SawHorse employees use cell phones and e-mail for quick communication.

     

GOOD FORM

  • Daily Job Logs

    Mike Weiss, CGR, came to residential remodeling from the commercial sector, where the projects are huge and the job logs are proportionate in size. This version, with a full week fitting on two sides of a single page, is the fourth iteration of the form he's used at Weiss & Company in Carmel, Ind....

     

Tech at Work

  • Creating an electronic/E-mail newsletter

    It's a good bet that by now most of your customers have e-mail accounts and Internet access. Unlike spam, electronic newsletters allow customers to "opt in" by contacting you or clicking a link on your Web site.

     

  • Using digital camera to extend vision behind walls

    Blindly routing wires behind walls and through ceilings can be a tricky task. Using the camera's zoom lens when routing over an extended distance, Sanchez gets a better picture than he would with just his eyes.

     

Ways + Means

  • Ambassador position to build relationships

    Ed Lane, owner of Lane Homes and Remodeling in Richmond, Va., has his own community "ambassador" on staff."--Victoria Downing is president of Remodelers Advantage, Fulton, Md., (301) 490-5620, victoria@remodelersadvantage.com.

     

  • Calculating a Lead's Management Hours

    To help solve the problem, Larson and his team developed a method to determine management hours for his five leads, called project managers. Using the formula, Larson has found that project management can take as much as 30% of a lead's time. The calculations help Architectural Building Arts get...

     

  • Build designer's services into the project/contract

    Wally Orfield recently signed a contract for the largest job his Minneapolis-based company's ever had. Now, instead of leaving product selections up to customers, Orfield plans to bill clients for X number of hours of an interior designer's services -- eight hours is the number he's thinking of --...

     

  • Payments out of Escrow accounts

    Bartelt/Filo more and more often receives payment for completed work out of escrow accounts set up by title insurance companies acting as intermediaries for banks. Typically, Bartelt says, the title company pays for the project in four draws.

     

BIG50

CLOSE UP

  • Profile: Gary Marrokal

    By Nina Patel. For Gary Marrokal (Big50 1992), the answer is simple: to raise the level of the design services he offers. Davies now works with Marrokal's four salespeople to enhance the designs they offer.Davies brings several talents to the team, including his skill in creating interior and...

     

FACE OFF

Live + Learn

  • Hard Knocks

    The crew reroofed the first house, finishing the job at 3 p.m. Then, the estimator waited four long hours for the homeowner to return from work.He was shocked, but the next day the homeowner agreed to sign a liability waiver, refusing to pay anything toward the roof, which Waller estimates at $15...

     

  • Reading List

    The E-Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber, reinforced and clarified for me the systems approach to building a business. The Get Hooked On Your Own Ability audiocassettes by Phil Rea offer down-and-dirty sales training that I give to all my designers and sales associates.

     

SECOND LOOK

  • Second Look: Gene Peterson

    Gene Peterson was named Big50 in 1988, but he received much heavier news in 1997, when doctors discovered he had cancer. CARE reached $2.7 million in volume at its height, in 2000, earning 42% gross and 12% net margins.Business at CARE has tapered off since Peterson first became ill, and key...

     

SOLUTIONS

  • Training Tactics

    By REMODELING Magazine Staff. Disaster Restoration Westminster, Colo. Big50 1995Because we're a specialty contractor, there are many disciplines with which our employees must be familiar. We've found that the best results come from combining theoretical training with practice and real, hands-on...

     

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

  • Portable Kitchen on Wheels

    This remodeler has found a convenient way to make sure his clients don't lose the use of their kitchen during a remodel -- he just wheels a portable one into their house. If he has multiple kitchen projects, he can easily make additional units.

     

  • Wall-mounted faucet lacking stopper

    By Nina Patel. Karl Dropping had a client who didn't realize that the vessel sink, wall-mounted faucet combination he installed lacked a stopper. He says contractors should make sure their clients know this or, if they want a stopper, find a manufacturer that offers an operable rod with a lever...

     

  • Wall Support for wall-mounted faucets

    By Nina Patel. Since wall-mounted faucets take more abuse than deck-mounted faucets, consultant Julius Ballanco recommends using a drop-ear elbow behind the wall that you can screw to a stud. KWC Faucets' Tim Mullally suggests installing service stops in the cabinet below the faucet or above, in...

     
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    Wall-mounted faucets

    Seventy years ago, wall-mounted kitchen faucets were the norm in farmhouses and Victorian houses across America. Remodeler Karl Dropping installs wall-mounted faucets in about 25% of his customers' homes, but it's usually at the prompting of his designers.

     

SPEC BOOK

  • Euro Cabinetry styles

    Styles for the kitchen and bath have sleeker, simpler, cleaner lines for a contemporary flair. Colors and finishes run the gamut from chocolatey glazes and dark paints and stains to pale, natural woods. Options abound.

     

REPLACEMENT

DECKS

  • Warranties appeal to homeowners

    Contractors who offer warranties appeal to homeowners looking to avoid the problems that can come with badly designed and poorly built decks. Warranties, McFate says, are part of a process, just like securing a building permit for every job, meant to assure clients they're "making an investment in...

     

ROOFING

  • When to cover over or pull off shingles

    Tearing off the old shingles can add anywhere from a few hours to a day to a roofing job. "You could be spending $750 or $800 in dump fees," contractor Jim Lydon points out.For all those reasons, Lydon tells clients it's OK to roof over existing shingles if (1) it's a relatively new building and...

     

PRODUCTS

IN FOCUS

  • insulated vinyl siding

    A new category has emerged within the siding industry: insulated vinyl siding. Originally available from only one manufacturer, insulated vinyl siding is now offered by five vinyl-siding makers: Crane, RMC, Norandex/Reynolds, Heartland Building Products, and CertainTeed.

     

  • Lighting fixtures

    The new Low Voltage Monorail is a custom-configurable system with a flexible fixture that can be curved and formed into various designs. The new Sussex Collection of light fixtures is available in the maker's new brushed-nickel finish, designed to coordinate with other fixtures in the home.

     

READERS CHOICE

  • Chief Architect: Monogram Vinyl siding: Trim Boards

    By REMODELING Magazine Staff. Remodeler: Dennis Gehman Company: Gehman Custom Builder/Remodeler, Harleysville, Pa. Product: Chief Architect, by Advanced Relational Technology, www.chiefarchitect.com.Hail the Chief Dennis Gehman uses Chief Architect design and drafting software to show his clients...

     

TRENDS

  • Training and certification program for window and glass door installers

    By Stephani L. Miller. Republic Windows and Doors, a manufacturer of custom vinyl windows and doors, now requires all regular installers of their windows to take the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA) InstallationMasters course, a nationwide training and certification program...

     

  • Storm Rooms: Safe Rooms

    More than 1,000 tornadoes touch down in the United States each year, according to the Weather Channel, ripping through communities with wind speeds of up to 318 mph. Many homeowners in tornado-prone areas of the country are seeking protection by adding safe rooms and storm rooms. There are many...

     

  • Front porch additions

    Few things reflect easy, relaxed living as well as a front porch. Many homeowners have memories of spending summer days and evenings on the front porches of their childhood homes. To bring back feelings of well-being, community, and contentment -- and to enhance curb appeal -- many owners are...

     

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

  • Slippage and Risk Ratio recalculations

    One factor affecting the numbers reported in the May issue was incomplete results. Since press time for the May issue, we've received additional data that change the slippage picture somewhat.The good news is that the median for all companies is -2.9%, meaning about half the companies performed...