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Proponents of radiant floor heating systems have long suggested that their method is more effective and more efficient than forced-air systems, though admittedly without any statistical proof. The preliminary results showed that the radiant system used 22% more fuel per heating degree-day than the...
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Portas, Europe's largest remodeling company with approximately 500 franchises in 13 countries, has announced plans to enter the U.S. marketplace.Portas is also working on adapting their window systems to accommodate the differences between European and American windows.
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Build It! debuted in January, and since then, it has been a pretty good seller, according to Theresa Minch, executive director of BuilderBooks and the game's inventor.The game is intended for children aged 7 years or older, so play is fairly simple.
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For the first time in history, NARI's COO and executive vice president is a woman.Mary Busey Harris replaces Kevin McNulty, who resigned in January.
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Superior Court, the California Supreme Court ruled that two window manufacturers could be held "strictly liable" if their products, installed in a mass-produced home, were found to be defective. Strict liability, according to lawyer Sam Abdulaziz, means "liability without fault;" the burden is to...
The stylistic type on this sign does a better job of communicating than the classic type on the new sign.The new sign isn't as recognizable to those driving by as a contractor sign, meaning prospects will have to think twice about where it fits in.
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The origin of the term "sweet spot" is unclear, but sports sages attribute it to finding the exact spot on a baseball bat where a pitched ball should strike, then exit the park via the back fence. --Stephen Wilson is a partner in Biz-comm Inc., a marketing and communications firm specializing in...
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To create a successful sales presentation, first understand what a sales presentation is. --C.F. Moore, of Olive Branch, Miss., is a business consultant who contracts as a sales coach, cfm501@hotmail.com.
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Conner and Co.'s "provocative" postcard approach to a preferred customer base of 1,600 customers boosted its handyman division revenues by more than $300,000.Distributing one a quarter, Connor will then run all 12 cards through another mailing cycle.
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Not long after he introduced a lead carpenter system and began paying bonuses on jobs coming in under budget, Jeb Breithaupt, owner of Jeb Breithaupt Design/Build, Shreveport, La., found his crews asking about the possibility of a company credit card. Company Visa cards for lead carpenters have a...
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Rapidly growing companies often need to create new positions -- and figuring out what position will help the most is key to success. A little more than a year ago, Bartelt/Filo, Menomonee Falls, Wis., made the decision to hire a contracts administrator.
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Late last year, Vince Butler, of Butler Brothers Corp., Clifton, Va., began putting together the final billing on a job. Since then, Butler has seen a 75% reduction in unauthorized change orders.
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At the first meeting, president Bruce Johnson, his brother Greg, vice president, and the company's employees set out to define the company's core values by listing 14 of them. Long term, he hopes the core values meetings boost referral rates by making Lee Kimball Kitchens "a truly exceptional...
Working with long-time subcontracted installation crews, A. Lee Parron installs cabinets on jobs reaching from Manhattan to the Caribbean and South America -- mostly from referrals. He opened a European Living store inside a Kitchen Center showroom in Fort Lauderdale, which should mean more cabinet...
In a city of 35,000, it's easy to imagine you've tapped out the local remodeling market. Swimme, who grew up in construction and built a house "on the side" by himself at age 21, initially trained as an HVAC mechanic.
On an earthquake repair job in 1989, Jeffrey Talmadge broke his ankle. These days you might find Talmadge using his ankle in other pursuits, like Tae Kwon Do.
Fourteen years ago, Brian Altmann did his first deck job for $20,000. Today, though, decks are only 5% of what Dutchess Building Specialists builds.
Over the years, Mason Hearn's partners have retired or left the industry, leaving him sole owner of McGuire, Hearn & Toms. Until recently, Hearn charged a design fee of 3% of construction costs.
In 1999, Matthew Harrigan's company was floundering. "I've spent the last three years, 45 to 90 minutes every Tuesday morning, training these guys how to take care of customers and how to handle technical aspects of their jobs," Harrigan says.
Bob Sturgeon started his company 17 years ago with a partner, but the partnership only lasted six months. "Thank God it wasn't six years," reflects Sturgeon, who built the business up from "basically handyman-type carpentry stuff" to a full-service remodeling company doing everything from window...
You don't stay in business 26 years without a superb understanding of market ups and downs and a sharp focus on overhead. Joe McKinstry says these days leads are off, jobs are smaller, and hard-hit commercial contractors are plying his market.
Maurice Forde would tell you that one of the reasons for his company's success is his ability to "learn from others in this business and implement change when it makes sense." After getting his start as a window installer, Forde went out on his own, subcontracting carpentry and learning "by trial...
Not counting a few sabbaticals here and there, Michael Gervais has been around the remodeling industry a long time. He has worked in commercial as well as residential remodeling, and the companies he now owns and runs -- which include full-service remodeling and handyman companies as well as a...
Big50: Industry Impact
Bryan Bennight's experience as a firefighter taught him how to quickly evaluate structures and people in emotional situations. "My whole business is built on relationships, with suppliers and clients, and NARI's impact is all about those relationships and camaraderie," he says.
Chuck and Mark Brownlow continue to build on the reputation of their grandfather's company, founded in 1935. He researched the idea using a focus group to find out how much homeowners might pay for this type of service.
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Nearly two decades in business have afforded Roger Gallagher the opportunity to give back. "Setting standards and adhering to them is the best way to take care of our customers," Gallagher says.
Jeff Easter learned his most important business lesson as a college football defensive end: If you get the ball, you'd better run with it. He logs an 85% close rate on leads qualified by a half-time office manager or his wife, Melissa, a real estate agent who helps manage the office.
After remodeling rental properties and working in new construction, Andy Wright realized, six years ago, that his roots were firmly planted in residential remodeling. He has participated in a home show for six years, enters marketing contests, and writes a cover story every other month for the...
Jason Larson finds his company's best projects are $50,000 to $100,000 additions, master suites, and kitchens. Shea Homes, a large new home builder, contracted with Lars Construction to be their preferred remodeler.
Keith Lay doesn't solicit by phone, mass mail, or radio. He has built his business on referrals, and recently, on ads -- testimonials from community leaders.Twelve years ago, Lay was a school principal, tracking children's lives day and night.
Morris Builders, a design/build company, focuses on kitchens, baths, additions, and basement remodels. Two years ago, owner Kirk Morris had a peer group in town to do a case study on his company.
Candi and Troy Hilton live and work in a small suburb of Kansas City where the community prefers to hire only locals. In addition to the mailings, the Hiltons say their Web site has proven to be a great marketing asset.
Bob Baker got his start 17 years ago at Williams Builder (Big50 1987). When Williams asked him back, Baker decided not to take him up on the offer.
John McCaleb came to Tucson from Chicago almost 25 years ago knowing "just enough about remodeling to be dangerous," he recalls. His company shines, McCaleb says, "in our finishes and in our ability to make things high quality and high class."
Scott McCollum, once a custom home builder, was drawn to remodeling by an architect friend who presented him a particularly difficult project and told him that "if I did a good job, we'd never be out of that neighborhood."Growth, McCollum says, came from realizing "we are not sticks and bricks guys.
Dixie HomeCrafters sells 100 and installs 100 jobs a day in a dozen states -- that's 26,000 jobs a year. After David Parton went broke remodeling, he called up Jim Brewer to tell him he'd saved $10,000 working as a condominium manager.
If you told Jim Lang in 1989 that he'd some day run a company known as a "mover and a shaker," he'd have laughed. Aggressive expansion, including a basement finishing franchise, could speed Lang's team to the $6.2 million mark next year.
Like the name of his company, Steve Taylor offers service tailor made for his community. A few years ago, Taylor purchased an Owens Corning basement franchise and became the third largest of the company's 44 nationwide franchisees.
"Our background was always in the front end," Leader points out, "so the challenge was to hire people who understood that part of the business." A move into sunrooms in the mid-'90s gave Ohio Energy a big boost in volume, and the development of an in-house software program for managing all...
As volunteer firefighters, all four members of the Bellamy family have seen insurance restoration from both sides. And the company uses Exactimate software to deal with the detailed linear foot and unit costs required by insurance companies.
Dennis Blake felt his background as an insurance adjuster made him the perfect candidate for running, and finally owning, an insurance restoration business that also does remodeling. In 10 years, Blake predicts sales of $10 million from three operations.
Clients who sign on with George Strother's Castlerock Homes for what is typically a whole-house remodel do so with the stipulation that they vacate the premises for the duration of the project. Working on a house without anyone in it cuts costs and time, Strother says.
Paul Davis Restoration, an insurance restoration franchising firm, counts among its largest frachisees its Lincoln, Neb., operation, owned and run by John Zoz. At the end of last year, Paul Davis Restoration of Lincoln had the second highest market penetration among the company's 200+ franchises.
If a niche is something specific, Helmut's Remodeling, a Milwaukee general remodeling company that takes on a broad range of projects, has what you might call an anti-niche: "Our niche is to help whoever calls us," says Ken Connor, a football coach before he joined the company 20 years ago. "We...
Four years of HBA awards have firmly lodged Schermick Construction in the minds of addition-minded homeowners. Winning at least two Remodelers Merit Recognition honors a year has landed project photos on the HBA of Berks County Web site, which serves 1,100 members and the public.
Gill Construction does a little bit of everything. "Our biggest job last year was a $160,000 addition," says owner/president Robert Pearson, a former president of the West Texas home builders association and a 30-year veteran of the construction industry.
This tennis pro husband and CPA wife had always wanted to start a business together. The Grecos advertise in the local paper and offer an incentive program for referrals from past customers.
Craig Tice recently revamped his lead tracking system. To generate additional leads, Tice formed a partnership with a large real estate company.
Anthony Cerami says he survived the early '90s by doing any kind of job he could get -- and "as much marketing as possible." It does additions and major renovations, stroking clients in his market with above-and-beyond-the-call-of-duty measures such as upgraded materials, a No Punch List system...
Joining Metro Orlando's HBA and its Remodelors Council opened doors for the McGraths, who built a business based on Jack's keen design sense and hands-on supervision. A third of the company's business comes from leads from the annual Parade of Homes, which has recognized the company as a...
Paul Morse encourages his staff and crew to think as a team. As part of his twice-a-year evaluations, Morse helps each person identify their goals and then reach them.
You need teamwork to bang out a $1 million remodel of a 12,000-square-foot mansion in six months. Their word-of-mouth provides Matrka, who does no advertising, with his sole lead source.
In the past few years, management at Mark Troyer Builders set out to transform this mid-sized full-service company into one of the premier remodeling firms in the Columbus area. "One of my goals was to lower the cost of goods sold," says John Scroggins, vice president/strategic development, "and...
Chuck Green's background is in film making, not in construction. That makes perfect sense, Green says, because "the process of making a movie is very similar to remodeling -- the visual orientation and actually making something."
Dett Otterbeck knows the importance of customer satisfaction, and ensuring it means nurturing his team. His uniformed crews, each outfitted with cleaning equipment, keep jobsites spotless.The team doubled when Otterbeck absorbed Butch Grignon's firm.
The idea of teamwork involves living in a community and caring about employees, customers, and the environment. He bikes to his office and some jobsites and limits the range of his jobs based on a combination of management and environmental concerns.
The husband and wife team of Darlene and George Gayler handle sales for their company. The crew and production manager have a say in the schedule and act as a team to diagnose and solve any problems, Darlene says.
When Stephen Howell's neighbor asked him whether he'd ever considered starting a construction company, Howell replied that he didn't want to wreck a hobby by turning it into a business. "We really stress mentoring and try to have the leads mentor the production carpenters."
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Jeff Easter learned his most important business lesson as a college football defensive end: If you get the ball, you'd better run with it. He logs an 85% close rate on leads qualified by a half-time office manager or his wife, Melissa, a real estate agent who helps manage the office.
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After remodeling rental properties and working in new construction, Andy Wright realized, six years ago, that his roots were firmly planted in residential remodeling. He has participated in a home show for six years, enters marketing contests, and writes a cover story every other month for the...
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Jason Larson finds his company's best projects are $50,000 to $100,000 additions, master suites, and kitchens. Shea Homes, a large new home builder, contracted with Lars Construction to be their preferred remodeler.
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Keith Lay doesn't solicit by phone, mass mail, or radio. He has built his business on referrals, and recently, on ads -- testimonials from community leaders.Twelve years ago, Lay was a school principal, tracking children's lives day and night.
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Morris Builders, a design/build company, focuses on kitchens, baths, additions, and basement remodels. Two years ago, owner Kirk Morris had a peer group in town to do a case study on his company.
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Candi and Troy Hilton live and work in a small suburb of Kansas City where the community prefers to hire only locals. In addition to the mailings, the Hiltons say their Web site has proven to be a great marketing asset.
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Bob Baker got his start 17 years ago at Williams Builder (Big50 1987). When Williams asked him back, Baker decided not to take him up on the offer.
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John McCaleb came to Tucson from Chicago almost 25 years ago knowing "just enough about remodeling to be dangerous," he recalls. His company shines, McCaleb says, "in our finishes and in our ability to make things high quality and high class."