Table of Contents October 2003

FEATURES

• 

  Next generation of remodelers

  The next generation of remodelers is smart, business savvy, and fiercely determined to make a blue-collar industry white-collar respectable.

   

• Training is essential to growth

  Training yourself, your managers, and your field crews will turn your chaotic circus into a well-orchestrated troop.

   
• 

  Tom Kelly: teamwork system and business analysis

  Soon after taking over the company named for and established by his father, Neil, Tom Kelly was faced with steering the company through the harsh recession of the 1980s.

   

Before and After

• 

  Traditional kitchen remodel: Contemporary bath with "wave" design

  A Raleigh, N.C., contractor wins over clients on a traditional kitchen remodel, then returns for a contemporary his-and-hers bath awash in Japanese undertones.

   

Reader Panel

• Reader Panel: Joining Up

  Most remodelers nix ties to remodeling organizations in favor of devoting time to groups more in tune with their needs and that directly help their business.Membership in the two national remodeling associations, at about 9,200 contractors, is a fraction of the 171,500 general and specialty firms...

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

• 

  Joint endorsement between major industry associations

  This month, the leadership of the two major industry associations announced their joint endorsement of each other's primary certification program, NARI's CR and the NAHB Remodelors Council's CGR. A unified message is long overdue, and I support it fully.

   

News + Notes

• 

  New zoning for Energy Star map

  Remodelers who are particularly environmentally conscious may have already noticed that, starting at the end of August, the criteria for Energy Star-certified windows, doors, and skylights changed.The Northern zone is still the largest, dipping down into Arizona, and the Southern zone has shrunk...

   

• Company selling acres of land on the moon

  The site boasts sales of more than 300 million acres. So it only makes sense that professional remodelers begin preparing their businesses for the inevitable foray into lunar landscaping and moon walk window replacement (sunroom companies, of course, need not apply).

   

• Internet usage growing in home improvement field

  Newsflash, remodelers: Just in case you hadn't noticed, the Internet isn't a fad. A recent report from the Home Improvement Research Institute (HIRI) suggests that you already knew that.

   

• Major trade associations jointly promote respective certifications

  Industry history will be made at this month's Remodelers' Show, as the leaders of the two major trade associations will announce an initiative to jointly promote their respective certifications.NARI offers the Certified Remodeler (CR) designation, and the NAHB Remodelors Council offers the...

   

• Sunroom industry positively affected by West Nile virus

  Not that the popular opinion of mosquitoes was ever particularly positive, but ever since the first human cases of the West Nile virus in the United States popped up in 1999, even the staunchest animal-rights activists have at least thought about hurting a fly. "We don't specifically tell people...

   

MARKET WATCH

• October 2003 Market Watch

  The NAHB's quarterly Remodeling Market Index showed positive results. The current market conditions portion of the index gained nearly a point from the second quarter of 2002, while expectations for the future skyrocketed to their most positive level in two years.

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

• Declining difficult/red flag clients

  Some people are just not good to work for. How do you know? Here are a few hints.After the job's done, make sure you determine if future clients were referred to you by these difficult clients.

   

LINDA CASE

• 

  Six habits/practices for a great remodeling company

  Tracking money in a $500,000 or $5 million remodeling company involves lots of time and cost, but without that information, nothing else matters.As an organization grows, that culture will be taken over by strong (but not necessarily good) natural leaders.

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• 

  Successful growth at the right rate of growth

  One of the more common questions that I get from remodelers around the country is, "How do I grow my business?" Increasing market share is also a kind of growth, as is putting plans in place so you can exit the business at some point in the future.

   

WALT STOEPPELWERTH

• 

  Surviving in a growing installation sales market

  If past trends in American industry are any indication, more and more building products manufacturers and retailers will be forced to install what they make or sell. How can contractors survive and prosper in a market where installed sales are going to get bigger and bigger?

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• 6 Steps to Make the Phone Ring

  If you can't find a few thousand dollars for a campaign, your cash flow will sink you anyway.Develop a direct marketing postcard that speaks to your ideal-for-now job.

   

• Playhouse project

  By working 10-hour days Monday through Thursday so they could donate Fridays, the crew of Morris Builders in Rockford, Mich., built an 8-by-10-foot playhouse, auctioned off with eight others that were also donated to Habitat for Humanity. Owners Kirk and Joy Morris are rightly proud of their...

   

• Magnetic signs for vehicle advertising

  David Crane of Crane Builders in Nashville, Tenn., found himself faced with laws that prohibit job signs in the area's two ritziest neighborhoods, Belle Mead and Forest Hills. To stand out from trucks with painted-on signs, he had oval signs made, using his eye-catching crane logo.

   

• How to convey integrity during a sales call

  Have faith, confidence, and belief in your products, services, and ideas. Practice your questions, as well as the answers to often-asked client questions.

   

• Business Card Redesign

  The name of the company is more important than Harty's name, and that needs to be highlighted.

   

BOTTOM LINE

• Home Office Tax Deductions

  The Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 includes two changes to home office deductions. --Howard Scott is a business writer and small business tax preparer in Pembroke, Mass.

   

• Pricing Labor-Only Jobs

  When pricing labor-only jobs, be sure to allow for labor-specific contingencies. Watch out, too, for situations like a decrease in the proportion of billable hours per employee and lost time due to startup inefficiencies if this job is a "first of its kind" for your company.

   

BY DESIGN

• Window Stools

  It's common to see windows trimmed like picture frames -- with thin casing and no stool. In the past, the height and width of a column pedestal (determined by the classical order of the building) established a room's proportions.

   

FIELD NOTES

• Separate informational binders to communicate effectively

  To avoid these situations, I issue three separate informational binders to the office, the field, and the client. --Joel Oatten, production coordinator, Classic Homeworks, Denver

   

• Purchase order system designed to minimize trips

  Remodeler Paul Morse was losing money and time on jobs when his carpenters drove to the local lumberyard for last-minute items. See "Good Form" for a copy and detailed description of Morse Constructions' purchase order form.

   

• Ideas to shorten punch lists

  The contract needs to state when the punch list work is completed and when warranty work begins.

   

GOOD FORM

• Purchase Order Form

  Purchase orders aren't exactly commonplace for smaller remodeling companies, but according to Paul Morse of Morse Constructions in Somerville, Mass., they should be. "If you want to be as successful as a $10 million company, then run your business like one," he says.

   

Tech at Work

• Ebay: Construction Category

  EBay, the San Francisco-based online auction house, isn't just for stereos and rare collectibles anymore. Laser levels, heavy equipment like skid loaders and backhoes, and hand tools like pipe threaders, saws, and hammer drills are among the best selling items, says construction category manager...

   
• 

  Presale and Postsale estimating system

  I wish I had a nickel for every time a remodeler told me that if they only had better estimating software, they could handle more leads, produce more quotes, and make more money. This is when you think about whether this project is a good fit for you -- it's not the time to stay up all night...

   

Ways + Means

• Group interviewing sessions

  When Linda Tossey joined her company four years ago, the director of operations and marketing for United Services of Des Moines brought with her a timesaving interview process. During these 45-minute sessions, Tossey gets up in front of the group -- usually no more than 15 candidates per session --...

   
• 

  Setting personal and professional one and five year goals

  Owner and sales manager Gary Sannes believes that what's important to his employees personally affects them professionally. One of Bolden's goals is to increase the number of vacations she takes each year.

   

• Tips for avoiding jobsite theft

  Any time someone breaks in to your jobsite and steals something, you feel violated," says Shanta Bulkin, owner of Shanta Design/Build in San Francisco. Bulkin says that the few times it's happened to his company, the guys working on the job haven't been "right" for up to two weeks afterward.

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

• Profile: Joe Keating and Tim Moore

  Larger jobs, and growing 10 times in volume, meant refining processes while remaining attentive to clients. Security and maintenance are two services that sprung out of tracking the needs of clients, many of whom have vacation homes in North Palm Beach.

   

FACE OFF

• Face Off

  We have distributed performance-based bonuses for the past year and a half. The teamwork bonus is an equal amount for everyone and is based on meeting and exceeding budget goals.

   

Live + Learn

• Looking In

  Excavation contractor Tom Gebhardt says remodelers just need to remember a few key steps to make his work more efficient. In another instance, he had to wait a few hours for the project manager to contact the architect before he could set the footings.

   

• Hard Knocks

  The price of growth is great if one doesn't do it carefully," reflects Chuck Green of Four Corners Construction (Big50 2003).The Westborough, Mass., contractor learned that $55,000 lesson in what would have been his best year in 18 years, had it not been for five degrees of a wrongly dimensioned...

   

SECOND LOOK

• Second Look: Jim Krengel

  In 1988, when Jim Krengel won Big50, he ran a $2.2 million business. Last year, he was inducted into the Kitchen and Bathroom Industry Hall of Fame, earning CMKBD status. "I've had two careers, both successful, and I'm blessed more than any person should be," says Krengel, whose agent now books him...

   

SOLUTIONS

• Respect Your Elders

  The seasoned worker will stop, analyze, formulate a plan, then work through it.

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

• 

  The ugliest bathroom contest

  There was only one winner in the contest run by J+J Custom Kitchens and Baths. "It was good to create leads and brand our name throughout the airwaves," vice president Bill Muckridge says.

   

• Dream Kitchen 2003

  The Dream Kitchen 2003 will showcase high-end style and the latest design practices at this year's Remodelers' Show in Baltimore, October 23-25. The kitchen is designed by Christopher Coleman, who was named by House Beautiful as one of the top designers in the country.

   
• 

  Designing for Tall People

  When two homeowners approached Kary Ewalt of Anthony Wilder Design/Build to do a kitchen remodel, they had several goals in mind. Ewalt measured Lois Alperstein's hips and hands and watched her work at the counter.

   

SPEC BOOK

• 

  Larger showers and tubs

  Therapeutic features; deeper, longer, wider tubs; and roomy, streamlined showers all help turn yesterday's simple bathrooms into havens of serenity and relaxation. The Champagne Massage Monroe tub features 110 bubble jets and a quiet, concealed 1.3 CFM blower motor to deliver massaging air bubbles.

   

Management

• Q+A: Best Estimates

  If you use the cost of standard wall tile for the estimate, it will not include the costs of specialty tiles or designs. If the tile requires additional skill or labor or special materials, the builder must tell the tile contractor so he can account for them in his quote.

   

• Online photo site

  Six months ago, designer Susan Serra began sending invitations to her clients to view her work at an online photo site. It also helps her clients determine their favorite styles and details, which makes for a smoother design process.

   

• Three levels of service

  The owner of Daniel's Kitchen Design (www.danielskitchendesign.com) in Anaheim, Calif., says his design services are more affordable than those offered by full-service firms and Home Depot services, including the company's Expo Design Center.

   

REPLACEMENT

DECKS

• 

  When to pay salespeople their commissions

  Notice that most of the activity from your sales staff comes around paydays. If I sell a job this week and have a chance to get some money from that job, there is more incentive for me to sell that job this week than next.

   

• Thermal-coated steel decks

  Chris Renslow, owner of Renslow's Outdoor Systems, in South St. Paul, Minn., divides "the deck world" into three parts: There are wood decks; there are low-maintenance vinyl or composite decks; and then there are his decks -- specifically, a product he calls Versadeck. Renslow's Outdoor Systems...

   

SIDING

• Wood remains substantial: Premium product, higher priced

  Wood. Natural, beautiful, elegant. As a siding material, or anything else. In siding, the woods of choice are West Coast species such as Douglas fir, cedar, and redwood or East Coast species like cypress and yellow pine. Nonetheless, contractors and the suppliers they buy from say there seems to be...

   

PRODUCTS

IN FOCUS

• 

  Home theater components

  If you are building or remodeling a home theater, addressing room acoustics from the beginning of the project will go a long way to ensuring your clients are satisfied with their experience."Having the room set up to perform the right way acoustically is definitely the best thing that can be done,"...

   
• 

  High Tech Tools for Builders

  Nationwide Direct Connect wireless walkie-talkie, the Rugby 200 automatic, dual axis, and the Spectra Precision Laser HD150 handheld distance meter are just a few of the latest, coolest, high-tech gizmo's available for builders on-the-go.

   
• 

  Fireplaces and Fireplace Accessories

  The Modern Rumford masonry fireplace kit is designed to be installed anywhere in the home. Constructed of heavy stainless steel, insulation, and factory-built masonry blocks, the fireplace is easy to install, claims the maker, because the imbedded steel serves as an assembly guide.

   

ON THE JOB

• Corner boards: Woven corners: Mitered corners

  Let's take a look at three common corner details used with wood siding: corner boards, woven corners, and mitered corners.The effect can be reinforced by painting or staining the corner boards a different color than the siding.

   

READERS CHOICE

• 

  Refrigerator and freezer drawers: Platon Sub Floor: Lead Vac

  When Roger Gallagher learned about H.E.P.A.-filtered lead vacuums through NARI's Lead-Safe Remodeler training program, he decided to invest in one. Gallagher points out that using the Lead Vac is also a good marketing tool.

   

TRENDS

• Tool companies donating to Habitat for Humanity

  A recently implemented charitable program from Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation is helping drum up experienced volunteers for the Habitat for Humanity International program. "Heavy Duty Helping" is designed to give tradespeople -- both Milwaukee Tool users and others -- an opportunity to give...

   
• 

  energy efficient, year-round sunrooms

  The sunroom market is growing as homeowners become more interested in comfortably spending time outdoors in all seasons. In a recent NAHB Remodelors Council survey, sunroom additions ranked in the top seven home improvement projects.

   
• 

  Personalized closets: Tips for creating clients' dream closet

  A jumbled closet, where items are hard to locate and clean clothes are indistinguishable from dirty, can be a major disruption in the lives of homeowners trying to prepare for their busy days.Bill Haas, a global product merchant with The Expo Design Center based in Atlanta, notes that homeowners...

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

• Referrals based on project management

  Back in January 2000, REMODELING set the benchmark for customer referrals at 95%. Even follow-up surveys that ask homeowners to rank performance too often ask the wrong question or draw the wrong conclusions from the answers.