Table of Contents June 2006

FEATURES

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  Remodelers discuss building solid partnerships

  The 30-year business partnership of Terry Streich and Gary Welton at Silver Bullet Design & Build has outlasted many marriages. It's experienced as many ups and downs as well, from the highs of the extended canoeing trips the two enjoyed before family and other obligations took over, to the lows of...

   

• Protecting your business against embezzlement

  Unraveling embezzlement can be as complicated as an episode of Law & Order. Remodeler Joe Christ says the trade background of most remodelers leaves them at a disadvantage.

   

• Designing house additions

  When Doug Walter says, “I channel dead architects to try to figure out their original intent,” it gives the listener a clear picture of how the former restoration architect might approach the design of an addition. On the other hand, architect Mark McInturff says his additions fit “by contrast...

   

• Hiring outside the remodeling industry

  Remodeling is a highly technical art. It requires a grasp of the principles and practice of electricity, plumbing, engineering, geometry, and architecture. It requires a high level of craftsmanship as well as an ability to manage homeowners' expectations during a very emotional process. All of this...

   

• How remodelers talk about money

  Like a lot of other remodelers, Strong Construction in Fremont, Calif., can't afford to waste time with clients who want to push $50,000 where $100,000 should go, or who get fixated on some magic number for a project's cost. But co-owners Steve and Sandy Strong also can't afford to turn away good...

   

Before and After

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  Remodel of a 1880s Pittsburgh home

  When purchasing this sprawling yet compartmentalized older home, both husband and wife knew that they were in for a challenge. The home, built in the 1880s near Pittsburgh, had seen multiple wings added over the years but no upgrades in decades. The living space was 9,000 square feet, but the house...

   

Reader Panel

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  Remodeler data on partnerships

  The more official your partnership agreement is, the more likely it is to last. Half of remodeling partnerships begin as informal “handshake” agreements, but only 37% of these last more than three years. By comparison, 59% of partnerships last three or more years if an attorney writes or reviews...

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

• Adapting to changes in cost and environment

  The energy crisis, as we called it back then, spurred a flurry of energy conservation. The northern New England company I worked for in 1976 was an early adopter of 2x6 framing and later of foam sheathing to boost insulation levels. Double-pane windows, which were not well known at the time, soon...

   

IN PERSON

• Make Your Way to the Windy City

  In 2006 the Remodeling Show heads to the Lakeside Center, McCormick Place, Chicago. This year's Show, owned and operated by our publisher Hanley Wood, LLC, is expected to attract more than 10,000 remodelers and home improvement professionals from around the country.

   

News + Notes

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  Keeping up with rising disposal costs

  Recently, Jeff Rainey noticed that the price of the 20-yard containers his company uses for construction debris had risen again, this time to about $425 per drop-off and pull.

   

MARKET WATCH

• Market is in an extended down period for some remodelers

  Ben Thompson, assistant vice president at Thompson Remodeling, says his Grand Rapids, Mich., market is in an extended down period. As a result, he's had to come up with more creative ways to keep the company in good financial shape.

   

• RAI indicates industry leveled off in first quarter 2006

  Growth in the industry leveled off during the first quarter of 2006, according to the latest Remodeling Activity Indicator (RAI), released in April by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. Homeowners spent an estimated $155.4 billion on remodeling over the past four quarters...

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

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  Selling is about building relationships

  Selling is one of the least understood practices of communication. Many people are deluded or simply misunderstand the selling process, frequently assessing it as manipulation, chicanery, or worse. After years of researching sales in the remodeling industry, and after having examined hundreds of...

   

LINDA CASE

• Tips on keeping your remodeling staff educated

  Twenty years ago, whenever I told a group of remodelers to budget for staff education, a hand would invariably rise, followed by this objection: “But if you educate your employees, they'll just use it to compete against you when they leave.” I am happy that I have not heard that refrain for years.

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• Taking steps to make a career change

  Many years ago, I was having lunch with a very successful businessman. He had been successful at several different levels in his career, and I asked him what he thought the next stage might be. His answer really struck a chord: “I am looking for a replacement — someone I hope will eventually fire...

   

SHAWN MCCADDEN

• Advice to remodelers starting a business

  Recently I was facilitating a group of remodelers at a “Mentor Visit” meeting. The idea was that the host, an experienced and successful remodeler, would serve as a mentor to visiting remodelers, answering their questions and offering advice based on his own experience starting and growing his...

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

• Three Paths to Sales

  Craftspeople by nature and salespeople by necessity, many remodelers believe that their company's good work will speak for itself, convincing smart prospects to work with them.

   

• Minority First-Time Home Buyers

  Even as many homeowners decide to postpone big remodeling jobs, minority and immigrant home buyers “still want to buy, but for totally different reasons,” says Michael Lee, a marketing consultant with EthnoConnect.

   

• From Hot to Not

  The sales professionals of Weidmann Remodeling look for five potential red flags when they first visit a prospect at home. If they observe two or more, the client is likely to be difficult and the job should be politely declined, says Bill Weidmann, chair and vice president of the Roswell, Ga....

   
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  Using postcards vs. letters for marketing

  Like Phillips-head and flat-head screwdrivers, both postcards and letters are useful tools, says marketing consultant David Alpert. “It's just that you use them differently.” To choose the right mailing tool, evaluate your objectives and your relationship with the recipients.

   

BOTTOM LINE

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  Using Union Workers is Beneficial

  Simply doing the right thing for employees is the reason remodelers like Neil Kelly Co., in Portland, Ore., and Roeser Construction, in Kirkwood, Mo., have been using union labor from the get-go, but the companies benefit, too.

   

BY DESIGN

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  Development of a four plan system for designs

  A kitchen or bath floor plan can get pretty cluttered when you include every cabinet, faucet, appliance, sink, tub, and toilet paper holder.

   
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  Streamlining the remodeling process

  Getting clients to make design decisions well before building helps to streamline the remodeling process and cut down on change orders and schedule glitches. Now there's a Web-based system to help with this process: RemodelVision.

   

FIELD NOTES

• Jobsite fax machines are big in field technology

  I'm often asked about the use of communications technologies on the jobsite. My answer is simple: small steps. Although a few lead carpenters are using wireless laptops and/or BlackBerries, the biggest technology trend appears to be jobsite fax machines.

   

• Some remodelers requiring continuing education for workers

  Anderson-Moore Builders may have found the key to unlocking the minds of change-averse field staff: relevant, useful training.

   

• Interval agenda keeps workers on track

  Some production managers visit jobsites daily to keep their lead carpenters on task. But when Chris Levitas became production manager at Teakwood Builders, Saratoga Springs, N.Y., he wanted to be a hands-off “coach” who could help his leads assume more autonomy.

   

GOOD FORM

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  Ways to educate prospective clients

  Homeowners, especially those going through their first remodel, rarely realize what the entire process entails.

   

Tech at Work

• Getting a Web site up

  Last time I wrote about what not to do on your Web site. This month I'll cover what you should do.

   

• Rules of thumb when buying new hardware

  Recently, Gene Shekhtman, an IT consultant, spoke with the Remodeling Industry Technology Group based in the Washington, D.C., area about workstations and servers. These are Shekhtman's rules of thumb when buying new hardware:

   

Ways + Means

• Tiered bonus system offers incentives

  After having tried many incentive programs over the years, Bob Fleming, president of Classic Remodeling & Construction, Charleston, S.C., says his company's new program “is the first one that is designed to address problem areas and distribute the bonus money fairly.”

   

• Working Relationships Between Spouses

  My spouse does my business' bookkeeping but isn't involved in the business' daily operations or overall direction. This causes her to second-guess many of my decisions, which creates friction at work and at home. How can we alleviate this?

   

• 401K Savings

  Twice a year Todd Jackson does what he calls a “paperwork session.” He has all 26 employees gather for half a day, and the company provides lunch.

   
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  Incorporating Deconstruction into Your Business

  Jonathan Mills, owner of Mills Builders in Sacramento, Calif., says, “We tear down homes that have nothing wrong with them all the time out here.” Mills didn't feel right about dumping the materials. From his company's inception in 1999 he began donating them to the local Habitat for Humanity.

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

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  A profile of Big50 2004 Andrew Shore about transforming a business

  When Sea Pointe Construction (Big50 2004) began its 20th year in business, owner Andrew Shore (far right, with Larry Anderson, left, and Rick Little, middle) and his team decided to use the milestone to transform the company from good to great. This required examining every aspect of the business.

   

Live + Learn

• Hardknocks: Missed Utilities

  When an excavator for MRF Construction (Big50 2002) began digging for a garage addition project, it hit a gas pipe in the street. “There was potential for an explosion,” treasurer and designer Carolin Fast says. The Tacoma, Wash., company reacted quickly by evacuating staff and alerting officials...

   
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  Reading recommendation from a Big50 remodeler

  I am currently reading the National Association of Home Builders' “Model Green Home-building Guidelines” as a reinforcement of the principles and practices that we incorporate into our building and remodeling work.

   

SECOND LOOK

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  Big50 Allen Townley discusses career changes

  In 1993, Kansas City, along with the rest of the Midwest, was flooded in one of the worst natural disasters in the U.S. Allen Townley, awarded Big50 that year, had six feet of water come through his office and showroom in 15 minutes, leaving the building beyond repair.

   

SOLUTIONS

• Some of the Big50 answer business questions about payments

  Some of the Big50 answer the question: How do you handle clients who do not pay invoices?

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

• Condo Rules

  Dave Myers of J. Francis Co. says that for this bathroom remodel his crew had to follow the strict guidelines of the condominium building on access and work hours. “It's a concrete building so noise transmission is horrific,” he says.

   

• Renovation of a master bedroom

  Doni and Leonard Felman wanted to renovate the master bathroom in their Pittsburgh condominium to accommodate Leonard's water therapy for scoliosis. They called on designer Michael Braun of Braun Architectural & Interior Design and contractor J. Francis Co. to help them accomplish this task and...

   

SPEC BOOK

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  Appliances for the kitchen

  Here are a few options in the latest kitchen appliances.

   

REPLACEMENT

SIDING

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  High-end vinyl siding products are a new market niche

  The latest high-end vinyl siding products have opened up a new market niche for replacement contractors: house makeovers in more upscale neighborhoods where owners want to escape the maintenance headaches of painted wood exteriors without the telltale plastic look associated with lower-end vinyl...

   

Windows

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  Customizing windows for all types of houses

  All replacement windows are custom to a point. They're built to fit specific openings, often in old houses that are wickedly out-of-whack. While most top-of-the-line manufacturers offer a wide range of specialty shapes, such as circle segments, elliptical tops, triangles, and trapezoids, there is...

   

PRODUCTS

IN FOCUS

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  Designs and products for room enclosures

  A variety of sesigns and products for room enclosures.

   
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  Product Options for Skylights

  A variety of skylight styles and options to use in the home.

   
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  Solutions for Decking Needs

  Your clients want great design; you look for strength and durability. They ask for tiers and terraces; your mind is on safety. When it comes to reconciling homeowners' big dreams for outdoor living with the mechanics and maintenance of a well-built structure, decking manufacturers offer plenty of...

   

TRENDS

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  Ideas for maximizing closet space

  Ask what prompts their interest in remodeling and many homeowners' say, “We need more space.”

   
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  Homeowners install central vac systems

  As central vacuum systems gain interest, remodelers can provide clients with built-in tools to keep their homes looking great.

   
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  Manufacturers promote innovative bathroom surfaces

  Next time you're asked to remodel a bathroom, look to the mirror for inspiration. More than just functional reflectors, mirrors are the foundation of a growing trend in the use of glass in the bathroom. Formerly discreet powder rooms are becoming the talk of the town as manufacturers bring glass to...

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

• Maximizing profit by completing projects on time

  Increasing field efficiency means improved margins, but some tactics are better than others. Purchasing inferior materials is shortsighted because you will have to spend warranty dollars down the line. Using less expensive subcontractors may also increase future warranty costs, but worse is the...