FEATURES

Reader Panel

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    Survey on defining customer expectations

    Most remodelers will agree that the success of a remodeling project depends heavily on setting realistic client expectations early in the process. This month’s Reader Panel respondents take an array of measures to ensure that those expectations are clearly defined and are, ultimately, met.

     

SPECIAL SECTION

Kitchen & Bath

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

  • Company Rating Web Sites

    In early 2002, Ken and Latrice Innes of Redding, Calif., signed a contract with Pacesetter Corp. for installation of replacement windows, a storm door, a rear sliding door, and a garage door with opener on their house. The company's contract guaranteed that the work would be completed within 20...

     

News + Notes

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    Cities Mandate Paid Sick Leave

    Legislation passed last month in the District of Columbia mandating paid leave for employees has some business owners up in arms, but their colleagues in California say it's nothing to get sick over.

     

MARKET WATCH

  • Local Forecast: Switching Gears

    Until recently, roughly 90% of The Lykos Group's work was done on condominiums, according to company president Tom Lykos. That changed, he says, when the condo market — like new homes — started its sharp decline. So he began focusing on marketing to the single-family segment.

     
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    Remodeling activity fell in fourth quarter of 2007

    Remodeling activity fell sharply in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and the outlook for the first quarter of 2008 is worse.

     

COMMENTARY

LINDA CASE

MARK RICHARDSON

  • Finding a sweet spot in the business

    Every industry has its own pet beliefs about what constitutes a sign of good business health. Unfortunately, not all of these commonsense diagnostics are reliable. Here are some misconceptions that I encounter most often in the remodeling industry.

     

SHAWN MCCADDEN

  • Remodelers need to let go of business control

    Most remodelers are control freaks. As a recovering remodeler, I hope I can say that without getting into trouble. When money gets tight, these remodelers tend to intensify their grip. Their employees feel that squeeze, and it doesn't feel good.

     

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

  • Getting Positive Referrals

    Even the most fastidious and image-conscious remodeler is no match for construction dust, noise, and other unpleasantries when clients are expecting a muss-free makeover.

     

  • Saving Money on a Sale

    It's tempting, when the phone isn't ringing, to blanket neighborhoods with dollars-off promotions, but discounts aren't always good for business.

     
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    Sending cards to your clients

    Many remodelers have good intentions but poor follow-through in sending friendly notes to clients and prospects. Remodeler Mark Clark has barely said goodbye to someone before that person's card is signed, sealed, and being delivered.

     

BOTTOM LINE

BY DESIGN

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    Designing a half-bath into your remodeling job

    When remodelling a house it's almost always possible to fit in a new half bath — meaning a toilet and a sink. The real variable is the degree of convenience one can achieve when locating the new facilities in the space allowed.

     

FIELD NOTES

  • Controlling Labor Costs

    With the economic slowdown, jobs are smaller, more difficult to get, and sometimes at decreased margins. Material costs are rising and about the only way to make a profit is to control or reduce labor costs. But how?

     
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    Security options for your business

    Scrap metal and other construction materials are fetching a high price on the market (especially the black market), underscoring the need for remodelers to keep thieves off jobsites after hours.

     

  • Stocking inventory can save you time and money

    A $3 tube of caulk or a roll of drywall tape can cost you $50 in time alone if you have to travel to the store to get it.

     

GOOD FORM

  • Over and Out

    In early 2007, Renewal Construction began its “Guaranteed Renovation” program, which promises clients that their project will be “substantially complete” by a specified target date, barring certain unforeseen disasters such as a hurricane or tornado.

     

Tech at Work

  • High-tech softward for your cell phone

    One high-tech tool practically every lead carpenter, salesperson, and project manager is an expert at using is a cell phone. The following productivity software and hardware will put any modern Smartphone to better use as a true project management tool:

     
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    Visibility of Web sites is important

    As more consumers turn to the Web for information about remodelers in their area, the visibility of a company's Web site has become increasingly important.

     

Ways + Means

  • Are bonuses good motivators?

    Seth Godin, author of Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers Into Friends, and Friends Into Customers, believes that monetary bonuses are demotivators.

     

  • Having and exit strategy

    As hard as it is to sell a construction business outright, it is even more difficult to sell in stages, allowing for a gradual withdrawal by the owner.

     

  • Saving for retirement benefits

    After 30 years in business, Jayson Miller, co-owner with his father Tom of design/build firm TN Miller, in Grapeview, Wash., is looking into a 401(k) retirement program for his 11 employees.

     
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    Scheduling Convenient Appointments

    A prospect calls you and says, “I'm interested in remodeling my kitchen. When can we meet?” You suggest Tuesday at 10 a.m. They say, “I can't, I work.”

     

BIG50

CLOSE UP

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    Close Up:Chancey Walker III and Chris Ettel

    From the day it was founded in 1988, VB Contractors (Big50 2006) was a 50-50 partnership between Chancey Walker III (far right) and his son-in-law, Chris Ettel (second from right) — until a couple of years ago, when they saw the opportunity to bring on two new owners.

     

SECOND LOOK

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    Big50 discusses selling his business

    Omaha seems like a really small town when Gary Grobeck, as a building inspector for Nebraska's capital city, finds himself inspecting work done on houses that he had bid on as owner of Grobeck Construction.

     

KITCHEN AND BATH

SPEC BOOK

Management

PRODUCTS

FIRST LOOK

IN FOCUS

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    Home automation products

    In2 Networks. HAI. Wayne-Dalton. Millennium International Development Corp.

     
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    Window options for the home

    Windows from Simonton, RLC Technologies, YKK AP., and Marvin.

     
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    In Focus: Exterior Trim

    With the workability of wood and the benefits of durability and resistance to rot and pests, PVC has become popular for exterior millwork. Manufacturers continue to expand their lines with a range of molding profiles, as well as boards, planks, and sheets in thicknesses that make creating your own...

     

TRENDS

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    Suggestion for hand nailer products

    When a job requires working in tight spaces around existing walls, a hand nailer can become a remodeler's best friend. “I've been personally involved with remodeling a house, and you don't always have the convenience of working in wide open spaces,” says Drew Sundholm, product manager for Grip-Rite.

     
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    Easy to install mirror frames

    Ever try removing a boring builder-grade plate-glass mirror? “Often, these mirrors are glued to the wall and are a horrible, dangerous mess to take down,” says Tim Bitterman, senior product/ brand manager for Inspirations by Moen. Now remodelers can offer a stylish solution that eliminates the mess...

     

LAST WORD

Bench Mark