Table of Contents March 2008

FEATURES

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  Remodeling Should Look to Other Industries for Inspiration on Solving Labor Problem

  There are a million stories in the U.S. residential remodeling industry, and every one began with an introduction to the profession. For some, it was a relative who made a living in the trades. Others might have started with an encouraging building-arts teacher, a summer job doing construction, or...

   
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  Remodlers Share Tips On How To Survive the Slow Market

  While it's true that remodeling is in better shape than the new-home market and that the slowdown has hit some areas and some companies harder than others, there's no denying that these are difficult times. Companies of all sizes and business models doing all types of work are affected. Remodelers...

   
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  Remodelers Use Drug Tests To Screen Employees

  Although there are no hard statistics announcing a substance abuse problem in the remodeling industry specifically, the construction industry's issues with it have been documented and widely reported. With concerns about liability, client and worker safety, and lost revenue, many remodelers are...

   
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  Bringing Design In-House Can Improve Client Experience and Your Bottom Line

  Hiring full-time designers can not only improve the client experience but give a boost to your bottom line as well. During the last decade, especially as public awareness of the design/build model has continued to grow, many remodelers have decided to make design a major part of their company's...

   

Reader Panel

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  Survey on submitting employees to drug testing

  Though just 25% of this month's Reader Panel respondents submit potential or current employees to drug tests, the topic seemed to strike a chord with a majority of our panelists. Responses were strong from remodelers on both sides of the issue.

   

VIEW POINT

FIRST WORD

• Remodelers Should Be Upbeat But Realistic About Market Conditions

  An old maxim says that every trend ends with an extreme. Though the rule applies more readily to lapels and hemlines, it seems also to hold true for the remodeling market.

   

News + Notes

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  Foreign Fastener Manufacturers Nailed With Duties

  If you've noticed that nails suddenly cost more than they used to, you aren't alone.

   

MARKET WATCH

• Local Forecast: Just in Case ...

  The sluggish remodeling market hasn't hit Curb Appeal Renovations, in Keller, Texas.

   
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  Remodeling Spending Will Continue to Drop Well Into 2088

  The third-quarter 2007 release of the Leading Indicator for Remodeling Activity (LIRA) brings more doom and gloom. The annual rate of consumer spending on remodeling, having fallen each of the past two quarters, is expected to continue to drop for the next four quarters.

   

COMMENTARY

GUEST COLUMNIST

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  What to Look For in an Office Manager

  Are you at the stage where hiring an office manager is critical? Are you approaching that abyss of information control and feel like you're on the edge of total chaos? Relax. Help is on the way.

   

LINDA CASE

• Team Culture Develops When Players Open Up on a Personal Level

  How can remodelers turn a group of employees into a learning team in which every player feels emotionally and intellectually safe and connected? Strong, effective business meetings are one means to this end.

   

MARK RICHARDSON

• Doing Remodeling Projects For Friends and Family isn't Easy

  Remodeling is a service industry. Crafting a quality product isn't enough; you have to develop and manage relationships with your clients in order to be successful.

   

SHAWN MCCADDEN

• Nurture Powerful Customer Testimonials

  Last month I wrote about differentiating your business within your marketplace. To attract the right clients and projects, nothing beats well-worded testimonials for demonstrating those differences.

   

YOUR BUSINESS

Sales and Marketing

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  Remodeler Cooks Clients Dinner in Their New Kitchen

  Shortly after completing a kitchen remodel, David Sturm donned a chef's hat and whipped up a gourmet meal for his client.

   

• Don't Hesitate to Call Your Clients

  Past clients have always been strong remodelers' best source of business, and during the slower economy, that still holds true.

   
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  Marketing Your Brand

  As the remodeling industry contemplates rebranding its image for the next-generation workforce, successful remodelers continue to finesse their brands as prospective clients see them. But branding means walking the walk — not just talking the talk, warns marketing consultant David Alpert of...

   

• Now Playing

  Once reserved for teens and techies, podcasts are becoming a hot marketing trend for some remodelers. Riggs Construction and Design, in St. Louis, launched a series of podcasts last year hoping to reach young homeowners.

   

• Web Extra: What's Your Company's Brand?

  As noted in Don't Grandstand the Brand, the successful branding effort of Greg Smith Co., of Falls Church, Va., hinges in large part on the remodeling company's everyday actions, including extensive community service.

   

BOTTOM LINE

• Low-Bid Strategy

  You may change your bids with the fluctuating market ? but how low should you go?

   
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  Job Incentive

  Three years ago Jeff Knorr instituted a bonus systemfor three of his six employees who have a direct impact on projects.

   

BY DESIGN

• Sketch Pad: Proper Faux Columns

  Columns today are not used in quite the same way as they were used by the Greeks and Romans, but we do persist in trying to replicate these symbols of their civilizations.

   

FIELD NOTES

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  Check On Trade Partners' Financial Stability

  How strong are your trade partners? In this economic climate, the answer hinges as much on those companies' finances as on their reputation, reliability, and technical competence.

   

• Safety is Important, Especially During Slowdowns

  If your company doesn't have a safety culture, start to develop one now, particularly if you anticipate any slowdowns.

   

GOOD FORM

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  Get Clients to Commit to a Decision-Making Schedule

  Little River Carpentry uses this form as a “soft-peddle” way to make certain the homeowners have been advised, in writing, that they have important decisions to make in a timely manner. Should the homeowners fail to make decisions on schedule, it could result in project delays.

   

Tech at Work

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  Global Positioning Systems (GPS) Save Time

  I recently did a complete Global Positioning System (GPS) unit roundup for our sister publication, TOOLS OF THE TRADE. I was amazed by how powerful and inexpensive these units have become — and how useful they would be for a remodeler or handyman trying to get from job to office to supply house and...

   
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  Video Enhances Remodeler's Web Site

  When Pat Pagano, co-owner of American Remodeling Systems, in Urbandale, Iowa, was planning his company's Web site, he was looking for a way to differentiate it from those of other area remodelers.

   

Ways + Means

• Triggering Change in Your Company

  As mechanical engineers by education, David and Doug Bengtson, owners of Lighthouse Construction of North Carolina, in Greensboro, are detail-oriented by nature.

   
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  Ask the Expert About Micromanaging

  Devon Hartman, co-owner of HartmanBaldwin Design/Build in California answers a question from a reader: How do you keep the customer from micromanaging the project?

   
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  Training your employees

  As an eighth-generation carpenter who served a “two-year indentureship without pay” under his father, a Bavarian immigrant and craftsman, and later a four-year apprenticeship through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, John Habermeier takes education seriously.

   
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  Keeping Good Client Records

  While not quite as dramatic as a pocket Bible intercepting a bullet, Paul Paniagua's so-called “bible” has helped him many times.

   
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  Closing the Book

  Sometimes it seems like a remodeling project never ends.

   

BIG50

CLOSE UP

• Profile: Don Strobel

  Though Don Strobel's company focuses on historic and high-end renovations, he uses 21st-century marketing tactics, in particular a sleek Web site.

   

SECOND LOOK

• Second Look: David Johnston

  David Johnston (Big50 1989) spread the word about solar power to the construction industry as a consultant to the Department of Energy.

   

SOLUTIONS

• How to Handle a Slow Market

  A few remodelers discuss taking clients in a slow season.

   

KITCHEN AND BATH

DESIGN CLINIC

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  Classic European-Country-Style Cabinetry Hides a Host of Pull-Out Storage Drawers

  To determine which features to include in a kitchen, Atlanta designer Amanda Johnson, with Small Carpenters at Large, begins by asking clients how they use the kitchen and doing an informal inventory of their pots, pans, and utensils.

   

SPEC BOOK

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  Spec Book: Rangehoods & Ventilation

  Take care of "the air up there" with these ventilation units that remove pollutants from indoor air.

   

SUSTAINABILITY

GREEN SPEAK

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  The New American Home Has Several Green Features

  This year's New American Home is a 6,725-square-foot plantation-style house located in the Waters Edge subdivision on the banks of Orlando's Lake Nona, Fla. The two-story house features a family suite on the first level to accommodate an elderly parent or long-term guest, a first-floor master suite...

   
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  NAHB Introduces New Green Certification Program

  The National Association of Home Builders' Certified Green Professional designation was introduced in February at the International Builders' Show in Orlando, Fla.

   

GREEN SPEC

• Low-flow Showerheads, Bamboo Flooring, Treated Lumber, Acrylic Solid-Surfacing

  Meganite, Jaclo, Mr. Bamboo, Universal Forest Products.

   

PRODUCTS

FIRST LOOK

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  First Look: Glueless Flooring; Protractor; and More.

  Products from Yekalon, Chapco, Symmons, U.S. Block Windows.

   

IN FOCUS

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  In Focus: Water Heaters, Air Conditioning, and more

  Mitsubishi Electric, GE, Grand Hall, Lennox...

   
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  In Focus: Locksets & Hardware

  Kwikset, Atlas Homewares, Hafele, Schlage.

   
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  In Focus: Durable Doors

  Strength is the hallmark of new exterior doors on the market. Fiberglass continues to gain popularity, offering a tough front with a low-maintenance wood look.

   

TRENDS

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  Steam Improves Appliances

  A relaxing sauna. A deep-cleansing facial. A neatly pressed pair of pants. There are plenty of situations where a good steam goes a long way.

   
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  Tablet PCs Allow Paperwork to be Done on the Jobsite

  It's becoming more common for building professionals to bring their paperwork into the field with the help of laptop computers, but another iteration of hand-held computing may prove highly useful for contractors on-the-go.

   
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  Gold Making a Comeback in Interiors

  Design is experiencing a gilded age of sorts, as manufacturers throughout the industry are making it easy to bring a touch of opulence to the home.

   

LAST WORD

Bench Mark

• Overhead Keeps the Business Running, Even When There's No Business

  Variety can be a good thing, but remodeling companies that want to measure their performance against standards need to be on the same page.