With half the 120 million homes nationwide having been built before the bicentennial, new-home prices spiking, and built-up equity burning holes in homeowners' pockets, most remodelers have more work than they can handle. Some sit on 18-month-plus backlogs and mentally salivate as they watch their slice of the remodeling market's $199 billion pie fatten. More
Say you own a home worth $400,000. Your home needs a new roof. You find a contractor and he does the job. Cost? $12,000. A year later, you, the homeowner, decide to move. How much did spending that $12,000 on your roof add to the price you can ask for your home? More
Many company owners are becoming increasingly aware that creating an atmosphere in... More
Carpenters take a beating in their work, and 30 years of pounding nails, climbing on roofs, and working in foul weather was starting to make retirement look pretty good to Tom Stine, a 55-year-old lead carpenter at Vogan Associates, Silver Spring, Md. More
Despite the risk, it's worth the effort to help key employees grow and take on new responsibilities. Here's why. More
When remodelers flourish, their subcontractors and suppliers also flourish. Neil Kelly Co., Portland, Ore., harnesses this truth and runs with it, creating a lucrative source of business by way of cooperative advertising: sharing the cost of advertising with subcontractors, suppliers, and other professional partners. More
In this traditionally male business, there are a small group of women who are owners or designers doing sales, or even doing straight sales. But in many cases they're outselling their male counterparts. More
Once upon a time, the public face of home improvement wore a beard and a plaid... More
In June, six design/build remodelers got together to talk about the business.... More
If the quickest way to clients' hearts is through their stomachs, then The Neil Kelly Co. is on the fast track to that spot. More
