North Carolina

Surviving the home-building slump by becoming an outdoor-living contractor More

Home improvement companies see success with micro-marketing, which focuses on a specific area or demographic. More

Owning your own building offers benefits. But don't finance a building purchase out of working capital. More

Operating a sell-furnish-install (SFI) program in Charlotte-area stores puts The Carolina Building Group in daily touch with the mood of the market. More

This year, for the first time, Archadeck of Charlotte in North Carolina mailed questionnaires to every person on the company payroll. Barry Klemons, president of the deck-building franchise, says he sent the questionnaires to get suggestions from employees and subcontractors for making departments and jobsites run better. Those who responded by a set date received something else in the mail: a check for $100. More

What you can do to avoid a business owner's least pleasant experience. More

Vinyl deck railings have a lot to recommend them. And more than anything else -- especially to consumers who are replacing a splintered, weather-worn deck of pressure-treated pine -- what recommends them is that they're maintenance free -- or close to it. More