Remodeling articles from December 2005

Remodeling archives from December 2005

GE's PROJECTLINE[SM] financing keeps projects rolling for Galkos Construction.(GE Consumer Finance: Retail Sales Finance)
December 1, 2005... It's a common scenario: The sales rep has successfully sold a home improvement project, and the homeowner is excited to get it underway. The customer completes a financing application, and the rep goes back to the office to run the credit and...

Well crafted.(ViewPoint: FirstWord)
December 1, 2005... I recently vacationed in Northern Italy, thereby establishing two personal firsts. The trip not only marked my first time in Europe--previously, my only experience of foreign countries was short hops across the Canadian and Mexican borders--but...

Training for all.(ViewPoint: CallBack)(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2005... Your editorial "Birthday Bash," (mid-August, p. 15) lists most of the problems in the industry, and possible remedies. My specific concern is technical training programs. As my field-claims work shows, all installers need training, not...

Corrections.(ViewPoint: CallBack)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2005... In our 20th Anniversary issue (mid-August, p. 48), the "Industry Milestones" article incorrectly gave Hanley Wood, publisher of REMODELING, full credit for founding The Remodelers' Show. In fact, Hanley Wood was a partner in that process,...

Has the housing market peaked?(ViewPoint: News+Notes)
December 1, 2005... Recent financial activity would indicate that tougher times may lie ahead. Hope is not lost, but increased market awareness must be found. In an effort to curb inflation, the Federal Reserve increased the targeted federal funds rate a...

Energetic efforts: agencies unite to promote home energy efficiency.(ViewPoint: News+Notes)
December 1, 2005... Three governmental agencies have spearheaded an extensive initiative to promote energy efficiency. The Department of Energy, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have joined...

Tax reform faces opposition.(ViewPoint: News+Notes)
December 1, 2005... Suggested changes in the tax code have those in the housing industry worried. Among other things, the recently finalized presidential commission report proposes cutting the number of income tax brackets from six to four and eliminating interest...

Consumer confidence drops.(ViewPoint: MarketWatch)
December 1, 2005... This news probably won't come as a surprise, but consumer confidence is down. The latest Consumer Confidence Index, published by research organization The Conference Board, indicates that the general public is concerned with both the...

Figure this.(ViewPoint: MarketWatch)
December 1, 2005... 3% Homeowners who hired a contractor through RenovationExperts.com in September to install a fireplace; up from 0.5% last year Source: RenovationExperts.com 2.5% Estimated percentage of forest resources in the South that was...

Neighborhood watch.(LOCAL FORECAST)
December 1, 2005... Many communities have a "neighborhood watch" program to ensure the safety of their inhabitants. Michael Staffileno keeps his eye on neighborhoods, too, but for an entirely different reason. Staffileno, the president of Chagrin River Co., in...

Bonus time: 'tis the season to get it right. Your holiday gift-giving guide for 2005.(Commentary)
December 1, 2005... If you love to shop, this column might not be for you. But if you're like me, you'll do anything to avoid the malls this holiday season--especially when that excuse allows you to honor the really important people in your life. Some...

Mastering the sales game: know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em.(Commentary)
December 1, 2005... There's more to winning at poker than knowing the rank of hands. A great poker player pays close attention to his opponents' behavior. He wins almost regardless of the hand he's holding because he can read his opponents' "tells"--small, almost...

All for one: competitors pull together to help a family and forge a unique bond.(Commentary)
December 1, 2005... For the first week of October, I found myself working shoulder to shoulder with nine of my competitors and hundreds of trade contractors I'd never met. The job? Tear down a house and build a new one in less than five days. It was simultaneously...

Fresh feedback: using the peer review process to evaluate employees.(YourBusiness: Ways+Means)
December 1, 2005... Once Bill Markt was working on the business and not in the business, he realized that he didn't have direct interaction with many of the employees of Markt and Company Construction, West Linn, Ore. "It became evident to me that I was doing the...

Learning from losing.(YourBusiness: Ways+Means)
December 1, 2005... When the folks at J. Francis Co., Pittsburgh, don't win a job, they don't just shrug it off. Because the company is 100% referral, it's particularly important to find out why the potential client chose another remodeler, says business...

Welcome back.(YourBusiness: Ways+Means)
December 1, 2005... During the past few years Dwight Sailer says there has been an influx of remodelers in town of Fort Collins, Colo. "We've seen them disappear as quickly as they pop up." To set High-Craft Builders apart, Sailer began offering a five-year...

Process map.(YourBusiness: Ways+Means)
December 1, 2005... Wouldn't it be great to be able to track every aspect of a job, whether a work in progress or a potential sale, from the first phone call through the warranty process? That's what one peer group of remodelers had in mind several years ago when...

Follow your heart.(Work+Life)
December 1, 2005... Q: I have been given the opportunity to take on a high-profile remodel, but I am concerned about my ability to get along with this potential client. Is there anything extra I should do to ensure that the job goes smoothly? A: Whenever you...

Delegate to grow.(People+Skills)
December 1, 2005... Delegating work and responsibility to others is one of the most difficult things about growing and managing a business. Most business owners don't like to cede control to others. After all, being in control of your own destiny was one of the...

Mostly free lunch.(YourBusiness: BottomLine)
December 1, 2005... Consultant and tax strategist Lance Wallach says "the initial reaction to this is 'Wow, this is unbelievable,' but it's not for everybody." He's referring to a Voluntary Employees Beneficiary Association or VEBA, a way for business owners to...

Scoring the lead sheet.(YourBusiness: Sales+Marketing)
December 1, 2005... Ten questions, 20 minutes, and a l-to-5-point "scoring system" help Winans Construction, Oakland, Calif., identify its best prospects, weed out weak leads, and get the sales process underway. The questions involve: 1. Personal information:...

Man on the street.(YourBusiness: Sales+Marketing)
December 1, 2005... It's a sales strategy as modern as the industrial age and about as energy-efficient, but George Uhlmann swears by it: spot-canvassing. While driving through neighborhoods on weekends or killing time between appointments, the owner of...

Remodeler Chic.(YourBusiness: Sales+Marketing)
December 1, 2005... SawHorse, a 22-person, $6 million design/build company in Atlanta, has always been more fashion-and brand-conscious than your average remodeler. "Every year for 20 years, we've made sure to come out with one unique item of clothing just for our...

Bonding over culture.(SALES SCHOOL 101)
December 1, 2005... THE SITUATION You visit the home of a prospect whose culture is relatively unfamiliar to you. How do you understand the role culture might play in their remodeling needs? SELLING BLIND "Many remodeling contractors say they treat...

Educating the future: mentoring programs encourage employees to learn from one another.(YourBusiness: FieldNotes)
December 1, 2005... Education is a bare necessity in today's remodeling market. Yet with public schools phasing out shop classes, colleges dropping the construction discipline, and vocational schools focusing on high-tech training, the educational system is...

The on-the-job guarantee.(YourBusiness: FieldNotes)
December 1, 2005... Absence makes the heart grow fonder, but not when it's the remodeler who's absent from the jobsite. Edward Rudloff promises clients that either he or his brother, Stephen, his partner and fellow lead carpenter at Rudloff Custom Builders, West...

Whiteboard wow.(YourBusiness: Tech@Work)
December 1, 2005... When Denny Conner wants to impress his customers, he uses an LCD projector to project slide show images onto a screen. When he really wants to wow them, he projects the images onto an interactive whiteboard. But there's more to this electronic...

Easy excel estimators.(YourBusiness: Tech@Work)
December 1, 2005... Almost every remodeler I've run into dislikes estimating, especially if it takes time away from the family to make some demanding tire-kicker happy. What's needed are some simple tools that will get you to a selling price you can live...

Feedback form.(YourBusiness: GoodForm)
December 1, 2005... All remodelers lose jobs from time to time. J. Francis Co., in Pittsburgh, uses these lost contracts as an opportunity for self-evaluation (see "Learning From Losing," page 42). Business development manager Jean Krak created this "customer did...

Profile: Mark Sass.(Big50: CloseUp)
December 1, 2005... After running Sass Construction for 25 years, Mark Sass (Big50 2002) decided that he needed to create better balance between his work and his life. He wanted to continue running his Chanhassen, Minn., company, but he also wanted time for...

Second look: Allan Lutes.(Big50: CloseUp)
December 1, 2005... When Allan Lutes was awarded Big50 in 1999, his company, Alpha Contracting, had a systems focus; Lutes' volume was 50% remodeling and 50% insurance reconstruction, and there were 10 employees. Now Lutes presides over Alpha Remodeling--whose...

Making it legal: how do you help foreign-born employees and subcontractors work legally in this country?(Q+A)
December 1, 2005... TIM WALLACE T.W. Wallace Construction Arlington, Va. Big50 1987 I've sponsored four employees through the green card process and helped two get their U.S. citizenship. Nine of my 13 employees are of Hispanic origin, primarily...

Ranch dressing: the design/build remodeler on this project, used a Tuscany-themed overhaul both inside and out to add style and warmth to a dull ranch house. (Before+After.
December 1, 2005... When homeowners Michael and Terri Rogers saw this low, long box of a house, they dubbed it "Motel California," because it resembled those highway-side structures. Despite the moniker, the couple still purchased the property because they were...

Elusive equality: people may have come a long way toward accepting different ethnicities, but minorities still face discrimination and additional challenges in the remodeling industry.(Cover Story)
December 1, 2005... Rodney Webb isn't your typical home improvement salesman. He has played professional basketball in Europe. He spent two years playing blackjack for a living. He boasts a 91% close rate. He has sold $3.6 million of replacement windows and siding...

Overworked or over-lifed? Balancing the work-life equation is as important as balancing the books.
December 1, 2005... When Clay Nelson was growing up, his father owned a construction and remodeling company. "My dad's idea of vacation," Nelson says, "was going to someone's house and remodeling it. All we knew was work, work, work. We loved him, but we didn't...

More than just mud: a customized mudroom does more than just make exits and entries flow better.(Kitchen+Bath: DesignClinic)
December 1, 2005... Though they are referred to as mudrooms, if designed correctly, these small spaces can serve multiple purposes. Architect George Myers says that any family with children knows how coats and toys and books can accumulate throughout the house....

Class in session.(Kitchen+Bath: DesignClinic)
December 1, 2005... Three years ago Vailes Brothers built a new showroom that included a working kitchen and an open room in the back for future expansion. When Robert Vailes, owner of the Fishersville, Va., remodeling company was approached by a former client who...

Toilets.(Kitchen+Bath: SpecBook)
December 1, 2005... From industrial-chic to updated traditional styles, manufacturers have been busy introducing stylish components for the modern, personalized bathroom. Dual-flush options offer flexibility for conservation-minded consumers, while enhanced bowl...

New Products Pavilion winners: top picks from the Remodeling Show.(Products: Trends)
December 1, 2005... The second annual New Products Pavilion was a big hit at the 2005 Remodeling Show in Baltimore. A batch of new and innovative products--37 in all--had a showcase all to itself on the show floor, where attendees could browse and vote on their...

Added detail: these products provide attractive finishing touches.(Products: Trends)
December 1, 2005... When you ask remodeling clients what they value most in a project, quality construction is often at the top of the list. Neither they nor the contractor want to deal with callbacks. But when it comes to getting that "wow factor," it's the...

Heavy hitters: these little gadgets carry big burdens.(Products: Trends)
December 1, 2005... Mechanical Plastics. The "pop" you hear lets you know that Toggler SnapSkru self-drilling drywall anchors are locked onto the wall. The shock- and vibration-resistant anchors install with a screwdriver or a screw gun and feature a positive stop...

Trucks & accessories.(Products: InFocus)
December 1, 2005... The latest specialty work trucks go beyond just transport and toolbox. With hefty payload capacity and plenty of towing power these trucks also feature four-wheel drive, super-cargo capacity, extended cabs, and GPS navigation--not to mention...

US GreenFiber.(Green Products)
December 1, 2005... Cocoon insulation, a sprayed-in, stabilized cellulose product, is made from a minimum of 80% recycled post-consumer paper. The remainder of the product consists of fire retardants and a stabilizing adhesive that prevents settling after...

FiberTech Polymers.(Green Products)
December 1, 2005... TimberWolf composite fencing products are made of 100% post-consumer recycled materials. Offered in both western cedar and California redwood colors, the fencing has the look and feel of wood, won't fade more than 20% within the same color...

EnviroGLAS.(Green Products)
December 1, 2005... The company's terrazzo products consist of 100% post-consumer and post-industrial recycled glass blended with a pigmented epoxy resin to create custom-colored floors (EnviroPLANK), countertops (EnviroSLAB), and other surfaces. The surfaces are...

AlterECO.(Green Products)
December 1, 2005... The PureGrass premier cabinetry system uses 100% bamboo panels for cabinet cases, and features dovetailed bamboo drawers, dampening hinges, undermount drawer slides, and a low-VOC finish. The company also offers WoodGrass and WheatGrass systems...

Follansbee.(Green Products)
December 1, 2005... KlassicKolors is a pre-painted zinc/tin coated roofing sheet offered in an extensive palette of colors. Its base sheet is coated with the company's patented ZT (zinc/tin) alloy and then painted with solar reflective paint coatings. The ZT alloy...

Milwaukee.(Safety Equipment)
December 1, 2005... The company's new Job Site Armor line of safety gear includes Heavy Duty Safety Eyewear. The lightweight, wrap-around framed or frameless safety glasses and impact goggles meet or exceed the ANSI Z87.1-203 safety standards for high-velocity...

Vi-Cas.(Safety Equipment)
December 1, 2005... Grabber cups protect the user from cuts and scrapes when handling glass, sheet metal, or almost any non-porous item. Four sizes are available in diameters up to 4 3/4 inches with a lifting capacity of 25 pounds. They can also be used to install...

Wolverine.(Safety Equipment)
December 1, 2005... The latest DuraShocks work boot (W02185) boasts two important safety features: the engineered aluminum alloy safety toe protects feet from falling or rolling objects, and the boot is ASTM certified to protect the wearer from electrical current...

Ergodyne.(Safety Equipment)
December 1, 2005... Neither rain, sleet, snow, cold, nor wind will affect the contractor who's wearing the GloWear 8375 Hi-Vis Thermal Jacket. Its polyester weatherproof outer shell is made of a breathable PU material and ANSI 107-certified 3M Scotchlite...

Insulation and HVAC.(SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2005... Whether you're preparing for Old Man Winter in Boston or soaking up the sun in Phoenix, you need a well-functioning HVAC system to keep you comfortable in your home. If the system breaks down, things can get pretty unbearable. That's why it's...

Getting backlog just right: too much backlog is as dangerous as too little.(LastWord: BenchMark)
December 1, 2005... Backlog is essential to a healthy company, but it needs to be predictable and dependable. Too little and you'll spend all your time focused on selling the next job; too much and you risk making clients on the wait list unhappy. The trick is...