Builder articles from July 2004

Builder archives from July 2004

Green building goes to work. New voluntary guidelines will help make green building more consistent.(Special Advertising Section)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
July 1, 2004... New wood products are already making it more profitable. How DO YOU VIEW GREEN BUILDING? TO some builders it's a social movement. To others it's a personal conviction. Still others see it as a developing market niche as well as a way to...

A house divided: the nation increasingly breaks down between housing haves and have-nots.(Editor's Notes)
July 1, 2004... BUSINESS PAGES RECOUNT THE WINNERS AND LOSERS in the latest corporate shake-up. Political pundits focus on what it will take for candidates to register that elusive big win in November. The owner of the winning horse in the Belmont Stakes...

Crystal clear.(B Mail)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... JUST A QUICK NOTE TO TELL YOU THAT I thought your article ("Clear Vision," May, page 75) about our cradle-to-cradle program was excellent. Les [Teichner, COO] is beside himself. He is now off to Hollywood with his newfound fame. Thank you for...

Laudable Laminate.(B Mail)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... THE ARTICLE "LOVING LAMINATE AGAIN" (May, page 111) included some compelling reasons for choosing laminate countertops, but it deserves some clarification about Formica brand laminate. While engineers at Formica Corp. are always looking for...

Callback.(B Mail)(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2004... THE PHOTO ON PAGE 154 IN THE JUNE 2004 issue should have been credited to W. Gregory Puls.

Fee fight: builder impact fee lawsuit in Osceola County, Fla., is seen as a statewide test case for educational impact fees.(Legal Affairs)
July 1, 2004... THE FLORIDA HBA (FHBA) AND THE HBA of metropolitan Orlando filed a class-action lawsuit on April 30 against Osceola County to overturn a measure that more than triples the impact fee for new school construction in this bedroom community just...

Solar NIMBYs.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Solar Photovoltaic Panels)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... As solar photovoltaic panels gain popularity, especially on the West Coast and in Florida, cranky neighbors have found a new foe. According to The Wall Street Journal, about 50 homeowner associations in Florida try to restrict the placement of...

Just ask.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Builders who want to stand out from the competition (who doesn't?) can do that just by asking customers how they feel about the home-buying process. Yet only 25 percent of the nation's home builders measure customer satisfaction, says Paul...

Reaching out.(Big Deals)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Two public builders expanded their reach with late spring acquisitions. KB Home moved to strengthen its position in the Midwest with the purchase of Indianapolis-based Dura Builders, which in 2003 closed more than 500 homes for $75 million in...

Click, drag, sold!(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Who buys a new house on the Internet? According to American Homes Guides' 2003 online home buyer profile, the profile of a Net home buyer is a 26-to 35-year-old woman. The first-ever profile, based on 5,486 responses, found that the average...

Board certified.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(The Construction Financial Management Association)
July 1, 2004... Recognizing that construction finances can be a bit tricky for even the most seasoned professional, the Construction Financial Management Association created a certification program. In May, the association held its first-ever Certified...

Laugh track: California builders hope humorous TV ads will help prevent lawsuits.(Legal Advertising)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... CALIFORNIA BUILDERS HAVE CREATED A SERIES of three 30-second television ads nudging homeowners to talk to a builder about repairs instead of a lawyer. The ads, which are airing initially through November on several cable networks in the...

Foam home: polystyrene insulation industry launches site to promote benefits of product.(Internet Pick)
July 1, 2004... THE EXTRUDED POLYSTYRENE FOAM ASSOCIation has launched a new Web site that aims to educate builders and architects about the benefits of using extruded foam-insulated sheathing. The site contains a detailed analysis of the product's...

Golden report.(SRRI)(Sacramento Regional Research Institute)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A study by the Sacramento Regional Research Institute reports that new-home construction helped put California on the road to economic recovery in 2003. The report says that home building generated $59 billion in economic activity in the Golden...

Ouch!(SRRI)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Massachusetts senator David Magnani has coined a new phrase to describe the kinds of restrictions that discourage families with children from putting down roots in a community. He calls it "vasectomy zoning." SOURCE: USA TODAY

Growth spurt.(SRRI)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... In a recent report from the Census Bureau, Georgia was home to five of the fastest-growing counties between 2000 and 2003. Chattahoochee County saw a 30-percent jump in population, while Forsyth, Henry, Newton, and Paulding counties gained more...

Lighter, stronger, greener: a new type of concrete may be on the horizon.(Better Concrete)
July 1, 2004... AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS HAVE DEVELOPED A NEW aerated concrete for residential construction that they claim weighs less, is easier to use, and is kinder to the environment than standard concrete--for half the price. And they're looking for U.S....

All mixed up: American West's "upside-down" house flips conventional room placement.(Design Trends)
July 1, 2004... IT AMERICAN WEST HOMES IN LAS VEGAS, it's called the "upside-down" house. That's because the 1,602-square-foot home in the builder's Coronado Ranch community has a floor plan that reverses conventional logic when it comes to room placement....

Mass action.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The new governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, has been taking drastic steps to address the state's affordable housing crisis. He has put $100 million into a fund to help developers build 5,000 units of mixed-income housing in three years. At...

Miniature raises.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Pay raises for construction executives in 2003 averaged 3 percent. And according to the annual salary survey by Construction Executive, a consultancy with dozens of construction employers, 8 percent of employers planned no increases for some...

Mold radar: new research aims to perfect commercial technology that can detect mold through walls using a portable radar device.(Looking Deeper)
July 1, 2004... IMAGINE A HANDHELD MOLD DETECTOR ABOUT the size of a stud finder. You hold it against a suspect area of wallboard, press a button, and get a reading on how much mold is growing in the cavity beyond. That's the scenario that researchers at...

Family-friendly financing: a new Texas program offers an alternative to predatory lending practices.(Pilot Program)
July 1, 2004... A NEW MORTGAGE FINANCING PROGRAM IN TEXAS is taking aim at the growing problem of foreclosures, especially among homeowners with "B" credit ratings. The Affordable Homeownership Program for Texas (AHPT), in partnership with Ameriquest Mortgage...

Welcome home: privatization of military housing is speeding efforts to eliminate substandard units.(Service Needs)
July 1, 2004... HOUSING FOR SERVICE PERSONNEL and their families has been a source of frustration for the military for years. Since the end of the Cold War and the ongoing efforts to close military bases, housing stock has deteriorated dramatically. The...

Question of balance; New Jersey builders say major state land-use and water-quality legislation lack adequate provisions for future growth.(Inside Story)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... NEW JERSEY HAS PASSED A LAND-USE bill for the northern part of the state that seeks to protect the drinking water for more than half the state's 8 million residents and roughly half the state's 566 municipalities. The Highlands Water...

Water gamble: the government sells Vegas land for development, despite troubling water shortages.(The straight dope: the whole truth and nothing but the truth)(Federal Bureau of Land Management)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Last year, the Federal Bureau of Land Management tried to unload 1,947 acres of land on the outskirts of Henderson, Nev., just outside Las Vegas. It received no bids because of a high price tag (about $250 million) and constraints on how the...

Boom box.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... THIS RADIO CRANKS OUT THE TUNES, BUT IT OFFERS SO much more. In addition to AM/FM and a CD/CD-RW player, it has a four-way GFCI outlet, a 12-volt outlet for charging cell phones and two-way radios, an auxiliary outlet for an MP3 player, and a...

Talk time.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... WHEN HOMEOWNERS TALK, THIS ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT thermostat will talk back. Audibly guiding users through every step of programming, the unit allows users to set four temperatures/times per day, tells consumers when to change the battery,...

Soft serve.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... WATER SOFTENERS MAY BE HELPFUL IN DEALING WITH MINERALS and scale buildup, but they are often unsightly gizmos that should be hidden. This cabinet model was created to appeal to contractors' appearance-conscious buyers. Not only is it...

Clad tidings.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... THE 700 SERIES NOW OFFERS THE best of both worlds: extruded aluminum clad on the exterior for durability and primed wood interior for a warm look. Available in double-hung, casements, awning, and fixed versions, the window can be customized in...

Pro league.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... WITH THE BONDING CHARACTERISTICS OF AN ALL-PURPOSE COMPOUND and the sanding characteristics of a mid-weight, ProForm Ultra represents a new direction in ready-mix joint compounds, the manufacturer says. According to the company, ProForm shrinks...

Hold tite.(Topshelf: the latest and greatest building products)
July 1, 2004... THE MANUFACTURER OF TITEBOND III Ultimate wood glue says the product provides incredibly strong bonds for all wood-to-wood applications, even around wet areas. Its strength, the company adds, approaches 4,000 pounds per square inch, making it...

Online alterations: Airston Homes' web site allows prospects to alter floor plans with the click of a mouse.(Market smarts: new marketing and sales techniques with proven result)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AIRSTON HOMES CREATED A simple way for online home shoppers to customize its floor plans online. After selecting a community, prospective buyers can link to the site's "Build Your Own Home" section at www.airstonhomes.com, which displays the...

Camp experience: the Welcome Center at Wilderness Lake Preserve sets the tone for a rustic retreat-themed community in South Florida.(Market smarts: new marketing and sales techniques with proven result)
July 1, 2004... EVEN FROM THE OUTSIDE, THE WELCOME CENTER FOR WILDER-ness Lake Preserve in Land O' Lakes, Fla., looks and feels different from the typical Gulf Coast sales center. In fact, the 2,130-square-foot building sets the stage for a mountain resort...

Page-turner: Brambleton created a full-fledged magazine to extend the shelf life of its sales brochure and foster a deeper identity for the project.(Market smarts: new marketing and sales techniques with proven result)
July 1, 2004... EVERYONE KNOWS THAT SALES BROCHURES GET ROUND FILED after a while--perhaps sooner than any sales director would care to admit. Done well, they impart information about a project and master plan, available models, and pricing. Done as a...

Formula for success: franchising may be a way for small production builders to compete with the big guys.(Business Builder)(Ed Burgan )(Epmark Franchisees )
July 1, 2004... WHEN FORMER CUSTOM BUILDER Ed Burgan wanted to become a condominium developer, he did something unheard of a few years ago: He bought a franchise. The franchise was Columbus, Ohio-based builder Epmark, which has been in business since 1995. And...

How-to self insurance: "captive" plans offer a viable alternative to traditional coverage.
July 1, 2004... AS A HOME BUILDER, DO YOU FEEL LIKE PERSONA NON GRATA WITH insurance companies these days? You're not imagining things. According to insurance experts such as Jenny Schaefer, with Hilb, Rogal and Hobbs, (HRH), an insurance brokerage firm with...

Feeling appreciated: demand from first-time home buyers and empty-nesters fuels the condo market.(Vital Signs)
July 1, 2004... AS THEIR CHILDREN MOVE OUT OF THE family home, many baby boomers are leaving the nest as well. People 45 years and older account for 42 percent of the nation's condominium buyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). ...

On the laminate: asphalt manufacturers are moving beyond the three-tab shingle.(Products: products and tools every builder should know about)
July 1, 2004... JUST WHEN YOU THINK THE THREE-tab asphalt shingle is the king of roofing, here come laminate and super-laminate shingles. The asphalt roofing industry says that laminates are the three-tab's newer, more interesting cousin. And, it says, this...

Heavenly hardware: no matter your buyer's taste, hardware manufacturers have covered.(Products: products and tools every builder should know about)
July 1, 2004... LIKE EVERY OTHER PRODUCT TREND for the home, door hardware styles change like the wind. What s hip today is unlikely to be hot a few years from now, and what s hot in the Southeast might be old news in California. "The trends are driven by...

Utah builder gets the best of both worlds.(Builder Of The Month Profile)( Destination Homes )
July 1, 2004... For the last eight years, Destination Homes has been building production houses for buyers in the northern Utah region. With five active communities under development, Destination Homes is one of the few large-scale builders in the area. ...

Cost of living.(NAHB Briefs National Association of Home Builders)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... During June, as part of National Homeownership Month, the NAHB worked to make owning a home an achievable goal for more Americans by informing the public about the problems associated with workforce housing and sharing with them possible...

Risky business: with insurance premiums soaring, the NAHB will use member surveys to develop general liability coverage for home builders.(From The President)
July 1, 2004... INSURANCE COSTS ARE SKYROCKETING, AND IN some markets, builders can't get coverage at any price. This is one of the biggest challenges facing home builders and contractors today, and it is a top issue for our federation. In response, the...

Tighten up: fed tightening not expected to cause problems for housing.(Seiders Economy)(interest rate increases)
July 1, 2004... THE FEDERAL RESERVE IS IN A TIGHTENING mode following an aggressive easing pattern that pulled down short-term rates to historic lows. Past periods of monetary tightening meant big trouble for the housing industry, but this time figures to be...

Healthy habitats.(NAHB Briefs)(Habitat Conservation Plan)(National Association of Home Builders )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Home builders and developers are preserving thousands of acres of critical habitat for endangered species as part of the federal Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP). Under the HCP program, property owners work with conservationists to identify...

Quality control: builders lauded for their commitment to quality assurance.(The NAHB Research Center Corner)
July 1, 2004... THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER RECENTLY certified two home builders in quality assurance as part of the National Housing Quality (NHQ) program's Certified Builder initiative. Grayson Homes and KB Home's Las Vegas division are the first two builders...

Sneak peek.(NAHB Briefs)(The Cost of Doing Business Study)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Anew study prepared by the NAHB gives home builders a rare glimpse at other builders' books. "The Cost of Doing Business Study" lets building industry professionals examine the statistics of home building companies from across the country. ...

Desert wonder: the courtyards at Market Street, a Gold Nugget winner for attached housing, has the look--and fell--of a rambling, Andalusian farmhouse.
July 1, 2004... EVEN SOMETHING AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE high-desert topography of DC Ranch, the highly successful Scottsdale, Ariz., community, can present its own set of problem. That's what Robert Hidey Architects discovered when Market Street Homes charged it to...

Gold medalists: this year's Gold Nugget Awards highlight projects that go beyond pretty pictures. The very best solve problems, too.(Gold Nugget Awards)
July 1, 2004... AS USUAL, THERE WAS NO SHORTAGE OF spectacular designs at the 41st annual Gold Nugget Awards competition, which honors the best of Western architecture. In category, after category, from production housing to specialty housing to special-use...

Bi-coastal beauty.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Shutters, Brea, California)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... SHUTTERS, BREA, CALIF. AT FIRST, IT COMES AS A BIT OF A surprise to see Key West/St. Augustine, Fla.-style architecture in a North Orange County, Calif., community. But given the parameters that the builder and architects had to work...

Napa retreat.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Rivera Barn, Napa, CA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... RIVERA BARN, NAPA, CALIF. THE BEST CUSTOM HOME WORKS ON every level. It fits an owner's lifestyle, belongs on its site, and proclaims itself unique. The owners of this Napa Valley retreat wanted a quiet getaway just for...

Opportunities and constraints.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Pacific Shores, Santa Cruz, CA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... PACIFIC SHORES, SANTA CRUZ, CALIF. TALK ABOUT RESTRICTIONS--THIS project had enough to stop the bravest of developers. First, the site: a brownfield adjacent to a state beach that is also the winter home to the protected monarch butterfly....

Landmark status.(Gold Nugget Awards)(East End Lofts, Sacramento, CA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... EAST END LOFTS, SACRAMENTO, CALIF. VERY ONCE IN A WHILE, A MIXED-use project gets it just right, and that's certainly the case with this innovative restoration project in downtown Sacramento, Calif. What was once a 1920S automotive showroom...

Oceanfront splendor.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Oceana - Plan 2, Newport Beach, CA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... OCEANA--PLAN 2, NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. ONLY IN NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF., could an oceanfront, 3,837-square-foot $2.2 million production home with garage space for four cars be considered the perfect place for empty-nesters. But that's exactly...

Layers of success.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Beacon Point at Libery Station, Point Loma, San Diego)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BEACON POINT AT LIBERTY STATION--POINT LOMA PLAN I, SAN DIEGO OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE JUDGES kept coming back to this little beauty's floor plan, front elevation, and plot plan, marveling at how the architects managed to pull off such a...

Dignified design.(Gold Nugget Awards)(Mabuhay Court/North-Side Community Center, San Jose, CA)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... MABUHAY COURT/NORTH-SIDE COMMUNITY CENTER, SAN JOSE, CALIF. IF YOU DROVE BY THIS PROJECT, LOCATED in a historic neighborhood, you would not likely guess that it's affordable, targeted to seniors, and features not only 96 apartments but a...

Residential grand award winners not shown.(Gold Nugget Awards)
July 1, 2004... BEST CUSTOM HOME--4,500 TO 6,500 SQUARE FEET The Prospect, La Jolla, Calif. Builder/Architect: Jonathan Segal, La Julia BEST CUSTOM HOME--OVER 6,500 SQUARE FEET Zadeh Residence, Beverly Hills, Calif. Builder: Finton Associates, Arcadia,...

Divided we stand.(Special report: growing inequity)
July 1, 2004... The gaping economic chasm separating new-home buyers from the millions of Americans forced to crowd into a shrinkiing stock of older, inadequate housing cows daily, threatening to erode our economic and social capital. IN THE PAST 10...

No middle ground: the housing boom has been a dream come true for some sectors of the economy. For others, it's a nightmare.(Winners and Losers)
July 1, 2004... EVA ROSENBERG is A CPA AND tax educator known in the Internet world as Taxmama. To her the housing boom and the low interest rates are a "brief blink in history" that have created a tremendous opportunity. "I have clients who have...

Behind the spin: the two major presidential candidates offer distinct approaches to building new housing for the nation's poor.(The Political Arena)
July 1, 2004... PRESIDENT BUSH HAS BEEN quick to take credit for the low interest rates and continued strong demand for housing that spurred the building boom. Just about every week this spring and summer, the current 68.5 percent homeownership rate pops up in...

Behind the numbers: economic indicators give the macro side of the housing story, but the micro view reveals some troubling trends worth watching.(Doing The Math)
July 1, 2004... THEY CALL ECONOMICS THE "DISmal science," but many of the statistics related to single-family housing have been downright sunny during recent years. "The housing boom has really been a key factor in keeping the economy from slipping into a...

Pest control: builder beware--a critter could be waiting to damage your house or your reputation.
July 1, 2004... THEY COME UNINVITED, WITH empty arms and without so much as a six-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon or a stick of jerky, and they can eat you out of house and home. These bands of miscreants aren't your in-laws (though the behavioral patterns may seem...

New software alignment: niche software company Constellation Software consolidates builder software market by buying NewStar and FAST.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... BY FOLLOWING AN EARLY SPRING PURCHASE of NewStar Homebuilders with a June t acquisition of FAST, Canadian software company Constellation Software may get what it wants: a consolidated builder software market with Constellation remaining one of...

Smart move.(Builder Tech)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Beazer Homes recently signed a contract with ADCom and Gentronics for the two companies to source and manage telecommunications and network management at its field sales offices and construction trailers. Jonathan Smoke, Beazer's chief...

Quick bills.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... BillQuick 2004, the new billing and time-tracking software from BQE Software, integrates with both Microsoft Outlook and Intuit's Quick Books. The software has a resource allocator that notifies supers if a trade has a schedule conflict and can...

Bright idea: new technology looks to drive automated lighting standard for the mass market.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... BUILDERS LOOKING FOR A LOWER-COST Alternative to hard-wired and radio frequency lighting systems from Lutron, LiteTouch, or Vantage can now opt for wall-mount dimmers and controllers from Powerline Control Systems that have its new Universal...

New alias.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... Alias SketchBook Pro, software that lets users develop digital pen-driven illustrations and designs on a Tablet PC and send them via e-mail, is now available on two new platforms, the ViewSonic Tablet PC V1250 and Toshiba's Portege M200. Alias...

Hand in hand.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... BuilderMT and Sales Simplicity have successfully integrated the two software packages for a system to be run by Bright Homes in Modesto, Calif. BuilderMT is a purchasing system for home builders based on Timberline Office, and Sales Simplicity...

Viable alternative: Contractors Software Group is a potential back-office option for builders who close up to 500 homes annually.(Builder Tech)
July 1, 2004... ONE COMPANY THAT'S BEEN OVERLOOKED AS A software option for home builders is Contractors Software Group (CSG), based in St. Paul, Minn. CSG bid for software at the BuildNet auction a few years ago, when the product was known as BuildNet...

Security geeks: Web-based home security products are catching on, but until the cable companies start mass-marketing monitoring services over the Web, only the most tech-savvy builders will care.
July 1, 2004... ONE DAY, COMPUTER GEEKS WILL rule home security. For the past few years, home security hardware companies have released Web-based products that let homeowners turn the security system on and off, view a photo taken by a security camera, and...

Builder Online: revamped and improved.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... BUILDER ONLINE'S MAJOR REDESIGN A year ago this month has proven to be a big hit with our online audience. We're hitting record numbers of visitors, user sessions, and page views. A recent retooling of BUILDER Online brings additional...

Capitol Hill, Seattle.(Seattle neighborhood)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AROUND THE COUNTRY, BUILDERS ARE STRIVING TO CREATE housing developments that possess a feeling of community, with large, comfortable houses in the traditional styles of America s past. They're taking their cues from older neighborhoods such as...