Builder articles from November 2005

Builder archives from November 2005

Damage assessment: the effects of Hurricane Katrina will be felt for years to come.(Editorial)
November 1, 2005... EAGER TO LEARN HOW BUILDERS WERE FARING IN THE wake of the destruction from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we sent crack contributing editor Ted Cushman to the Gulf Coast in late September to talk with builders and survey the devastated area....

Integrity[R] windows and doors helps this healthy home builder carve a niche.(INTEGRITY CELEBRATES ITS RED DIAMOND ACHIEVERS)(Advertisement)
November 1, 2005... Christian Builders, Inc., a Minnesota-based custom-home builder, was acutely aware that the competition in the Twin Cities region was tough and getting tougher. "I'd estimate that there are about 1,500 builders in the Twin Cities area," says...

Calendar.(BOOK IT)(Calendar)
November 1, 2005... NOVEMBER 15-17 New Home Sales Boot Camp, Delray Beach, Fla. Attend the best educational event for sales-people, sales managers, and Realtors. Over three days, Bob Shultz and the New Home Specialists will teach strategies to boost your...

Space wars: builders in Charlotte, N.C., feud with the city and a neighborhood group over how much open space is required for a teardown.(INFILL CONTROVERSY)
November 1, 2005... HOME BUILDERS WORKING ON TEARDOWNS IN historic Myers Park in Charlotte, N.C., had a tough fight on their hands earlier this year when a neighborhood group brought up an arcane open-space rule that threatened to derail the lucrative teardown...

New starts.(SullivanKreiss placement services for disaster victims)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... SullivanKreiss, an executive search firm based in Northborough, Mass., is offering free career placement help to architects, engineers, and construction professionals displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Call 508-393-4933 or e-mail...

Pricey places.(business location)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Using a formula that weighs wage costs, taxes, electricity costs, and costs of real estate for industrial and office space, the Milken Institute recently declared Hawaii, New York, and Massachusetts the most expensive states in which to do...

Katrina Crunch.(rebuilding New Orleans cement consumption data)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Analysts predict rebuilding the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina will push cement consumption even higher then current record levels, the Skokie, III.-based Portland Cement Association says. Experts estimate that rebuilding New Orleans...

What's in storage?(modular closet and garage storage systems market size)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Walk-in closets, pantries, and garages are taking up ever-bigger chunks of space in modern floor plans, so an expected upswing in the home organization products market is no surprise. A recent study by The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based...

British buyer.(Centex Corp. sells Fairclough Homes to Miller Group)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Centex Corp. disclosed in September that it will sell Fairclough Homes, its United Kingdom home building operation, to The Miller Group, the UK's largest privately owned residential building and development company. After foreign and domestic...

Going up.(Escalator clauses)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Even before hurricanes Katrina and Rita, home builders in the Tampa, Fla., area included so-called "escalator" clauses into sales contracts. The clauses let builders offset the rising costs of lumber, concrete, and roof shingles. While buyers...

Suit up.(HOUSE BLEND)
November 1, 2005... Led by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a coalition of state officials has filed suit against the U.S. Energy Department, accusing the agency of failing to set efficiency standards for household appliances. The states say the DOE is six...

Anybody's best guess: a number of reports list which housing markets are at the greatest risk. Are any of them right?(MARKET ANALYSIS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... ANYONE WITH AN ANSWER TO TODAY'S UBIQUItous questions--Is there a housing bubble, and where will it pop first?--is in high demand. Housing analysts, industry think tanks, mortgage companies, and even the government have presented their best...

Fire, fire: a new voluntary standard could force sprinklers in some residential units.(SPRINKLER REQUIREMENTS)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... IF THE QUINCY, MASS.--BASED National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has its way, newly constructed one- and two-family residential dwellings will be required to have fire sprinklers. Although the NFPA's proposal is merely a...

Helping hand.(mortgage payments collections stopped)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are giving a much-needed break to the thousands of homeowners left homeless by Hurricane Katrina, allowing loan servicers to temporarily suspend payment collections from affected homeowners. Freddie Mac told servicers...

Rate imbalance: a new report shows that minorities often pay more for loans.(MINORITY MORTGAGES)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... YEARS AGO, MINORITIES OFTEN WERE TURNED down when they applied for mortgages. Now, they're likely to be approved, but at a higher interest rate than whites. In a Sept. 13 report from the Federal Reserve, economists examined 2004 mortgage...

Buyer assistance: one company offers a new way to make home buying more efficient.(communication tool on web based system)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... BUYING A NEW HOME MAY BE the American dream, but most first-timers are unaware that it can be a nightmare. Even for experienced buyers, a new home's avalanche of decisions can be daunting. Short of leaving all choices to the builder, little...

California crunch.(tax relief for home)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... California building industry leaders report that the $500,000-plus median cost of a new home prices about 81 percent of Californians out of the housing market. Builders are asking for tax relief on government fees that on average add $20,000 to...

Energy saver.(Home Depot energy conservation methods)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... The Home Depot said in September it will implement energy-saving measures in all of its U.S. stores in light of the government's call to conserve energy after Hurricane Katrina. Measures include reducing the use of ceiling lights in stores...

True partners: David Weekley Homes recognizes the suppliers that its employees graded highest for quality and service.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... DAVID WEEKLEY HOMES RECENTLY PRESENTED its first "Partners of Choice" awards to 11 national account suppliers that their toughest critics--the builder's own rank and file--singled out for their consistent performances. The awards, which the...

Faster and cheaper? Task force recommendations aim to reduce the backlog of projects waiting to be built in the Bay State.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... MASSACHUSETTS' HOUSING PRODUCTION level rank's among the lowest in the nation, and what's built is among the most expensive. Too few homes is the biggest single culprit" in the state's lack of affordable housing, according to Clark Ziegler,...

Do we have a deal? As the lumber trade dispute heats up, US.-Canadian relations grow chilly.(CANADA, NAFTA, AND LUMBER)
November 1, 2005... U.S.-CANADIAN RELATIONS TOOK A turn for the worse in August: The two nations' dispute over softwood lumber trade took center stage in Canada's political drama, and the long-simmering disagreement flared up into a hot diplomatic spat. The...

Builders lose: judge rules against Florida builders in school impact fee case, but grants credit request.
November 1, 2005... HOME BUILDERS IN METRO ORLANDO lost an important case last summer when Circuit Court Judge James R. Stroker ruled in favor of a $9,800 impact fee charged by the Osceola County school board. The school impact fee went into effect in May 2004...

Pass the hanky: hard-core skeptics don't respond to facts, but they do respond to tugs at their hearts.(THE STRAIGHT DOPE: THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Don't try to tell a die-hard skeptic that your low-E windows, energy-efficient HVAC, or Energy Star appliances will save him 35 percent a year on his utility bills. He's not going to believe it. Chances are, he won't even look at the ad because...

Beer with me.(TOP SHELF: THE LATEST AND GREATEST BUILDING PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2005... WHO NEEDS A TRIP TO THE PUB WHEN ONE OF THESE babies is installed in the basement? Built into a 48-inch-wide cabinet, the beer dispenser has a stainless steel interior and exterior and holds up to a half-barrel and two 1/6 pony kegs, the...

Duty calls.(TOP SHELF: THE LATEST AND GREATEST BUILDING PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2005... LIQUID NAILS' ULTRA DUTY POLY IS THE manufacturer's first polyurethane-based construction adhesive. The polyurethane technology means the product will not foam or get pockets of gas in the beads, so it works better in high heat, the company...

Roll tape.(TOP SHELF: THE LATEST AND GREATEST BUILDING PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2005... THE MANUFACTURER HAS ADDED WEATHERESIST FLASHING TAPE TO ITS REPERTOIRE IN AN effort to help promote energy efficiency in windows and doors. Designed to prevent leaks around openings, the product has a self-adhesive backing that makes...

Tile one on.(TOP SHELF)
November 1, 2005... WATERTILE IS A NEW PRODUCT THAT IS SURE TO GET YOUR BUYERS EXCITED. UNLIKE typical body sprays, these low-profile units lend a clean look to shower walls yet still offer functionality. Because the spray face is fully adjustable, they can be...

Door prize.(TOP SHELF)
November 1, 2005... SOME BUYERS HAVE A THING FOR old-timey architecture and products, and the Grandeur line of vintage hardware just might satisfy their desires. The manufacturer says the collection of products has been designed to capture the look and feel of...

Painted beauty.(TOP SHELF)
November 1, 2005... IN HOME BUILDING, WALL COATINGS can never be too durable. Here, then, is Duration Home, a product the manufacturer says provides better washability than any other paint or ceramic coating on the market. Stains wipe away with soap and water....

The real deal: for our 2006 show home, Builder set out to find out how families really live in new houses.(REALITY HOUSE 2006)
November 1, 2005... MARKET RESEARCHER BARB NAgle doesn't consider herself a particularly fastidious person, but even she was surprised by what she encountered when she knocked on the doors of people who had recently bought new homes. "We found messes...

Pump pain: the effects of higher fuel prices are felt throughout home building.(VITAL SIGNS)
November 1, 2005... A YEAR AGO, STEVE COLEMAN'S FUEL bills ran between $3,000 and $4,000 a month. That budget line has since tripled to about $12,000 a month, says Coleman, the president of Alcoa, Tenn.-based Anderson Lumber and Home Center. Everyone in home...

Open and shutter cases: beyond the merely decorative, new shutters offer protection from the effects of bad weather.(hurricanes in eye)
November 1, 2005... THE BAD NEWS ANNOUNCED EARLIER this year is that we may be facing serious hurricane activity for the next 25 to 20 years. This means a vicious cycle of destruction and cleanup for those along the coasts, but it also means harsher weather for...

Support systems: today's structural elements do more than hold a house together--they make correct installation easier for the builder.(incremental measurements minimizes waste)
November 1, 2005... AFTER THE FOUNDATION, STRUCtural support products such as panels and joists are the most important elements of a house, and for obvious reasons: Even a perfectly installed roof will prove ineffective if the rafters are inadequate. To help...

Affordable automation: developer offers a low-cost integrated home automation system.(DIGITAL HOME: SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW HOMES)
November 1, 2005... SUNRIVER ST. GEORGE, A SOUTHERN Utah retirement community, now offers a home automation system that lets homeowners manage everyday tasks such as HVAC, lighting, and security over the same touchscreen panel or Web tablet that controls their...

Beam up.( )(Prism Wireless)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Beam Industries has a new control technology that lets home buyers turn on its central vacuum system wirelessly. The technology, called Prism Wireless, has a transmitter built into the handle of the Beam Advocate central vacuum system that...

On screen.(builders offer can avail in Samsung)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Builders can now order Samsung's popular 72-series plasma HDTVs from their professional integrators. Screens are available in 42-inch, 50-inch, and 63-inch models. The sets feature side audio/video input jacks and 10 audio speakers as opposed...

Flexible tech: UStec lets builders offer home technology to home buyers in stages.(contracts)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... STRUCTURED WIRING COMPANY USTEC has a new approach to home technology that should resonate with builders. Bill Thompson, UStec's president and founder, says that in most cases, once home builders decide on a structured wiring panel, they are...

Improved leads.(Service Magic acquires ImproveNet)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... ServiceMagic's acquisition last summer of online services marketplace ImproveNet for $6.7 million increases ServiceMagic's monthly consumer requests to 165,000, up from 125,000. The increase translates into more potential leads for home...

On the map.(Sprint's Precision Locator a web based locator for Builders)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Builders with multiple projects might find Sprint's Precision Locator, a new Web-based location system, of value. The tool lets construction managers access interactive maps to easily locate a group of workers, set schedules, or have the...

Crowd control: web-based software lets T. W. Lewis manage unprecedented demand.
November 1, 2005... BUILDERS IN THE PHOENIX AREA HAVE AN enviable problem: Business is just too good. Jon Gillan, vice president of sales at T.W. Lewis, says demand for new homes in the Phoenix market often outstrips supply by a factor of so to I. So,...

House call.(National Association of Home Builders of the United States emergency assistance)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Shortly after Hurricane Katrina's devastating tear through the Gulf states, the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity convened a hearing on emergency housing needs in the storm's wake. NAHB president Dave...

Storm, stress, strength: recovery and rebuilding after hurricanes Katrina and Rita will take time and determination, but the NAHB is committed to the cause.(FROM THE PRESIDENT)
November 1, 2005... LIKE ALL AMERICANS, MEMBERS OF THE NAHB watched in shock and dismay as the tragic events surrounding Hurricane Katrina unfolded. Then, less than a month later, Hurricane Rita rolled into the Gulf Coast, causing even more damage in Louisiana and...

A delicate balance: the Federal Reserve is wary of the housing boom's financial implications for the nation and is taking deliberate steps to address the issue.(SEIDERS ECONOMY )
November 1, 2005... FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN ALAN GREENSPAN recently characterized the current housing boom as one of America's "economic imbalances," putting it in the same league as the nation's current huge account deficit--the measure of the amount of foreign...

Partial reform.(NAHB BRIEFS)
November 1, 2005... In late September, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation incorporating many reforms to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). At press time, the Senate had not introduced com panion legislation. Among other provisions, H.R. 3824, the...

A path to building knowledge: an online technical resource has been revamped to offer greater usability and better design.(THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER CORNER)
November 1, 2005... BUILDERS SEARCHING FOR practical, "soup-to-nuts" information on innovative construction products and practices now have a better place to go. The PATH Technology Inventory; the building industry's online resource for reliable information on...

Bye-bye birdie?(cactus ferruginous pygmy owl removed from endangered species)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Two years after a federal court ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (FWS) listing of the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl under the Endangered Species Act was illegal, the FWS has proposed removing the bird from the endangered species...

Healthy homes, healthy profits.(sustainable building designs)
November 1, 2005... A decade after launching as a regional initiative, the Health House program administered by the American Lung Association promotes better (and more profitable) building practices coast to coast. Bob Moffitt calls it "green-streaming," the...

Rebuilding Dixie: battered in Bayou le Batre, swept away in Biloxi, submerged in New Orleans, and swamped by a tidal wave of evacuees in Baton Rouge, Gulf Coast builders are facing the challenge of a lifetime. Builder contributing editor Ted Cushman visited the region to see how they're faring.(storm damage )
November 1, 2005... AS IT BURST ON SHORE OVER the beaches and bayous of the Mississippi Delta region, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes and businesses of home builders, their subcontractors, and their employees, just as it wreaked havoc in every other part of...

Staking a claim: minority and women builders aren't the industry's second-class citizens anymore.
November 1, 2005... RANI HONG WAS A HOMELESS 8-year-old girl in India when an American family named Clark adopted her in 1979. One year later, Rani's future husband, Trong Hong, arrived in the United States from Vietnam when he was 9 years old under virtually the...

Hurry, hurry! Step right up! Third installment of a three-parts series: we examine changes in the mortgage industry and what they mean for home builders.
November 1, 2005... Everyone's a winner in the housing game, as low interest rates and creative financing have helped buyers buy more, builders sell more, and investors make more. There are fears, though, that some of the biggest winners--new homeowners--could end...

Pour it on: frosty weather coming? Don't stop that concrete pour: success is all about the mix.
November 1, 2005... WHEN TEMPERATURES dip toward freezing, building officials routinely shut down foundation work or require costly protective measures, including insulating blankets and heated shelters. Residential foundation contractors have long chafed against...

What's new on Builder Online: webcast rich.(MISSING LINKS)
November 1, 2005... BROADBAND CAPACITY -- THE ABILITY OF THE WEB TO DELIVer "rich media"--has expanded to the point that more than 60 percent of households, and an even higher percent of business Internet connections, can deliver Web-based video and audio...

Builder plans: featuring new plans from the nation's leading designers.
November 1, 2005... Spacious Master Suite PLAN: HWB6500001 FIRST FLOOR: 1,569 sq. ft. SECOND FLOOR: 504 sq. ft. TOTAL: 2,073 sq. ft. BONUS SPACE: 320 sq. ft. BEDROOMS: 3 BATHROOMS: 2 1/2 DIMENSIONS: 47'-0" x 55'-0" Craftsman Character PLAN: HWB6500002 SQUARE...

Stairs, molding, and millwork.(home furnishings)
November 1, 2005... What do stairs, molding, and millwork have in common? They represent a prime opportunity to add the focal points and rich, textural elements that give your homes architectural interest and set them apart from the competition. With a focus on...

Fireplaces.(Exhausto equipment and services)
November 1, 2005... Even though we've come a long way from the days when fireplaces were a home's primary source of heat, fireplaces are still almost a requirement of today's homeowners. A glowing fire offers a warmth, beauty, and ambiance that a home's heating...

Not just for highrises and highways: concrete offers benefits in residential construction.
November 1, 2005... When you think of concrete, you usually think of bridges, dams, roads, or highrise buildings. The benefits of concrete for these types of structures are obvious: strength, durability, longevity, and flexibility. So why not also use concrete for...

Myers Park, Charlotte, N.C.(mixed use real estate)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... THE MORE THAN 1,000 ACRES THAT JACK MYERS AMASSED just outside of Charlotte did pretty well for him as a cotton farm, but Myers considered that a temporary use until he could develop the property into something even more profitable: a suburb....