Professional Builder (1993) articles from April 2004

Professional Builder (1993) archives from April 2004

Managing the mix.(Perspective)
April 1, 2004... The data in our annual GIANTS issue overwhelm the senses. Chart after chart, table upon table, and more metrics to measure your business' performance than you can find anywhere else. Digging in requires courage; passing it by risks much more....

Woodside Glen.(Plans and Projects)
April 1, 2004... It's the typical builder story: Find a great piece of land, spot a market segment to which nobody else delivers and pick the right product. Easy, right? Not when NIMBY neighbors get involved. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Opportunities ...

Upper Albany.(Plans and Projects)
April 1, 2004... M/I Homes turned an advantageous land buy only a stone's throw from its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, into the top-selling community in central Ohio. Upper Albany, a TND project featuring an eye-opening "carriage home" product line, garnered...

Kensington Woods.(Plans and Projects)
April 1, 2004... When a landowner's plan to develop a New Rochelle, N.Y., estate fell through, Ginsburg Development Corp. bought the 17-acre site and revised the plan to bring Kensington Woods to reality. The result: an empty-nester enclave of 52 luxury homes....

Design sketchbook: master baths; Pitfalls to avoid when designing an extravagant master bath.(Plans and Projects)
April 1, 2004... It's not unusual to allot more square footage to a master bathroom than to the bedroom itself. Those involved with the custom home business for the past 15 years undoubtedly have seen and built extravagant master baths that include see-through...

What do you believe?(Lessons Learned)
April 1, 2004... A long, long time ago as an undergraduate at Miami University (the original one by 116 years, the one where athletes actually attend classes, the one in Ohio), I had an excellent political science professor of some renown named Mustafa Rejai....

Let orientation ease transitions.(The H.R. Dept.)
April 1, 2004... A smooth, successful transition from one employee to the next requires a thorough, thoughtful orientation for the new hire. Affirm the new employee's decision to join your firm and sustain his or her excitement for what's ahead. Think back...

Watch bottom line, not the top.(Bottom-Line Building)
April 1, 2004... Know your strength. To maintain competitive strength, you first must understand yourself and your company well enough to identify that strength--and where weaknesses lie. That requires analyzing yourself and where you're heading. You must...

Can you relate?(Customer Satisfaction)
April 1, 2004... Most companies we encounter overlook relationship value, the measurable things a company does to create "likability" between its employees and customers. Sure, you tell employees to treat customers with respect, and being personable is...

Estimating -- Parts III and IV.(Learn)
April 1, 2004... The only really accurate estimates take all of a job's bits and pieces into account. But if you do repetitive construction, much of what you do in a detailed estimate is similar, so you can save time by using a series of systems, provided you...

Worlds apart: with consolidation at an all-time peak, corporate conglomerates atop the GIANT 400 operate in a different universe more than ever.(Manage)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2004... We separated our GIANT 400 into revenue categories last year to show just how much these home builders differ from one another. Massive, publicly held powerhouses at the top of the rankings differ from even the big privately held builders, and...

Masterly ambitions: mostly public, Masters of the Universe seek the home building spotlight.(Manage)
April 1, 2004... With the exception of No. 13 Shea Homes, all Masters of the Universe are public companies. That means they want to grow fast and draw Wall Street's attention whenever they have something to brag about, and most of them do. Flush with cash, they...

Rich, Famous ... and growing: private builders can't grow as fast as publics but are posting unprecedented numbers.(Manage)
April 1, 2004... Shea Homes, the largest privately owned home builder and, at No. 13, a Master of the Universe, last year became the first private builder to top $2 billion in annual housing revenue. But we expect No. 22 David Weekley Homes, No. 24 Kimball Hill...

Achievers make big moves: movement in the rankings is one of the few characteristics builders in this segment have in common.(Manage)
April 1, 2004... Four of the six home builders responsible for the biggest upward moves in this year's GIANTS rankings landed in the Achievers section. In all, 96 builders in this segment rose in the rankings, including 20 new GIANTS that skipped right over the...

Not all Strivers chase growth: some of the industry's highest profit margins are recorded here.(Manage)
April 1, 2004... The profit averages in our graphs indicate a direct correlation between size and profitability. That's a myth the public builders try to pass off to investors. Nothing could be further from the truth. Keep in mind that these are averages. ...

Modular homes gain modern acceptance: factory-built housing predicted to grow 1.2% annually through 2005.(Build)
April 1, 2004... Maybe you have seen a portion of a pre-built house moving--hopefully slowly--along a highway to a site that a family will one day call home. It likely was part of a modular home, which offers builders and home buyers advantages about which you...

TND versus the cul-de-sac: people talk about traditional neighborhood design as the best thing since sliced bread, but is it a fad or the new standard?(Special Report)
April 1, 2004... You can't pick up an industry magazine or even a newspaper, it seems, without reading about traditional neighborhood design. It's the topic of seminars at everything from local home builders associations to the International Builders' Show....

Don't paint just by numbers: cost of materials should be merely one factor when evaluating paints and stains.(ProductReport)
April 1, 2004... Frank Marsters can't recall even one customer during his 33 years of custom home building who wanted the details of a paint or stain job, including the brand or number of coats used. Yet while the specifics might not matter to home buyers,...

Resource Materials Corp.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Timbermill wood-grain vinyl siding, made of TempRite CPVC, now comes in timber wolfe (gray) and harvest brown. The CPVC substrate can withstand temperatures as high as 230 degrees without showing adverse effects, the company says. An insulated...

CertainTeed.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Landmark WideTrack QB adds a wider, 1 1/2-inch nailing area to the company's Landmark laminated shingles. Other features include Quadra-Bond adhesive that holds the two-piece shingles together and sealant strips on the back of each shingle....

Astro plastics.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The ASTROpan door- and windowsill pan system channels water outside to limit the risk of rot and mold that can result from water intrusion. The system comes in standard jamb widths of 4 9/16 and 6 9/16 inches and in lengths of 38 1/4 and 74 1/4...

Aristokraft.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Sinclair, which has a 7/16-inch overlay square profile and a solid birch frame and drawer front, is one of the company's two new door styles. Shown with the autumn finish, it's also available in fawn. The Landen style features miter door...

Formica.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The Honed Finish collection of high-pressure laminates features a low-sheen satin finish with clefts and crevices to mimic brushed stone. Shown in Himalayan slate, it also comes in autumn Indian slate, Madras Indian slate, basalt slate, Baltic...

Panasonic.(Products)
April 1, 2004... With low-profile housings 5 1/2 inches deep, WhisperFit ventilation fans are especially suited for small ceiling cavities. An adapter permits the use of 3- or 4-inch duct. Depending on size, the fans move up to 110 cubic feet of air per minute...

L.B. plastics.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Ready-to-assemble PVC gates include adjustable sizes for custom applications. Styles include privacy, semiprivacy, railing picket and ranch, with maximum widths ranging from 4 feet in privacy gates to 6 feet for ranch gates. Most styles come in...

International comfort products.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The Comfortmaker Soft-Sound 1400R split-svstem air conditioner uses R410A refrigerant, which does not emit ozone-depleting chlorines. The 14-SEER unit's fan motor enclosure and compressor sound jacket reduce noise. The control panel's cover...

TimberTech.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The Whitesand ornamental railing system offers a white deck railing made of wood composite materials. Railing kits in 6- and 8-foot sizes include an ornamental top rail with two universal rails for the top and bottom. Baluster kits in the same...

Pittsburgh corning.(Products)
April 1, 2004... The mortarless ProVantage system uses a spacer system and joint finish to make interior and exterior glass block installation easier. It can be used to turn corners, make radius walls and build showers. Spacers align and hold the blocks in...

Style solutions.(Products)
April 1, 2004... Thirty new polyurethane molding profiles range from a 1/4-inch-high chair rail to a one-piece crown dentil exterior molding almost 3 feet high. The additions increase the number of sizes that the company offers in styles such as cove and dentil...

Materials price spikes erode builder margins: and anticipated oil-related increases have yet to hit.(NewstoUse)
April 1, 2004... The prices that many home builders pay for oriented strand board (OSB) structural panels have tripled since fall. The cost of dimensional framing lumber is up more than 37% since April, according to Random Lengths, which tracks lumber prices at...

NAHB backs Tax Credit.(NewstoUse)
April 1, 2004... Now pending in Congress--and funded in the president's budget proposal for the fourth consecutive year--the Homeownership Tax Credit would increase homeownership opportunities for low-and moderate-income families. It would help bridge the gap...

Kitchen convenience in the bath.(NewstoUse_Design)
April 1, 2004... Be it to shampoo hair or clean the sink, the Catalina pullout bathroom faucet from Price Pfister makes each job easier. Users toggle between the concealed spray head's stream and spray options by twisting the aerator whether the pullout is...

Stylish outdoor storage solutions.(NewstoUse_Design)
April 1, 2004... The popularity of outdoor living areas grows each year, especially where nature's elements endanger the products that create the spaces buyers love. In & Out Cabinetry answers the need for products impervious to the elements with two cabinet...

The return of linoleum.(Flooring)
April 1, 2004... Once a kitchen standard, linoleum began losing ground to other flooring types, namely sheet vinyl, in the 1940s. Now linoleum is back, and it's appealing to a new generation of builders and buyers. Colorful and vibrant, linoleum looks much...

Storage units meet Garage Gladiators' needs.(NewstoUst_Build)
April 1, 2004... If husbands' eyes glaze over as their wives select from a dizzying array of cabinets, flooring and plumbing fixtures, some manufacturers suggest that builders have those husbands wait in the garage. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Whirlpool's...

Google update cuts builders' web traffic.(NewstoUse_Sell)
April 1, 2004... Builders who rely on the Internet for leads might not regard the recent update of the Google search engine as an improvement, says Barry Lynn, founder and president of American Home Guides Inc. Many builder Web sites likely appear lower on...

Historic model, modern touches.(NewstoUse_Sell)
April 1, 2004... Mack Bissette, CEO of Atlanta-based Springdale Homes, sister company of SRG Homes and Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Fla., specializes in New Urbanist designs that blend with existing housing. His Gramercy model in Hawthorn Park in historic...

Broker identifies marketing 'blind spot'.(Advertising)(Advertisement)
April 1, 2004... Austin, Texas, real estate broker Stan Barron reached $15 million to $20 million a year in sales in part by specializing in new homes that haven't moved. "Builders who do a great job in construction often have a blind spot when it comes to...

Do failing city schools hurt your markets?(NewstoUse_Manage)
April 1, 2004... With NAHB economist Michael Carliner forecasting an annual net inflow of up to 1.7 million immigrants during the next decade, builders should keep an eye on anything that imperils those newcomers' ability to buy houses. A recent article by...

Women gain ownership ground.(NewstoUse_Manage)
April 1, 2004... If you're the CEO of a growing home building company, you have to be concerned about finding the managers to continue that growth. Here's a tip: Look at the talented women around you. This industry is not the male bastion it once was. ...

Job offers fly at real estate class of 2004.(Staffing)
April 1, 2004... At least in Southern California, this spring seems to be prime shopping season for builders, developers and housing finance firms seeking graduate students steeped in real estate education. University of Southern California professor Peter...

'Overprice' premiums for more profit.(NewstoUse_Land)
April 1, 2004... Whether you're charging a million-dollar premium for a custom home on the ocean or $10,000 for a cul-de-sac production home, that premium could be too low, says Jeff Meyers, CEO of real estate research and consulting firm Meyers Group, based in...

Enforcing design, construction guidelines minimizes conflict.(NewstoUse_Land)
April 1, 2004... High Desert, a community in Albuquerque, N.M., maintains design and building guidelines--and a mechanism for inspection and enforcement of them to reduce conflicts between developer, builder and home buyer. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Highway study could help developers.(Traffic)
April 1, 2004... Traffic can delay or doom a community plan, but a report by the American Highway Users Alliance, "Unclogging America's Arteries: Effective Relief for Highway Bottlenecks (1999-2004)," gives a handy heads-up to developers scouting for...

Peter Katz, a New Urbanism forefather, talks about the move from consultant to practitioner and about lessons learned.(The Last Word)
April 1, 2004... PB: Your name has long been associated with New Urbanism and traditional neighborhood design. How did you become a TND developer? PK: My transformation began when I was invited into a partnership to build a TND community in Iowa City, Iowa,...

Groping to the top.(From the Editor)
April 1, 2004... Groping, according to that master wordsmith Webster, means to feel about blindly or uncertainly; to feel one's way. Few CEOs, and certainly none at the helm of home building production machines, accept this problem-solving mode from their...

Tough times to continue in Dallas-Fort Worth.(Market Intelligence)
April 1, 2004... This month, we feature two dramatically different markets with almost identical home prices, Dallas-Fort Worth and Jack-sonville, Fla. The Dallas-Fort Worth housing market is struggling with low demand and high supply, while demand and supply...

No. 1 and aiming to stay: D.R. Horton reaches the top in dollar volume without losing its intense focus on profit.
April 1, 2004... In 1978, Don Horton waited two hours to ask a banker to back construction of his first home. The banker agreed to the $3,000 loan largely on the strength of Horton's persuasive optimism. "I'm not convinced you know how to build a home," the...

Training pays: asset management must include investing in your most precious resource--your company's talent.(Process Improvement Report)
April 1, 2004... A recent IBM television commercial explored the fantasy of using magic pixie dust to fix damaged servers. Sprinkle pixie dust on crashed servers, and like magic, they work. Use a little dust regularly, and the servers remain operational. ...

Best doughnuts in the world: a traveling salesman who had gotten up early ... to get on the road decided to stop and have something to eat.(Selling Strategies)
April 1, 2004... I spent the entire holiday season reading about selling. In particular, I read everything I could about closing a sale. No other area of selling seems as popular as closing. More words, more pages and more books are dedicated to closing than...

Georgia-pacific.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... Board & Batten vinyl siding has a 7-inch vertical profile to provide emphasis whether the product is used as an accent panel or for full exterior coverage. Other dimensions: .048-inch panel thickness, 5.5-inch face, 1.5-inch batten and .5-inch...

Eemax.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The EX280T2P electric tankless water heater for whole-house applications complements the EX190T as an upgrade for handling multiple showers. Flow activates each heating module in stages-based on hot-water demand, and thermostatic control...

Deca.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Brazilian company is entering the U.S. market with a line of vitreous china and metal kitchen and bath products, including this fireclay washbasin. The basin, which has no visible waste valves, comes in three sizes: 18 X 18 inches, 22 X 18...

Clearwater enviro technologies.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... ScaleBlaster uses a modulating frequency wave form to prevent lime-scale deposits in water pipes, faucets, and sprinkler and irrigation systems without using water-softening equipment, salts, chemicals or maintenance. The noninvasive product...

Elk.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... Prestique Grande laminated shingles have the same random cut design of Prestique 5 5/8-inch shingles and an 8 1/4-inch exposure for greater dimensionality. A 1 1/4-inch nail area and an interply headlap make installation faster and easier, the...

H-P products.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... At 2 1/2 feet tall, 1 foot wide and 22 pounds, the Dirt Devil CV 1800 central vacuum system is designed for homes of up to 2,500 square feet. The system transports all vacuumed dirt, debris and dust through a network of in-wall tubing. The...

Atrium.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Vinyl Series 500, one of the company's three new double-hung windows, features a beveled main frame with an integral J-channel. An integral, pre-punched nailing fin facilitates installation. The window comes standard with a...

GAF.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... Camelot dual-layer shingles are warranted to withstand 110-mph winds. They measure 17X34 1/2-inches and have a 7 1/2-inch exposure. The shingles are Class A fire-rated, include Algae Eater protection and come in six colors: aged oak, antique...

Coleman.(New Products)
April 1, 2004... The Echelon series debuts with 12- and 13-SEER air conditioners and heat pumps. Installer-friendly features include a full end access panel; a sliding, full-access control box; and a factory-installed, solid-core filter dryer. The products come...

Giants by the numbers.(In the News)
April 1, 2004... How do the GIANTS stack up against each other? Which performance measures separate one group from another? Where do opportunities for improvement lie within each organization, within each group? Check out the data below from the 2004 GIANTS and...