Professional Builder (1993) articles from April 2005

Professional Builder (1993) archives from April 2005

How to Win the War for Talent.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... By Scott Petty Part 1: Talent Acquisition While many homebuilding executives cite entitled land as their greatest long-term barrier to growth, their number one short-term constraint is talent. At all staffing levels, be it a new...

Running for Long-Term Success.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Pulte is named top in dollar volume due to its consumer segmentation model as well as its repeat referral rate. In 1950, Bill Pulte built his first five-room home in Detroit and sold it for $10,000. Six...

Data Mining.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)(residential real estate)
April 1, 2005... H. McCune April has an odd feel in our office. We're all a bit like children at the holidays, excitedly anticipating something new. Our package doesn't arrive in a box with ribbon or a basket with a bow, though there is certainly plenty of...

Alside Windows.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... Jeff Simler, Executive Vice President, South Russell, Ohio www.alside.com Alside's Performance Series(TM) new-construction, vinyl windows combine both style and craftsmanship in an energy-efficient and maintenance-free window. These...

Alside Siding.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... Jeff Simler, Executive Vice President, South Russell, Ohio www.alside.com Alside's durable, weather-resistant vinyl siding won't warp, split, rot or dent, so there are no costly repairs. Color goes clear through the panel, so it never...

Mohawk Carpet.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... Jeff Simler, Executive Vice President, South Russell, Ohio www.mohawkcarpet.com Mohawk offers a complete selection of broadloom carpet, ceramic tile, wood, stone, laminate, vinyl, rugs and other home products. These products are...

Carrier Furnace and Air Conditioning Systems.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... Jeff Simler, Executive Vice President, South Russell, Ohio www.carrier.com From furnaces to central air conditioners, heat pumps to air filters, Carrier can provide builders with a full range of heating and air conditioning products....

KraftMaid Cabinetry.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... Jeff Simler, Executive Vice President, South Russell, Ohio www.kraftmaid.com KraftMaid offers more than 125 door styles in seven wood species, plus a variety of laminates and 34 furniture finishes. Add to all that a wide array of...

GIANTS Steer toward Beauty and the Beach.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... By John Burns, John Burns Real Estate Consulting Featured Major Market: Los Angeles If you don't build it, they will come anyway. If you are dealing with government agencies or citizens groups who believe that if they don't build the...

Jobsite Safety.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)(construction industry)
April 1, 2005... By Michael Dickens, BuildIQ A safe jobsite takes more than just policy. Builders must be prepared with a process that trains, reinforces, and accounts for the right practices. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)...

Gone Fishin'.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)(construction industry)
April 1, 2005... By Rick Heaston, Contributing Editor It's a busy Saturday afternoon and one of your sales associates has just finished working with a customer. By chance you overhear the customer whispering to her friend, "I don't care how much it costs,...

Upside Down Marketing.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... By John Rymer For most home builders, marketing meetings begin with an ad agency presenting new concepts for newspaper ads, magazine ads or maybe an outdoor billboard campaign. Chances are most of the meeting is spent discussing various...

Virtual Realty.(SUPPLEMENT: GIANTS)
April 1, 2005... By Blair Kuhnen, Contributing Editor Video and Virtual Reality Becoming Standard Practice for Builders Broadband's growing dominance is giving builders more options for demonstrating their products to online audiences. According to...

Power to the People!
April 1, 2005... By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor The 50 Best Companies To Work For have learned to delight all their customers, including internal customers we call employees, by walking the talk. Whoever said charity begins at home was one-upped last...

The Job Offer.
April 1, 2005... By Rodney Hall, The Talon Group Composing the perfect job offer letter takes thought and preparation -- much like the sale of a new home. The Job Offer Letter. In its simplest sense, the template for a job offer letter might be...

Financial Management - Part 3.
April 1, 2005... By Mike Benshoof, SMA Consulting Solid, simple financial management takes the mystery out of running your business. In Financial Management - Part 1, we discussed the importance of setting up a solid accounting system to accurately...

Can't Buy Me Love!(Are customer satisfaction ratings for sale?)
April 1, 2005... By Scott Sedam Are customer satisfaction ratings for sale? Imagine with me, for a moment, if Paul Tagliabue, Commissioner of the National Football League, were to receive a letter like this from an upset Detroit Lions fan*: Dear...

Building Science: Understanding Air Flow.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Stan Gatland, Manager, Building Science Delivering a home that meets buyer expectations for comfort starts with building science. As reported in the January 2005 issue of PB , building science is a systems approach to home building...

Gone Fishin'.(marketing homes)
April 1, 2005... By Rick Heaston, Contributing Editor It's a busy Saturday afternoon and one of your sales associates has just finished working with a customer. By chance you overhear the customer whispering to her friend, "I don't care how much it costs,...

Reinventing Tradition.
April 1, 2005... By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor A builder's leap of faith into New Urbanism produces a richly detailed Southern Classical Revival and an upmarket jewel along the Virginia coast. Accustomed to building a handful of homes each year topping...

2004 Housing GIANTS Rising Tide.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Our 38th Giant 400 Report shows housing's long expansion is 12 years old and still going strong. If you're searching for melancholy, look up one of the Giant 400 home builders who sold his company two or...

Shooting Stars.(top five builders burst into brilliance with combined revenues nearly equal to those of the next 20 builders)
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor The top five builders burst into brilliance as Supernovas , dominating the housing universe with combined revenues nearly equal to those of the next 20 builders. Two years ago, we started dividing our GIANT...

Finding New Roles.(Largest builders are searching for new products and other revenue streams to keep growing)
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Largest builders are searching for new products and other revenue streams to keep growing. It's easy to see from the chart on this page that most GIANTS still build predominantly single-family detached...

Private Builders Ascending?
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Fast-growing public builders grab all the headlines, but private companies may be better positioned for challenges and opportunities ahead. If you still have your 2004 GIANTS poster on the wall, put this...

Publics Set Profit Benchmarks.
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Many private builders dispute that public companies have an advantage in profitability, but (for now) the numbers are hard to dismiss. The cost and profit data PB collects for the GIANTS Report each year...

GIANT Killers.
April 1, 2005... By Patrick O'Toole, Senior Editor How small local builders in big markets give GIANTS a run for their money The prediction is that home building soon will be dominated by the biggest of the big. The theory goes that the billion-dollar...

Desert Beauty.(house design)(T.W. Lewis and Sunbelt Holdings design new community)
April 1, 2005... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor A touch of Spanish colonial, ranch territorial and Tuscan influences pull this house together with the option of a basement...in Arizona? West of the Agua Fria River, in part of Phoenix's West Valley,...

Lennar takes it all.
April 1, 2005... Staff The world-famous Marine Air Station, El Toro, had four parcels up for auction. In February, Lennar Corporation came in with the highest bid on all four. With Orange County known as a land-limited area for building, the auction...

Mixed-Use in Your Future?(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor At the recent Midwest Builders Show in Chicago, Norman W. Nagel, CPA, a partner with Warady & Davis LLP, told a builder audience the scarcity and price of land, and difficulty getting entitlements, are factors...

Landing an Award.(Seniors Housing Council of the National Association of Home Builders )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Jan Mitchell, Contributing Editor Seniors Housing Council presents "Best of Seniors Housing Design" awards The influx of baby boomers into retirement age is making senior housing one of the biggest market segments in the industry....

Tool Chest for Marketers.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
April 1, 2005... By Jan Mitchell, Contributing Editor A new book from marketing communications agency Partners+Simons is a must-read for marketing professionals wanting to grow their brand and drive demand. The firm's Marketing Tool Chest: Developing Brand...

Web Site Check-up.(DiscoverTec LLC)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Jan Mitchell, Contributing Editor Florida technology services company, DiscoverTec LLC, specializes in Web site design, hosting and maintenance. The firm, through its director of Web development Jesse McKay, recently shared its...

Understanding TMDL Compliance.(Total Maximum Daily Load)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor To help builders comply with the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program established under the Clean Water Act, the NAHB has posted a 32-page TMDL Tool Kit on its Web site. The tool kit -- available as a free...

Nominate a Landscape Architect.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor April is National Landscape Architecture month -- a fitting time to draw attention to the importance of home builders to the American Society of Landscape Architects, and a new opportunity involving the...

Subsidizing Sprawl?(money report )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bob Sperber, Senior Editor Report Blasts Michigan Land Use The Michigan Land Use Institute's Follow The Money report blasts decades of "profoundly misguided" state policies in Michigan that amount to "subsidizing sprawl" while...

Second Home Purchases for Investment are on the Rise.
April 1, 2005... Staff A National Association of Realtors' (NAR) study of second home purchases recently revealed a wave of new speculators in the real estate market. With investment home sales making up 23% of the real estate market, homebuyers are...

Wood University Attend Online.(American Institute of Building Designers )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson, Staff Editor Wood University, the free online education portal of the APA-The Engineered Wood Association, now offers a course on building structurally sound wood-framed structures. WU 201: Design of Wood Connections is...

Steeling Home.(wood vs steel)
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson, Staff Editor An innovative solution for an age-old quandary Many a builder has faced the quandary of building homes with steel, which can be costly but more consistent or building with wood, which can warp and be...

Handcrafted sinks.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Mother Nature's influence has become increasingly prevalent in all areas of the house. "Consumers increasingly want to surround themselves with products that create an emotional connection and...

Stainless steel features.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor With roughly 85 percent of all high-end residential kitchens containing stainless steel appliances, it only makes sense to add stainless steel accents. Star Stainless Design is a leading-edge Ottawa-based...

Fun with designing a door.(www.architecturaltraditions.com)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Laura Butalla, Senior Editor Architectural Traditions -- designers and manufacturers of crafted doors, windows and hardware -- created a program on its website where builders and consumers alike can design doors specific to the house...

Top 10 Things to Ask in Interviews.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor The Sharrow Group, a Rochester, N.Y.-based executive search firm specializing in the housing industry, has created a quick checklist of questions a builder should ask prospective management hires during...

Home Ownership Gaps Signal Untapped Minority Market.
April 1, 2005... By Bill Lurz, Senior Editor Recent research at the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California shows persistent racial gaps in U.S. home ownership rates. However, that bad news has a good side: there's an untapped...

PATH Tutorial Townhouses.
April 1, 2005... By Lauren Forgacs, PATH Partners Twin townhouses teach builders technologies and techniques. Build a home -- start to finish -- in three weeks, and complete the site work in just six days? This was just one of several challenges for...

Changing Alliances.(in real estate)
April 1, 2005... Heather McCune, Editor-in-Chief Sitting in the audience at a recent real estate forecast meeting, one of the speakers offered this insight: "The lack of prime terra firma on which to build and develop is one of the biggest problems...

Bosch.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Bosch Aquastar 250SX joins Bosch's family of tankless water heaters. The 250SX can supply hot water for two major applications simultaneously. This direct-vent, room-sealed combustion water heater can be installed...

W.A.C. Lighting.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson W.A.C.'s new die cast aluminum, 12v recessed luminaries, Precision Recessed Downlights, are offered in brushed nickel, black, white and polished brass finishes. These low voltage lights come in a range of 3-inch and...

Pella.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Pella's new and improved Designers Series features window fashions--blinds, cellular shades and unfinished wood grilles -- that are installed between two panes of glass. The homeowner can change these...

Bellissimo.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson These switch plates, outlet covers and knobs are designed to complement the natural stone and granite used in today's kitchen and bath design. These accent pieces put the finishing touches on the design and give a...

Hy-Lite.(Brief Article)
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Hy-Lite's acrylic blocks can be used to create block panel walls for bathrooms, section dividers or a custom project. Hy-Lite's assortment of accessories: round caps, flat caps, 45-90 degree corner caps, aluminum mulls,...

HANDy Paint Pail.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The new Paint Pail Pro-Series is designed for jobs that require more paint than the smaller Handy Paint Pail. It can hold 4-inch brushes and mini rollers and a half gallon of paint. The soft, plastic grip is wide and...

Handi-Foam.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Fomo's new Handi-Foam One Component Sealant is designed to minimize a home's energy loss. This sealant will expand and conform to any shape gap/opening to create a tight seal. Handi-Foam is suited for filling small cracks...

Weathershield.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Aluminum Clad Full Radius Door is made out of extruded aluminum clad. The .060C extruded aluminum clad requires minimum maintenance, resistant to denting and the effects of the elements and is reinforced with a .125C...

Wrap N' Snap.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson This column wrap makes finishing columns a snap. The Wrap N' Snap is formed from 8.5 or 10 inch sheets of Cellular PVC (polyvinyl chloride) with three V-grooves, temporary tape backing and a snap closure. The column wrap...

Sharp.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Insight Pro Microwave Drawer, model KB-6015K is a 30-inch wide stand-alone microwave drawer. This microwave can be installed beneath the countertop and is ideal for open-plan kitchens, islands and tight spaces. It is...

Jeld-Wen.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Rockport Door is a five-panel molded door. Reminiscent of architectural styles from the 1920s and 1930s with its classic beaded sticking style. The molded interior door technology gives it an authentic solid wood...

Pro-Vent.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Code Box is Pro-Vent's new all in one solution for secure jobsite document management. This lockable, weatherproof container holds your plans, permit and inspection receipts. It also comes with the address numbers to...

SoftPlan.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson This Architectural Design Software was created for the design of residential buildings. SoftPlan creates accurate working drawings by incorporating engineering data, local and personal building standards. The software is...

Lincoln.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Lincoln is upgrading its aluminum clad wood swing door with a mid-rail half panel design. This patio door upgrade is offered with six standard mid-rail and insulated options. Choose from a 4A3/4-inch or 6A3/4-inch...

Lasco.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Lasco's Euro Styling I & II Series are available in bypass and swing styles. These A--inch thick frameless shower doors bring the modern, sleek look from Europe to our shores. Both lines come with shower Doors that have a...

PAM Fastening FG-12.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson This lightweight autofeed screw gun tool is ideal for use with drywall and dens glass applications. The FG-12 weighs 4 lbs. and is 16.5 inches in length with a RPM of 4000. This fastener has tool-less countersink...

Kwikset.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Ultramax Signature line offers four new handleset designs: Amherst, Hawthorne, Shelburne and Wellington. These new designs add a warm welcoming look to the home's exterior. These designs cover the design spectrum with...

Energy Block.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson This foam-based insulation helps seal off air leakage around electrical outlets. Energy Block conserves energy by preventing air infiltration in both directions. It is molded to fit around standard electrical boxes and is...

Armourwood.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson Fletcher Wood Solution's Armourwood is an EPA-approved real wood product. Pressure-treated with an organic biocide formula, Armourwood is a preventative to infestation by fungi and wood-destroying borers and termites. The...

Marvin Windows.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Venting Picture Window provides the large picture window views that homeowners want with the cross ventilation they need. There is a screened in sash, which opens 2A- inch, giving the homeowner fresh air, security and...

Pass & Seymour/Legrand.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The TradeMaster Decorator Momentary Contact Switches provides a safe means for operating garbage disposals. The single-pole switches feature an external screw-pressure-plate back-wiring, which simplifies the installation...

Johnny Lift.
April 1, 2005... By Rhonda Jackson The Johnny Lift is a frame-mounted jack that can be used to transport and elevate the toilet into position for installation. This 23-pound jack works on floor and wall mounted toilets. The Johnny Lift operates by lifting...

Job Site-Finished, Hardwood Flooring.
April 1, 2005... George Geiger, President, Residential, Indianapolis, Ind. Most builders, architects and flooring professionals agree that solid hardwoods like oak, ash, maple and cherry add beauty to a home. In addition, unfinished floors allow the...

Granite Kitchen Countertops.
April 1, 2005... George Geiger, President, Residential, Indianapolis, Ind. When it comes to the preferred choice for a kitchen countertop, granite reigns supreme. The cost is now comparable to solid surface materials, putting it within the reach of most...

Andersen Vinyl Clad Low E Glass Windows.
April 1, 2005... George Geiger, President, Residential, Indianapolis, Ind. www.andersenwindows.com Andersen Windows' 400 Series includes a complete range of windows and patio doors including tilt-wash double-hung windows, Perma-Shield casement windows,...

Custom Made Exterior Shutters made of Azek.
April 1, 2005... George Geiger, President, Residential, Indianapolis, Ind. www.azek.com Since the mid-1980s, Vycom, the parent company of Azek Trimboard, has manufactured cellular PVC. A product initially designed to weather the outdoors as a sign and...

Solid Wood Front Entry Doors from Carter Lee Lumber.
April 1, 2005... George Geiger, President, Residential, Indianapolis, Ind. www.carterlee.com Carter Lee Lumber makes a 2 1/4-inch thick, Brazilian front-entry system that demonstrates the best of Old World craftsmanship. The mahogany does not rot,...