News
News
Remodeling Spending To Tick Up Through Mid-2025
The Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report says things will trend up after a modest downturn
Business
Curbio Joins NAR As New Member Benefits Partner
National Association of Realtors members receive access to the Curbio home improvement platform
NAHB
NAHB Announces Action Plan for Housing Affordability
Six of the proposed 10 action items are important to residential remodelers
Home Improvement
Re-Bath Expands its Reach with New Franchise
The company signs a deal with brothers who are first-time franchisees
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Jobsite Safety
Words to Live By Remodeling contractors should understand the following terms as used in OSHA regulations: Competent person means one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are unsanitary, hazardous or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
Ashes and Opportunity
Cooks become careless in the kitchen; old electrical wiring arcs; wildfires burn out of control. The result is the same: Home fires that can devastate the lives of the residents. Home fire property damage totaled nearly $6 billion in 2003 not including the Southern California wildfires, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
Hiring a Salesperson
Help wanted. Familiarity with residential remodeling required. Excellent compensation. Successful candidates must: In remodeling, you might expect a new salesperson to produce $600,000 dollars in volume in the first year. Ultimately this salesperson could sell $1.5 million annually, depending on the type of products and services offered.
Operation Co-op
Every remodeler knows that having a healthy relationship with the customer is the most important element to the long-term success of their business. That's why I was very surprised to learn that so many remodelers have little or no relationship with the building product manufacturers that could and should be the second-most important priority to them.
Building Team Communication
To achieve excellence within our companies' cultures, leaders must work hard at keeping healthy relationships. Our communication skills must be a strength, not a weakness. It takes time, energy and effort, but it pays big returns by producing better results and deeply enriched relationships. It's a double win.
Getting the Most Out of Microsoft
Think back to when you started your business. One of the first things you did was to develop a set of basic forms, contracts and letterhead. These sales lead forms, customer surveys, proposal templates, invoices and purchase orders have been reused hundreds, if not thousands, of times. They have become not only an essential part of how you conduct business but also the basis for one of your mos...
Making Sausage
Part 8 of a Series on Benchmarking Last month we talked about the first three steps in setting a gross profit target. Now comes the part where we run the numbers from steps one, two and three through the grinder.
Outdoor Living
American homeowners have rediscovered the pleasures of the great outdoors, and this has meant a boom in the exterior remodeling market and a great increase in the options available in decking materials, furnishings and everything in between. The term "outdoor rooms" has become used to describe this consumer trend toward adding backyard living space with all the amenities and conveni...
Downtown Rising
From Minneapolis to Memphis, Tenn.; Philadelphia to Phoenix; and Evanston, Ill. to Evansville, Ind., cities are developing expansive plans to bring more housing to downtowns and urban centers, bolstered by a growing crop of candidates for whom condo, loft or apartment living makes good sense. David A.
Outer Space
Located in an exclusive golf course community in Jupiter, Fla., this 4,000-square-foot home had "a plain vanilla exterior with a lack of detail," says remodeler John Dennis McDonald. "The owners wanted something dramatic." Key to the project was taking advantage of the potential vista — a lake and a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course.