PR October 2007
Features
Joining a professional local and national association can be the start of great things for your company. With all the valuable contacts, classes, forms and staff available to members, you instantly have an edge over the other remodelers and builders who are not members.
Every remodeler takes a different approach to managing the design process. So is it really all that surprising when two similar jobs in two similar markets handled by two different remodelers end up with drastically different profits? Catering to the same type of customer doesn't guarantee ending up with the same type of business success.
I have never been more proud of my daughter, Jackie, than when she joined her high school Key Club freshman year and made it a priority in her life to give back to her community through personal service. To put this in perspective, Jackie has always given me plenty of reasons to be proud. She is an A-average honor student (13th in her class of over 600); a talented and committed athlete; and a ...
Your clients may not see insulation, but they sure feel it. In this age of energy efficiency, more customers are demanding better insulated homes. Heating and cooling costs comprise more than 50 percent of the energy consumed in a single-family home. Adding the recommended levels of insulation will save energy, reduce utility costs and improve comfort.
Whether it's fate or chance, sometimes things just seem to work themselves out. For Gardner/Fox Associates, one of the largest design/build remodelers in the country, the fact that the company's three principals came together from different backgrounds has been the key to the company's success. "The best thing that ever happened to us was partnering up," says Mark Fox, the Bryn Mawr, Pa.
The remodeling industry is often portrayed as a bunch of criminals preying on unsuspecting homeowners. While the industry certainly has its share of miscreants, the truth is a lot of remodelers spend a good portion of their time giving back to the industry and community.
Modern materials and an improved layout transforms the generic “finished” basement in this home in Potomac, Md., into a more exciting and efficiently-planned space that brings the homeowners recreational opportunities to a whole new level. Their new amenities include a home theater, a computer center and a climate-controlled wine cellar.
The Berk home remodel would have raised red flags for some contractors. Crane Builders saw flags waving but, to David Crane and his team, those flags looked decidedly green. Crane knew this would be no routine project. Jim and Amy Berk wanted to transform their 1,200 square-foot walkout basement — unfinished except for a small, never-used den — into a high-tech theater room and a luxurious entertainment space.
If you have a Trade Secret you would like to share, e-mail Senior Editor Jonathan Sweet at jonathan.sweet@reedbusiness.com.
New product showcase plus home automation systems and insulation and structural products
How your employees and subcontractors behave on a job site can be a deal-breaker or maker for future business. Jud: First of all I want to start out by asking: Where does job site etiquette start, in your opinions? Tom, go ahead. Tom: Job site etiquette starts with me! In how our values and culture trickle down to our employees.