Table of Contents August 2005

Features

• Then + Now

  Twenty years ago, the remodeling world was very different from what it is today —so was the rest of the world. Join us in comparing trends and prices of today with those of 1985, when the magazine began.

   

• Consolidation: Coming Soon

  There are hurdles to overcome, but most remodelers believe that consolidation will happen in the remodeling industry.

   
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  The Design Charrette

  REMODELING asked three architects to design a remodel for a house plan from 1985 not only to suit the needs of a specific family, but to also incorporate features based on the wants and needs of today's customers.

   
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  Product Evolution

  We've seen significant changes and advances in products used in the remodeling industry during the past 20 years. Here's a look at the most remarkable transformations.

   
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  The Next Big Thing

  Solutions to the labor crisis? New approaches to design? Experts from the worlds of construction, design, demographics, and management forecast hotspots on the road ahead.

   

• Industry Milestones

  The remodeling industry has come a long way in the last 20 years. A convergence of opportunities and challenges has made remodelers more professional, respected — and pressured.

   

• Anniversary Issue

  An anniversary deserves a celebration, and REMODELING is no exception. This is the magazine's 20th year, and we've put together this special anniversary issue to commemorate the event.

   

Reader Panel

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  Reader Panel: Two Decades of Change

  More than half of the respondents for this Reader Panel have been in the remodeling business for over 16 years. They have seen a lot of changes, some incremental but others revolutionary in ways that led them to alter their business strategies.

   

Other Articles

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  The Design Charrette

  REMODELING asked three architects to design a remodel for a house plan from 1985 not only to suit the needs of a specific family, but to also incorporate features based on the wants and needs of today's customers.

   

• Industry Milestones

  The remodeling industry has come a long way in the last 20 years. A convergence of opportunities and challenges has made remodelers more professional, respected — and pressured.

   

View Point

• Birthday Bash

  Anniversaries are happy occasions when we get to look back at the progress we've made. The bulk of this issue does just that, with a series of features that look at how far the industry has come in the 20 years we have been publishing this magazine, and where it seems to be going. It's a pretty...

   

Commentary

Linda Case

• Gold on the Mountain

  My assignment for this very special issue of REMODELING was to contrast some aspect of “then” (20 years ago) and “now” in the world of remodeling. It took some mental digging to find the gold, but it's summed up in the phrase “doing well by doing good.”

   

Walt Stoeppelwerth

• Summing It Up

  My first column ran in the first issue of Remodeling World back in May of 1985 (the name was shortened to REMODELING with the third issue).

   

Your Business

Ways + Means

• Getting Things Done

  For many of us it's not the lack of good ideas or good intentions that holds us back from success, it's the lack of execution.

   

• REMODELING BRIEFS

   

• Checking It Twice

  To further the company's goal of zero-defect remodeling, Jerome Quinn and his staff at Sawhorse in Atlanta developed a series of checklists, basically for trade subcontractors, to tighten quality control.

   
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  No Reservations

  The war on terrorism has affected and will continue to affect the lives of Americans in many different ways. As a business owner, Dan Weidmann has felt the effects firsthand. In January 2003, after a week's notice, his purchasing manager, Kris Marshall, a captain in the National Guard, was deployed...

   

Bottom Line

• Painting for Profit

  Four years ago, Columbia, Mo., contractor Dan Kliethermes increased his marketing spending from 1% to 2% of the company's sales volume to 4% to 5%. This helped increase sales volume from $600,000 to almost $1.5 million, with the company doing more and larger jobs.

   

• Customizing Your Quickbooks Invoice

  One of the jobs of a QuickBooks professional adviser is to help users print invoices that both satisfy the firm's requirements for accurate record-keeping and present a clear and visually appealing document to clients.

   

Sales + Marketing

• Don't Return to Sender

  Direct mail is the strongest weapon in many remodelers' marketing arsenals. But no postcard or newsletter is worth the paper it's printed on unless it reaches the right people. “The most important thing in any direct mail campaign is the list,” says David Alpert of Continuum Marketing Group.

   

• HGTV Goes Pro

  Launched in January, the online network brings the same kind of how-to and case-study ideas to remodelers and other construction professionals that HGTV's popular TV shows and Web sites deliver to consumers.

   

• Controlling the Sales Call

  When the prospect controls the conversation, he or she is more likely to end it with a “We want to think it over,” or “Call us next week sometime.” Similarly, without probing deeper, you may not know what he's really looking for. “You can only answer the content of the questions, not the intent,”...

   

• Fast Cars, Deep Bonds

  When is a hobby also a backup career option and, quite literally, a marketing vehicle? For remodeler Dale Ressler, the answer is every other weekend during the warm months.

   

Field Notes

• Stepping Stone to OSHA Reform

  The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) applauds the passage of four bills in the U.S. House of Representatives. It says the four bills will help enhance worker safety, advance housing affordability, and improve the enforcement of OSHA's rules and regulations among small-business owners.

   

• In-House Training Advantage

  A Tampa, Fla., painting contractor is reaping the benefits of a new in-house training program. Instruction at Specialized Painting Services includes proper painting techniques, Spanish or English classes, computer training, and customer service skills.

   

• Safety Glasses

  Instead of safety glasses that are shaped like regular glasses, these shields attach to a hardhat. The protective lens can be lowered or raised under the brim of the hat.

   

By Design

• Which Web Sites Help Inform Your Design?

  A quick straw poll shows that designers are using the Web more for research than for inspiration. “We use lots of weird and different products,” says remodeler Debra Moore in Ann Arbor, Mich., “so I Google them.

   

• Research Help for Design

  Even the simplest design has an underlying complexity, forcing a designer to find answers to difficult questions: Who am I designing for? What are their needs? How will my design improve their lives? Talking to clients is one way to get answers, but so is research — which will help you form better...

   

Tech@Work

• You're Not Done Yet

  Just like a customer in week seven of a six-week kitchen remodel, the desire to be “done” with a technology project can be so overwhelming that you back off the throttle when you're only halfway down the runway.

   

• SharePoint and Beyond

  David Merrick wanted a way to be more organized and began using Microsoft SharePoint Services, a component of the Windows 2003 Small Business Server.

   

Big50

Close Up

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  Big50: Looking Back

  The Big50 is a remodeling business excellence award for best practices. Every May, REMODELING inducts 50 new companies who have set the standard for professionalism and integrity through smart marketing, exemplary business practices, unique design, and extraordinary impact on their community or the...