Business
Business
Advice from industry experts for how to run your business, based on the real-world experience of your peers.
HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge Announces Forthcoming Resignation
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge has said that she intends to leave office later this month
Custom Builder
Why Start a Custom Building Business?
In this Taking Care of Business segment, expert coach and trainer Scott Beebe joins our host Duane Johns to talk about where custom builders could be getting off on the wrong foot
Business
Custom Builder to Talk Color Design with Becki Owens at IBS
At this year's IBS, renowned designer Becki Owens will sit down with host James McClister, editor of Custom Builder, to discuss a variety of topics from basic color play in design to the Allura Spectrum palette, a collection of Sherwin-Williams colors curated for the benefit of pros
Business
PERC Highlights Sustainability and Efficiency at IBS with 'Clean Build Conversations'
Hear from industry standouts Matt Blashaw and Anthony Carrino at this hour-long Show Village event
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Building Materials
Asian-Inspired Garage Door
Clopay Building Products introduces its new Avante Collection of garage doors. "This door was exclusively available for commercial use, but we saw an opportunity for a residential application to meet the needs of design-conscious homeowners seeking urban accents for modern homes," says Pat Lohse, director of residential marketing for Clopay.
Design
C2C Home Competition Winners
The Council of Community Services and the Art Museum of Western Virginia hosted some of the world's top leaders in design, housing and sustainable development on January 14 for the Cradle to Cradle Housing Design and Construction Competition. A team of international jurors reviewed more than 625 submissions.
Leadership
More on Moisture Management
"Concrete Floors and Moisture," a new 164-page book from the Portland Cement Association, explores ways to present unwanted moisture in concrete floors. Problems from excessive moisture include deterioration and debonding of floor coverings, trip-and-fall hazards, microbial growth, staining and the breakdown of building finishes.
Leadership
2005 Forecast Sunny, Not Record-breaking
Predicting the Future is tricky business. Last year, housing experts uniformly predicted that home building would come off its hot streak, but record results proved them wrong. Now they agree that decline will come this year. According to the NAHB, 2005 will show a modest decline in total housing starts from 1.
Construction
Revisiting an Overlooked Parcel
In Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., Discovery Cove at Half Moon Bay sits on 12 acres of highly desirable riverfront, just steps from a boat marina and near the commuter rail into New York. But the site sat dormant for roughly 20 years before WCI Northeast U.S. stepped in to build 154 attached homes there. Why? "For years, complications made this land not worth developing," says Gabe Pasquale, vice presi...
Construction
Turtle Crossing in Warwick Grove
It pays to protect the environment. The Warwick Grove master plan in Warwick, N.Y., boasts a diversity of wildlife, including federally protected bog turtles that roam the marshy outskirts. When the state of New York requested developer-builder LeylandAlliance protect the slow-moving but wide-ranging amphibians, the company called upon Michael Klemens, Ph.
Leadership
Pampering the Press
At a recent groundbreaking ceremony, Paramount Homes, Asbury Park, N. J., gave press members something they could really work with — clipboards emblazoned with the builder/developer's new community logo and phone number. This take-home gift not only served as a handy way to take notes and quotes during the event, but also reminded reporters of the community and contact number long afterwa...
Marketing & Sales
Sizzling Sales for 2005
At this year's International Builders' Show in Orlando, national sales trainer Bonnie Alfriend, MIRM, president of Alfriend Sales and Marketing Solutions, Pebble Beach, Calif., presented advice for putting sizzle back into selling in 2005. Titled "105 Ideas for the Year 2005," her seminar included the following tips: When relying on technology to communicate, don't forget the personal touch.
Marketing & Sales
Selling Energy Efficiency
Fifty members of Connecticut's home building industry attended a pilot event in November to learn how to sell homes with the ENERGY STAR® rating, how to approach customers about building an energy-efficient home and how building energy efficient homes can increase their sales. Sponsored by United Illuminating Company, a Connecticut utility company, lighting retailers and manufacturers who'...
Leadership
'Golden Handcuffs' For Supers
Construction superintendent is arguably the most important management position in a home building company. After all, this front-line manager has responsibility for the quality of the delivered product and controls direct construction costs that represent 50 percent of the selling price. Yet many builders struggle to keep supers from job-hopping around the local market.