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Recent Blog Posts

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Here's Where ProSales 100 Dealers Believe Sales Will Grow Most

The 86 members of this year's ProSales 100 who responded to questions about prospects gave answers that align with what economists are saying. The dealers said new-home builders were most likely to bring them more revenue in 2018, with 82% of respondents expecting that customer segment to grow.

Garage Makeover Projects

Every garage owner knows the luxury of their extra storage space— at least until it becomes full. They soon learn how quickly that luxury can become a burden. Garage clutter isn’t something that happens overnight. It builds slowly, right under your nose until before you know it, you begin to lose...

Inspect Your Roof and Get Ahead of Problems

High winds, water, and age can take a toll on your roof. Therefore, it makes sense that regular inspections are essential for preventative maintenance. Doing so can save you a lot of money, time and frustration down the road. Typically, roofing experts say that a roof should be inspected at least...

Protect Your Jobsite Crews From the Summer Heat

On a jobsite in Kingsville, Texas, in August 2013, a worker was mixing gypsum concrete in preparation for gypcrete installation on an apartment building. It’s not a particularly taxing job, but he was doing it in direct sunlight. “He wasn’t training or doing anything that involved a lot of lifting...

Are You Listening To Your Remodeling Clients?

A recent experience got me thinking about how companies all-too-often fall back on financial incentives when dealing with an unhappy customer, yet totally miss the point and fail to solve the problem. Allow me to explain: I’m a long-time reader of the Chicago Tribune, but a series of delivery...

Where to Start When Restoring a Deck

If you made the decision to restore your deck rather than replace it, then the first thing you want to do is make sure it is structurally sound. If possible, take a look below and ensure that the framing is in good condition. This could mean anything from physical damage to rot. Additionally, make...

Spring Fix-Ups: Creative Ways to light Your Patio

As the temperatures rise, your living space can finally extend to the outdoors once again. As you venture outside and begin your spring cleanup, in addition to taking care of what winter had left behind and making whatever repairs are necessary to your patio, why not take the time to consider...

Siding: Clean, Paint or Replace?

Due to age, environmental conditions or bad weather, the siding we put on our homes will eventually need attention. It’s true that proper maintenance will go a long way in keeping things nice, but the day will come when you pull into your driveway (or company does), and you see that something must...

Plywood vs. OSB: Which is Better

Different lumbers serve different purposes and can be used a variety of ways. For the sake of this writer’s purpose we’re going to focus on two: OSB and Plywood. Both types of wood can be used for walls, floors, and even roofs. This begs the question – which one is better? Keep reading to uncover...

Recessed Kitchen Lighting Reconsidered

Most kitchens are woefully underlit. Lighting is often an afterthought, yet even when it’s carefully planned, designers and lighting experts often don’t agree on which lamps work best in particular fixtures and where those fixtures should be located. In what follows, I’ll look at factors such as...

Insulation Education

Since we all spend most of our time in our homes, it makes sense to want to be as comfortable as possible. Insulation does that, plus it makes this comfort affordable by increasing our home’s energy efficiency. No matter what your choice of material for insulation, they all basically work in the...

Snow Removal Safety Tips

For those who live in the colder climates, snow removal comes with the territory. Unlike mowing the lawn, it’s not the type of job that you can simply get to when it’s most convenient. Often, snow removal is needed at the most un-opportune of times. Usually, it’s when you need to be going to work...

Before Crafting Your 2018 Budget, Ask Yourself These Questions

With the next year coming in just a couple of months, you all are working on your budget for 2018, right? If not, you should be. How can you get where you want to go if you don’t know where you are going? What can make budgeting more compelling is crafting a simple set of understandings as the...

Handle These Five Headaches Before the Remodel

Once your clients hand you a remodeling job, it’s entirely up to you to turn their visions into a reality. Of course, even with the skills and resources you have, it’s not always possible to get started and complete the project at your own pace—sometimes, little headaches pop up that stall your...

7 Innovative Ways to Add Windows into Home Remodels

It helps a living space feel more expansive and can also improve the mood of the occupants.Adding windows or patio doors into a home can be more than just filling a rectangular space with a piece of glass. Check out these 7 innovative ways to add windows and patio doors into your next home...

4 Ways to Exceed Expectations

Many years ago, I began thinking about the subject of exceeding expectations. I would field phone calls from upset clients or listen to team members’ frustrations and I found that most of the time the root of the problem lay in expectations that were set but not met. Because of this dynamic, I...

This Is How You Have a Budget Conversation With Homeowners

Homeowners rarely have an accurate sense of how much their project will cost when they first speak with a remodeler. So you can imagine how important it is to get some information about the homeowner’s willingness and ability to spend before investing 20-plus hours working on designs or estimates....

How, and Why, to Use Geometric Shapes in Your Next Project

Though geometric patterns and shapes have been used in design since antiquity, geometric shapes are trending again in home renovation. The clean lines and bold colors may have something to do with it. Geometric patterns are all over pop culture, and what’s popular cycles in history. From tile to...

Don't Want to Take Small Jobs? You Should. Here's How to Do Them While Keeping the Big Projects

Many remodeling companies and custom home builders have a niche. Some companies love the big jobs. Some prefer more modest work. The one thing that most companies don’t like to deal with are the service jobs, the tiny jobs, that good clients call with. If you don’t want to deal with service jobs,...

How To Choose The Right Type of Fence

Choosing the right type of fence for your home can be a difficult project to complete. There are various styles and options to choose from in addition to managing costs and installation. Use this article as your go-to guide for finding the fence that best meets your needs. Fences are important...

How To Create A Dust Free Jobsite

One of the biggest challenges contractors and DIY remodelers experience is controlling the amount of dust that comes with any project. This can be exceptionally challenging if you or someone else also still lives or occupies that specific jobsite. The level of dust from remodeling is particularly...

Home Builder Marketing: Beyond The Business Card

With no model homes to show or an in-house sales team to troll for new business, custom home builders rely on reputation to sell themselves to prospective clients. So their standard marketing tool is the business card, which hopefully gets passed along by a previous client to relatives or friends....

When It Comes to Siding, Looks Are Everything

Beauty may be skin deep, but when it comes to siding, at least, looks are everything. Google search “siding curb appeal” and help yourself to the roughly 1.5 million links on that topic, many leading to real estate agents' pages eager to point this fact out. But here’s the paradox: The people who...

How to Approach a Project Started By Another Contractor

Sometimes homeowners will contact you about a particular project that is half way completed. Usually the owner is unhappy with the work their current designer or contractor is doing and will ask you to take over and complete the project. In order to start construction again, most firms will...

How to Create Clear Objectives When Remodeling

As any remodeling professional knows, the key to a successful remodel is establishing clear and achievable goals. Often, a homeowner's wants and needs are not going to be the same. By asking your clients to create a thorough design brief with these six steps, you can be sure both you and the...