How do you control costs in a down market, or when job costs run over budget? What's the hardest part about growing your company? How do you motivate production staff? What's your opinion of cost-plus pricing? In a "town hall meeting" for remodelers, the owners of three successful but very different remodeling companies answered these and other questions from a capacity crowd of hundreds of attendees of the 2007 Remodeling Show in Las Vegas. More
A good pay and benefit package helps remodelers attract and keep good employees. How does your company measure up? More
For four days in October, more than 10,000 remodelers headed to the 2006 Remodeling Show in Chicago, where they attended seminars and clinics, networked with peers, and checked out hundreds of companies displaying their products on the showroom floor. More
The winners of the 2006 REMODELING Design Awards showcase the best in residential and light commercial remodeling across the country. From an island house addition to a log house update to a paint factory renovation, these projects highlight the work of talented design and construction teams. More
When builders Devon Hartman and Bill Baldwin founded their company in 1978, the young duo had one overriding goal: to do jobs that were, according to Hartman, at the “absolute top end.” More
Charging for design and other preconstruction services is growing more common among remodeling companies, but the design/build concept is rarely executed the same way twice. Design expertise is valuable. Get paid for it. More
Two major remodeling jobs on a modernist house in sunny California elevate practical storage spaces to works of art. More
Although six qualified leads have come from the effort (one led to a kitchen remodel), partner Devon Hartman says the point of the booklet is to help people recognize the firm as a resource and to help past clients, when a friend or family member asks about their remodel, have something meaningful to pass along. "As far as dollar for dollar, it's a little too early to assess results, because this is a long-term investment," says Eve-Marie Lanza, company marketing coordinator. More
In the next few years, Claremont, Calif., design/build firm HartmanBaldwin will likely reach its target of $10 million in sales volume. Devon Hartman (left) and William Baldwin, pictured in 1993, when they were named to the Big 50. "Our long-term goal is to offer curb to curb services -- from landscaping to interiors," Hartman says. More
In the rush to start construction, final product selections are often put off until after the work has begun. A design-builder explains how to eliminate guesswork when pricing unknowns by including allowance prices in your contracts. More
