Remodelers generally do well by doing good, and Clemleddy Construction was no exception in June when its participation in a 24-hour "Relay for Life" More
Beads of sweat collect on my brow whenever I hand out belt sanders during the boat building classes I teach. In the wrong hands these powerful tools can easily do more damage?like sanding through the hull of a boat in seconds?than good. The same is true for belt sanders on the jobsite. A racing abrasive belt under a rookie's guidance might spell disaster for those built-ins, stair parts, or custom oak doors. After years of using these tools for installing finish work and building boats, I've learned that getting a good, flat finish is about control, and control comes from skill, experience, and good tool design. More
Rookie framers always get stuck with the worst work, like cutting out doorplates and knocking down braces. They also get stuck doing work that's just plain miserable, like nailing off joist hangers. Anyone who's ever been sent into the dungeon to back-nail hangers knows what I'm talking about: trying to drive tiny nails in a confined space over your head. Pneumatic nailer manufacturers, however, seem to have heard our prayers (and curses), and are building tools that make the task of installing framing hardware faster and easier. More
It's your worst nightmare: You've submitted a bid, it's been accepted, and then you find out there was a mistake in your estimate or that your bid was based on a subcontractor's mistake. More
Banking and lending institutions have government requirements mandating that they give back to the community. Remodelers have enough laws to conform to that they don't need to be More
FEMA guidelines released in April recommend that houses in New Orleans be built at least three feet off the ground. It was a contentious decision. Some criticized it as being cost-prohibitive, while others pointed out that flood waters reached much higher than that during Katrina. More
Jonathan Mills, owner of Mills Builders in Sacramento, Calif., says, “We tear down homes that have nothing wrong with them all the time out here.” Mills didn't feel right about dumping the materials. From his company's inception in 1999 he began donating them to the local Habitat for Humanity. More
A remodeled kitchen, a local chef, and several bottles of wine, that's Anne and Matt Goodwin's latest recipe for goodwill and good marketing. More
For the first week of October, I found myself working shoulder to shoulder with nine of my competitors and hundreds of trade contractors I'd never met. The job? Tear down a house and build a new one in less than five days. It was simultaneously an act of insanity and one of the greatest experiences of my life. More
