November 2007 news and tidbits. For more product information, visit ebuild, Hanley Wood's interactive product catalog, at www.builderonline.com or www.ebuild.com.
Hanley Wood's product editors pick standout new products from the 2007 IBS Show.
AT A PRESS CONFERENCE THE CONSUMER Electronics Association (CEA) held last summer to release home buyer research, one of the reporters asked a CEA researcher about workable business models or marketing strategies for selling digital homes to new-home buyers, and he couldn't immediately point to any.
Allison Grant knows, more or less, how her Mondays will play out. She'll turn on her computer, pour a cup of joe, and attend meetings like every other American worker. But Mondays also bring an assignment that is an essential part of the sales manager's job at the Fairfax, Va., office of Brookfield...
Consider the irony that contractors like to bring up when they talk about the current state of production home building: Builders, they say, are pressuring them to compress their stages of construction. But cycle times keep stretching out, partly because builders' scheduling is unrealistic, given...
Generally speaking, market domination doesn't last for long: At some point, competition eats away share or growth simply slows. Unless you're a gypsum wallboard manufacturer, that is. Though the wall-board industry does not track usage in new homes, manufacturers estimate that between 85 percent...
Some customers complain that their bonus room above the garage is either too hot or too cold. We've started putting in bigger HVAC systems, but the complaints still come in. In every case, the ceiling, the knee walls, and the floor are well insulated, so how can we address this problem?
Unique designs, meticulous scheduling, and a focus on customer service helped A.F. Sterling Homes in Tucson, Ariz., tie for second place in 2004 in a very competitive market.
Noise control is the next big thing in achieving optimal indoor comfort, with new solutions that make it a worthwhile investment for single-family builders.
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STRUCTURED WIRING COMPANY USTEC has a new approach to home technology that should resonate with builders. Bill Thompson, UStec's president and founder, says that in most cases, once home builders decide on a structured wiring panel, they are stuck with it.
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Fewer callbacks, streamlined inspections, happier consumers, and (gasp!) even lower insurance premiums have resulted from the focus on quality.
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The New Urban Challenge could not have been built without the support of its many sponsors, a select group of building product manufacturers and suppliers that contributed to this innovative project. A list of companies, their levels of sponsorship, and the products they provided, follows ...
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Bullnose corners. Layered geometric patterns. Fiber optic glamour lines and sweeping curves. With dozens of specialty beads, new tools, and even complete dome-building packages available, why not enhance your drywall detailing? For a couple hundred bucks' worth of labor, you can create a...
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Volumes have been written on how companies can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of an information technology investment, but most of the case studies are geared toward information technology departments and rarely deal with the specific concerns of the building industry.Now, builder...
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Why the sudden panic about mold in new homes? Molds give off spores and mycotoxins when they grow on certain materials.
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The last time Carl Hagstrom went on a cool tool search, he found 10 tools priced below $100 that we thought could make your work easier. This time, he found four gadgets that each cost $20 or less and show promise for saving time and effort.
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These are the construction specs for the 2002 American Home Feature Article.
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Decorative ceilings in the dining room or master bedroom can add value to modest homes without breaking the builder's bank. Boulder, Colo., architect Jerry Gloss, of Knudson Gloss Architects, recommends a process, which he refers to as "the poor man's coffer," that doesn't require raising the plate...