Contractor City Blog

Are you planning on purchasing new kitchen cabinets? Whether for a newly constructed home or for a remodeling project, consider one important factor, your kitchen is the heart of your home! It is not just a place to dine; it is also the main gathering place for family and friends and a place for entertaining. This is particularly true with today’s popular open floor plans and great room designs. Because your kitchen plays such an important part of your home there are a few things to consider in your planning process.

1) Kind in mind future buyers

Even if you are currently building your dream home, it is possible that someday you will have a need to sell your home. Or, if you are remodeling your existing home to make it more comfortable for you and your family, you may still find the need to sell it someday. Because of this, even if you aren’t ready to sell your home today you should always ponder what potential buyers would think of your kitchen cabinet selection and layout because opinions of your kitchen can drastically either increase or decrease your selling price. A practical kitchen layout is typically everyone’s Continue reading ‘Five Things To Consider When Designing Your Dream Kitchen’ »

In another article titled How Contractors Get Rich, I introduced you to the six systems that control the fate of your construction business. To refresh your memory, they were:

1.Marketing

2.Sales

3.Staffing

4.Planning

5.Tracking

6.Financial Control

Today, I am going to expand on the nine components that form your staffing system.

Do you remember that the objective of a staffing system is to recruit and retain a team of highly motivated and skilled employees? The popular analogy is getting the right people on the bus and putting them in the right seats. To do that, you need systems for:

1. Advertising Job Openings

When it’s time to add staff, you need to roll out a recruiting system that will generate a large pool of good candidates. You need the recruiting system to work quickly. You need it to pre-qualify the candidates so that you don’t spend a lot of time sorting through unqualified resumes and interviews.

Write help wanted advertisements that sound like sales pitches for your company. Don’t let your help wanted ad sound like you are doing the candidate a favor. Make it sound like the candidate is doing you a favor Continue reading ‘Hey Contractors – Here Are The Staffing Systems That Build A Championship Team’ »

We have all seen the proverbial fire sprinklers in commercial and public buildings but have you ever though of installing them in your home? Studies have shown that having a fire sprinkler system can increase the chances of surviving a home fire by some 80 plus percent. Some areas are now making fire sprinkler systems a requirement for new residential construction, in Scottsdale Arizonian all new home construction has included home sprinkler systems since 1986, since that time no one has died in a home fire with a sprinkler system.The cost of installing a home fire protection sprinkler system will vary depending on where you live and whether you are installing it in new construction or remolding. Studies have shown that the cost to include the sprinkler system in new construction is only about a $1.00 per square foot this installation cost is quickly offset by the reduced rates that insurance companies for houses with sprinkler systems. Retrofit sprinkler system installation is about twice the cost of installation in a new house. The NFPA which governs home fire sprinklers currently has two types of sprinklers that they recommend. The first type is a separated system that ties directly Continue reading ‘Home Fire Protection’ »

If you’re in the market to build a home, you should consider buying a prefabricated home package. Although “prefabs” were not always popular, today’s models and options have a lot to offer.

What are Prefabricated Home Packages?

Prefabricated home packages or “prefabs” are simply a different method of building a home. Traditional homes are built one piece of lumbar at a time by workmen on site. The construction of traditional houses can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. During that time, the skeleton of the house is exposed to the elements.

Prefabricated homes are built assembly line style in a factory. They are constructed in large pieces, and then assembled on site kind of like a jigsaw puzzle. The home is put together on top of a pre-existing foundation and ready to move in almost immediately.

The Benefits of “Prefabs”

For some homebuyers, prefabs make a lot of sense. The construction of a prefab home is fast. Since the construction of prefabs is automated they take less time to build. You could be living in your new home within two months of your order time.

Prefabricated homes can Continue reading ‘Prefabricated Home Packages’ »

What Is A Skid Steer Loader?

A Skid Steer loader or ‘Bobcat’ is a small, compact construction machine. Their small size and manoeuvrability, as well as the large number of add-on attachments that can be fixed to them make them extremely popular for a wide range of tasks such as construction and landscaping. As well as being very agile and compact, they can easily accommodate a wide range of different attachments which makes them ideal for many different industries, including construction, landscaping, manufacturing and demolition. Bobcats normally come with 4 wheels, but they can be fitted with tracks – just like a small tank – to operate in muddy conditions. Skid steer loaders are normally equipped with four wheels built close together, but they can also be fitted with tracks for work in muddy or slippery conditions. Usually the engine is located behind the cab, and there are two arms that run from the back to the front and latch on to the tools.

Why The Funny Name ?

The actual “skid steer” term is used because of how the vehicle drives. Continue reading ‘Buying Bobcat Skid Steer Loader’ »

The demand for paints and coatings in U.S is forecast to come up to $23 billion in 2012. Volume gains are projected to accelerate from the sluggishness of the period between 2002 and 2007, when an economic slowdown, combined with high raw material costs and increasingly stringent environmental regulations took a toll on the US paints and coatings industry. However, growth is aided for both construction and manufacturing activity by an improving outlook.

Architectural paints represent the largest segment of the overall paints and coatings market, accounting for approximately half of demand in both volume and value terms. The residential market will continue to account for the vast majority of architectural paint demand and will benefit from rebounding growth in residential construction activity, as well as a significant turnaround in new housing starts through 2012. Demand for interior paint will outpace that for exterior paint, as demand for the latter will be restrained by the ongoing popularity of siding materials, such as vinyl, which do not require paint. However, rapid growth in the use of fiber cement — a paintable siding material — will bode well for exterior paint demand.

Coatings used in the manufacture of various goods will benefit from an Continue reading ‘U.s Demand for Paints and Coatings is Predicted to Mount by 2012 and 2017’ »

There are many details to consider when starting a new construction related business. As an employer, purchasing vehicle insurance should be one of your top priorities to protect yourself and your business.

Most small to medium construction businesses typically have at least a few vehicles in their fleet. Providing insurance for these vehicles is important not only for practical reasons, but also for legal reasons.

Liability insurance can cover your business and assets from potentially devastating lawsuits resulting from an accident. Public liability insurance is vital for employers to have to protect yourself and your company against any potential negligence claims. If your employees or vehicles are involved in an accident, your business could be in serious trouble if you are not covered. In fact, this coverage is so important that many clients refuse to work with construction businesses that don’t provide it.

As an employer in the construction business, there are many liability issues that you may have to deal with. Employer liability insurance is similar, but it protects you against claims of negligence from your employees. This is another important policy to consider for your business in advance should an accident Continue reading ‘Commercial Van Insurance for Your New Business’ »

There are many potential hazards in older homes that could pop up during a remodel. However, a majority of these potential really depend upon the age of the building in question.

One hazard is asbestos. Asbestos usually can be identified in insulation and fire retardants. Asbestos was also used in tile, siding, and adhesives. In the United States there are no houshold products made from asbestos. In other parts of the world we are not so lucky.

Asbestos is especially dangerous when it is friable or in small pieces. The testing and removal of asbestos is best left to professionals. Abatement of asbestos is expensive, but your health is priceless.

Lead is another material that was commonly used in construction. As a matter of fact, plumbing means working in lead. All the pipes in Rome where made of lead. Most likely in a house remodel you will find lead in pipe joints and lead in paint.

Again the removal of lead is best left to professionals. There are many documented long term health risks associated with lead.

Construction itself has many hazards. It is important to follow all the guidelines for wearing personal protective equipment or PPE. A good source for safety lectures Continue reading ‘How to recognize and dispose of dangerous materials discovered while remodeling your home’ »

The cordless drill gone are the days when you had to lug around with a lead and a transformer to plug your drill in to,we have now at our disposal a cordless drill that is to mean a battery drill,and for DIY experts this is now a god send for one thing it saves you time and it saves you money and it all comes in a little box that you can carry to room to room, or for the man that works in the construction business it means a better working environment .

So how do we choose a cordless drill,well there are big ones for heavy work and there are small ones that do the every day things like screwing screws in to walls after you have drilled the wall.

In Britain we have in the construction industry a very good drill called the hilti i expect that over in the USA and Canada you have the same this drill is the mother of all drills and i have yet to find one that comes any where near this drill and the battery life is awesome just what you need on a long job they dont come cheap but are Continue reading ‘How to choose the cordless drill you need’ »

When commencing with operations to install data network cabling, there are a number of do’s and don’ts. First, it is important to note that if you are installing the data network cabling in an unfinished home, or office, regardless of the size of the job, it will be an easier task than in an already completed building.

Regardless of how large or small your data cable network is going to be, it is vital to have a home-run location. This is the location where all of your cables will terminate. This unit could be a structured media center that can be flush mounted prior to the completion of the building and should be large enough to accommodate both your present and any future expansion plans for your data network.

Do
Cross Power and Cat5 cables at a 90º angle. It is not always possible to keep both data network cabling and data network cables completely separate, and is virtually impossible to keep them from crossing at certain points in the construction process. If they must cross, they should be kept at a ninety degree angle to avoid any serious interference.

Don’t
Ever mix the color Continue reading ‘Do’s and Don’ts of Data Network Cabling’ »