Remodeling Talk

We are becoming more aware of the effects of energy requirements in both personal living requirements and industry, with the current Gulf Coast catastrophe. Natural energy use as opposed to ground harvest energy, needs to become a more dominant feature of our existence as human beings. Using resources that take millions of years to develop, need to be replaced by the effective use of natural constants like wind and solar, along with environmentally safe geothermal ground source applications. The current complications to marine wildlife and its seabed environment in the Gulf Coast will most likely be felt for generations to come.

For the building industry, it is difficult to envision alternate means of construction techniques from the current use of gasoline and oil to provide energy for equipment necessary to excavate or transport materials. Hopefully the suppliers of the heavy equipment we use will produce an alternate way to power them in the future.

The hand held tool makers are well on their way applying technology to save energy with all the new battery operated tools and especially the way batteries have become more sustainable and chargeable efficient.

The construction industry needs to develop more energy efficiency  in the light equipment area. I would hope that ways to provide electrically powered bobcats and small backhoes for light excavation requirements will appear in the short term future. It is common for fork trucks in the manufacturing industry, so I’m hoping we can find ways to carry this into the field for contractors. Keeping our world a healthy place is good for all, and avoiding the use of any contaminant is a step in the right direction.

Art Wehnert

Helping to Green America

www.countryremodelers.com

www.advancedgeotherm.com

A constant detriment to the remodeling business in years gone by, was the lack of follow-up communication to the prospective client. When things were busy many remodelers would not return calls to a prospective client until their schedule cleared for additional workload. There were also many who just would not return calls on prospective projects for a variety of other reasons. One of those reasons was the good fortune of having a strong customer base and the gratis of constant referrals and repeat clients. Many a contractor has fallen off the high horse in the last year or so and being accessible and responsive is a requirement in today’s construction world. Some contractors felt the project might be outside their business model, or their price range capacity, or they might have recklessly thought the project not financially valuable enough.

If you are not showing quick responsive  interest in the client, there is a good chance the prospective client will not have confident interest in your company. When you call a week or even several days later, most prospective clients will not feel the trust needed for building a solid relationship with your company. If you can still have opportunity to contract the project, there will most likely be a lot of additional work required to build the relationship.

Be polite,enthusiastic, and most of all be honest with your prospective clients!

Art Wehnert

Helping to Green America

www.countryremodelers.com

www.advancedgeotherm.com

Most of the general public is fully aware of the ramifications of excessive energy waste and the concerns of global warming. Our building industry is moving in the right direction toward minimal energy consumption and more efficient structural components. But as a remodeler, I am repeatedly disappointed in some of my constituents who are not getting on board with a view of a better world to live in, and are still predominantly occupied with the concept of successful and profitable business, being more and more new development in open spaces. I struggle between sadness for the continued expansion of development, thereby creating less natural environment, and laughter at the absurdness of not completely understanding the dilemma the construction industry is in.
For the most part many people who build are excited by the production of complete newness without regard for what is left of our planet. It is not difficult for me to see that construction has slowed, not necessarily do to the economy stagnating, or the financial mortgage sector grinding to a crawl, but the reality of an extensive glut of inventory. The residential builders blame slow sales on the economy and peoples lack of fund availability, whether personally held or borrowed from a lending institution. Those are relevant concerns, but what about the fact that people don’t all need brand new and shiny. What if the general public was making there own choice to live and work with what they have. Maybe, many today, chose to reinvent their lifestyles and find they don’t need to be ‘sold’ a reason to move.
I personally chose to be a remodeler because I enjoy re-invigorating things, and bringing the new out of the old. I’m sure I will take flak for what I will state from others in the industry, but even as a person in construction I have never been about new sub-divisions, or more shopping centers when homes are empty across our nation and shopping malls sit vacant while their local governments and developers arm wrestle for years over corporate profits and what’s ‘best’ for their communities. I personally believe that the housing industry is down in part to the general public being more aware and slowly changing their lifestyle habits, and if one of those habits is making better with what you have, I’m all for it. Not because I’m a remodeler, but because I believe it’s the more beneficial way to move into the future, for all of us on this planet. I am concerned about global warming no matter what scientists have to say, all you have to do is look at the current photos of our ice caps and have a minimal amount of logical reasoning. I am concerned for our children, our wildlife, and our planet.
My choice to make an impact is to refurbish and reuse, recycle and interact with the existing. My hope is to make each home I am fortunate enough to work on a better place for the homeowners and their families, and I hope each of us will find a way to do or continue to do their part to make this a better world with less expansion impact.

Art Wehnert

Helping to Green America

www.countryremodelers.com

www.advancedgeotherm.com

Wasn’t it great when you could invest in the market and make money without worrying to much. But today unless you have a trustworthy broker or your extremely capable of self investment through the independent investor sites, your most likely dumping your money in someones pocket who is not providing a satisfactory return. Although the real estate values have dropped in a substantial amount of locations in the US, we should be understanding the equalization effect in the overall. What has dropped, has dropped across the board, and if new is not an option, it would be good to understand that investing in your existing home will attain a maximum return for the investment. What I mean is that investing in your solid assets, as opposed to the stock market liquid assets, are an excellent way to  increase your value. You won’t be taking a chance, but creating a better environment for yourself and family to enjoy for a substantial amount of the future. Betting on the rise of the stock market when analyzing the current ebb and flow does not appear very healthy unless you don’t mind the weekly dumps that draw your money away. Might I suggest the longer term of an addition to your home, a new indoor or outdoor kitchen to enjoy, or a new luxurious master bath instead of having to be hourly nimble with stock trades. Sure there is tension with remodeling, but I can guarantee that the ebb and flow is nowhere as intensly paced, and when it’s all done the relaxation should be more satisfying.
Check with your local home builders association and ask for the list of member remodelers and work with the industry professionals.

Art Wehnert

Helping to Green America

www.countryremodelers.com

www.advancedgeotherm.com

As I got up this morning I noticed the dark sky at 6am and wondered at the seasonal changes we go through each year here in the Midwest. Many of you probably feel depressed at the reduced light change as winter approaches.

As a remodeling contractor, the winter months are typically a season to hurry when working outside, do to less light. But it should be understood that the quality of workmanship produced for the client even though it is cold and many times uncomfortable, be as competently produced as if it was during the summer and warm months. I recall a 3rd bay garage addition we were working on several years ago and the temperature was -15 degrees. We tried to work for about 2 hours until I called the day off for the guys. Poor weather conditions will reflect on any crew in their ability to perform efficiently time and quality wise. Not to mention their overall heath.

This is an approaching time of the year when the health of your employees and the continuation of producing a quality project needs to be a consideration to the future success of your company. Sometimes you have to tell your employees they cannot work even if they are gung ho.

In another example I let my enthusiastic crew go to a job site on a deck installation during what started as a light snow, but turned into a heavy wet snow. Unfortunately they lost quite a few of the company hand tools in the snow and did a very poor job that had to be corrected a few weeks later when the weather permitted us to return to the job site. We lost a dollar value for the tools and suffered triple the labor costs to rework that days attempt to perform.

So in closing, I would like to suggest, beware the winter work outside, and make good decisions on bad weather days. Keep the quality up, the customer happy and your crew safe and healthy.

On a lighter note, get the guys to make a snowman in front of the office when you can’t work due to poor weather, and have some fun with them!!

Art Wehnert

Helping to Green America

www.countryremodelers.com

www.advancedgeotherm.com