Builder back issues from January 2005:
Building champions: now's the time to build a checklist of key objectives for your company in 2005.(Editor's Notes)(Editorial)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE NEW YEAR HAS BEGUN. IT'S SUPER BOWL SEASON. Everyone's focused on setting new goals. Many of us will watch the two best teams in football fight it out for the national championship. What better time to have an energizing talk with your home building team about nailing some key ...
Builders' choice.(BMail)(Letter to the Editor)
Jan 01, 2005; ... I FOUND YOUR ARTICLE ON ORIENTED strand board (OSB) versus plywood ("Panel Paris" November 2004, page 146) to be quite interesting. Our research suggests that while builders generally perceive plywood as being technically superior to OSB along most product attributes, the main driver in ...
Get to know continuous cast acrylic: easy cleaning and durability make homeowners happy and increase referrals, making more and more contractors want to ...(Special Advertising Section)(Advertisement)
Jan 01, 2005 ... How do contractors please today's customers and increase referrals? When it comes to the bathroom, more and more, the answer is continuous cast acrylic. Recent research identifies two key items that can make homeowners most happy: First, bathroom surfaces that are easy to clean, ...
Calendar.(Book It)(Calendar)
Jan 01, 2005 ... JANUARY 13-16 The International Builders' Show. Orlando, Fla. The International Builders' Show is the home building industry's premier event, bringing together leading builders and suppliers. More than 1,600 manufacturers will introduce products and ...
A hammer and a helping hand: habitat Home Builders Blitz 2006 to add 1,00 decent homes in a week.(Habitat Build Blitz)
Jan 01, 2005; ... BUILDERS NATIONWIDE HAVE THE OPPORTUNIty to do what they do best, while improving their communities and building strong relationships with employees and trade partners, with the first-ever national Habitat for Humanity Home Builders Blitz. Builders are being recruited now for ...
Farewell, Fannie.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Mired in an accounting scandal, Fannie Mac's board of directors ousted chairman and CEO Franklin Raines and Timothy Howard, the financial giant's CFO, on Dec. 21. The announcements of Raines' ...
Cool down.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(real estates)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Late last year, Lennar reported that it may have to delay until fiscal 2005 the delivery of about 600 homes that were promised for last year. The company ...
Land grab.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Kelo vs. City of New London, a Connecticut property rights case that could have a broad effect on governments' ability to seize property and transfer it to another private owner. The Fifth Amendment allows governments to take private ...
Nesting instinct.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Online real estate lending and real estate exchange LendingTree recently purchased iNest (www.iNest.com), an online new-home marketplace that features homes from 500 builders in 20 of the country's top home building states. Terms of ...
Free-for-all: Lowe's hopes to lure builders to its Web site with nifty calculators and other clever online tools.(Internet Pick)(www.fieldmanual.com)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... LOWE'S COS., LIKE THE HOME DEPOT, HAS been making a push to win a bigger share of professional builders and contractors. In line with that purpose, it has developed a Web site called "For Pros Resource Center" (www.fieldmanual.com). It's a sweet little site, straightforward and easy to ...
Infill bill.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation in early October that the California BIA says could possibly free up the majority of the state's 90,000 to 100,000 brownfield sites for development. The bill says builders are free from liability if they have complied with the ...
New lease.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Builders looking to spur buying among first-time new-h0me buyers may want to try the Owner Lease Program from Move-Up America. The program lets homeowners with an existing home purchase a new home from a participating builder while keeping their existing home as a rental. Under the terms ...
Aiming high: HUD issues a new rule requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to increase their mortgage funding for lower-income home buyers.(Regulation Update)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... BEGINNING JAN. 1, FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE Mac must increase their purchases of mortgages for low- and moderate-income families and within underserved communities, according to a rule issued by HUD last November. HUD has set such goals since i99z for Fannie and Freddie, two ...
Drive train: a new virtual storage space helps builders save space and money.(Cost Cutter)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE COMPUTER HAS MADE life easier for architects. builders, mad contractors who send and save files and images. The necessary hardware and storage space can get pricey, however. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Xdrive offers a solution: an Internet-based virtual drive that allows construction ...
Refi help.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Fannie Mae)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Fannie Mae's Smart Commute Initiative to help home buyers live near public transportation has been expanded to include homeowners who are refinancing their mortgages. The program adds up to $250 to a ...
Virtual realty.(House blend: trends, tips, cool stuff)(Government Accountability Office)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... The House Financial Services Committee--which oversees the housing industry for the U.S. House of Representatives--requested in November that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) review how information technology and electronic commerce affect real estate services. Chairman Rep ....
Law upheld: Colorado defeats ballot measure that would have dismantled NOR law.(NOR Stays In Effect)(Colorado Association of Home Builders)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... VOTERS IN COLORADO defeated Amendment 34 on Nov. 2, a measure that would have derailed the Notice and Opportunity to Repair (NOR) law that went into effect state-wide in April 2003 when the Colorado legislature passed House Bill 1161. Rob Nanfelt, government affairs director for ...
Ahead of the curve: new research emphasizes anticipating customer needs instead of what they say they want.(Market Research Study)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... BUILDERS HAVE BECOME very savvy at surveying customers to find out what they want in a home. But a new study suggests that the most successful companies go beyond listening to what customers say they want and instead anticipate their needs before customers even know they have them. ...
Dream house.(Good Deeds)(Mayberry Homes)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Mayberry Homes of DeWitt, Mich., raised more than $573,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital by selling $100 raffle tickets for a 2,500-square-foot house, built with donated materials and ...
Charity at home: an architectural firm uses an internal competition to do pro bono work for kids.(Philanthropic Pursuits)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... EVERY YEAR, DES MOINES, Iowa-based Bloodgood Sharp Buster Architects & Planners (BSB) holds an internal design contest among its offices across the country. Used as a way to foster healthy competition, the event has new meaning this year. Instead of a fictitious client, the winning house ...
Phone home: new technology allows homeowners to play Big Brother and monitor their home through a cellphone connection.(All Seeing Eyes)
Jan 01, 2005; ... HERE'S HOWTHE CABLE INDUSTRY GOT INTERESTed in home electronics--especially remote video monitoring. First, it has about 29 million people already hooked up to broadband cable. Can you say "test market"? But it (like virtually every other industry on the planet) is looking for deeper ...
Green houses.(Good Deeds)(Enterprise Social Investment Corp. and Natural Resources Defense Council)
Jan 01, 2005 ... In an effort to make homes green and affordable, The Enterprise Foundation/Enterprise Social Investment Corp. and the Natural Resources Defense Council have launched the Green Communities Initiative to create 8,500 affordable green homes by offer financing, grants, and ...
What a gas.(Real estate industry)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... The HBA of Greater St. Louis last fall showcased a revitalized Gaslight Square district during Citirama, a two-week event that displayed new single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses. Prices for new homes range from $175,000 to $400,000. Seventy units will be ...
Life-cycle revisited: a new study confirms that most waste by-products emissions occur while manufacturing building materials, not during the construction process.(Long View)
Jan 01, 2005; ... A NEW STUDY BYTHE CONSORTIUM FOR RESEARCH on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM) confirms what building wonks have been saying for years: The choice of building material results in very different effects on air quality, solid waste, and resource use. In the CORRIM study, ...
Fiber hits home: expect more builders to tout home technology packages that offer voice, high-speed Internet access, and video as a way to stay competitive.(Residential Telecom)
Jan 01, 2005; ... A STRING OF EVENTS DURING THE SECond half of 2004 created a hopeful climate that led home technology partisans to believe that 2005 is the year more builders and developers will start marketing home technology as a mainstream product. First, in mid-October, the Federal ...
Going private: Houston takes steps to speed up the permitting and inspection process.(The straight dope: the whole truth and nothing but the truth)(Greater Houston Builders Association)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... An ordinance proposed years ago by the Greater Houston Builders Association is set to take effect early this year. The city is giving single-family home builders the option to hire independent inspectors to conduct plan reviews and building inspections. The move is part of Mayor ...
Housing by the holy: churches have joined the housing boom as for-profit developers, but most pay greatly reduced taxes.(Inside Story)
Jan 01, 2005; ... WHEN DOES AN ORGANIZED RELIgion cross the line from sacred to secular? That prickly question has become not only a national debate but one that concerns local communities as well. For example, the Associated Press reported recently that in South Bend, Ind., St. Joseph County ...
Trimline Ridge Vent is a good value! Trimline Ridge Vent offer quality performance, great appearance and quick installation.(Special Advertising Section)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Trimline Ridge Vents provide superior ventilation by creating a balanced system that continuously releases hot, moist attic air while drawing fresh air through soffit vents. Creating a balanced, continuous ventilation system increases a home's total energy-efficiency while extending the ...
Orient Express.(Top shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE ASIAN-INFLUENCED MINI NIKKO VANITY WILL add a contemporary feel to your baths. Measuring 27 inches wide and 24 inches deep, the vanity has storage space below and comes with three door inserts to choose from, including rice paper, rattan, and ...
Cone head.(Top shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE FI FAUCET IS ONE OF THE FRESHEST DEsigns to come along in recent memory. Based on the geometry of the cone, FI has a wide base and spindle-like handles. It has a newly developed cartridge that consists of a clockwork- type gear ...
In a flash.(Top Shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... WHETHER A HOUSE IS AT THE SEAside or in a suburb, window flashing is important to prevent moisture intrusion. With this in mind, the manufacturer has introduced FlashMaster, a self-adhered flexible flashing that is applied around windows and doors to prevent ...
Float on.(Top shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... INSTALLING BAMBOO FLOORS IS now as easy as a click thanks to Studio, the first wide-plank bamboo floating floor with a self-locking feature that requires no glue, according to the manufacturer. Highly sustainable and renewable, the bamboo floor is ...
Flip off.(Top shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... ANYONE WHO'S WORKED ON A STEPLADDER KNOWS THAT IT OFFERS VERY little storage space. Flip Tray, the manufacturer says, transforms an ordinary stepladder into a workstation. The accessory attaches to the top of the stepladder and has specialized spaces for equipment, including ...
Find and seek.(Top shelf: the latest and greatest building products)
Jan 01, 2005; ... A STUD SENSOR IS A GOOD FRIEND TO HAVE IN A TOOL-box. And a stud sensor that can locate the center and edges of a stud, find copper up to 1 1/2 inches deep, and find rebar in concrete up to 3 inches deep is even better. That's exactly what ...
Paradigm shifter: New Jersey builder sharpens the cutting edge of custom home building.(Solar houses)
Jan 01, 2005; ... LYLE RAWLINGS IS PUSHING THE CUStom home building envelope. Take, for instance, the six integrated solar homes he recently built in Atlantic City, N.J.'s Millennia Square neighborhood. Advanced design and technologies make them extreme energy misers--their solar electric roof panels ...
More control, better communications, and increased productivity--all on schedule: Hyphen Solutions brings schedule management into the 21st century.(Special Advertising Section)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Today's large homebuilders employ hundreds, perhaps thousands of superintendents in multiple cities and multiple locations. These superintendents, in turn, are each tasked with managing the building schedules of hundreds of suppliers & subcontractors, often with little more than a ...
Who you gonna call? Before the ghosts had time to settle into Chicago's Residences at RiverBend, a crisis development team rushed in to breathe life into the dying project.(Radco Cos cares abandoned houses)
Jan 01, 2005; ... A BANKRUPT DEVELOPMENT. LIENS AND lawsuits. Furious homeowners. Few developers would volunteer to wade into this mess, but that was the challenge with a luxury high-rise condominium project in Chicago's Fulton River District. The Residences at RiverBend looked like a multi-million dollar ...
Out of reach: exclusionary zoning and land-use practices in the name of smart growth add fuel to the fire of the affordable housing crisis.(The New Segragation)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THERE'S A HOUSING CRISIS PERCOlating in cities, towns, and neighborhoods across the country. It's hidden behind the euphoria of extremely favorable mortgage rates and beneath the robust housing market and the highest percentage of homeownership this country has ever seen. It is ...
Gibraltar Building Products: offering high quality, manufactured steel products from the ground up.(Special Advertising Section)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Gibraltar Building Products Group is an industry leader in high-quality metal building products and accessories. The flagship of Gibraltar Industries, Inc., Gibraltar Building Products Group is composed of 10 separate companies that together operate 36 manufacturing facilities ...
Development 101.(First Draft)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Q. I've built single-family detached homes for my entire career but have had a long-standing dream of transitioning into residential development. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds for a large subdivision. Any thoughts on how I could move into the world of development, but in a small ...
Reuse replica: the Landings at Harborside transforms an abandoned naval training center into a streetscape of the project's new urban concept.(Market smarts: new marketng and sales techniques with proven results)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... JOKE IF YOU WANT ABOUT NEW JERSEY, BUT WHEN IT COMES to selling high-density waterfront housing, few can match the Landings at Harborside in Perth Amboy. The first phase of 78 homes of the project's 2,100-unit master plan sold out in 10 days, thanks largely to an innovative sales and ...
Big Island idea: a series of direct mail postcards makes a big impression on vacation buyers for Kahakai Estates.(Market smarts: new marketng and sales techniques with proven results)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... DESPITE A WHITE-HOT MARKET, THE SECOND-HOME LANDscape on Hawaii's Big Island is pretty competitive. To make its Kahakai Estates project stand out Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development offered 98 one-acre, home sites (two-thirds of which were luxury spec units), at nearly twice the ...
Winning ticket: a lottery helps Crosswinds Communities sell out The Sanctuary and enables evenflow production through tbe project's completion.(Market smarts: new marketng and sales techniques with proven results)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... TWO YEARS INTO DEVELOPMENT OF THE SANCTUARY, A 727-acre, 774-unit master planned community near Orlando, Fla., and 67 homes away from completion, developer Crosswinds Communities had an enviable problem: a lead list of about 2,000 people. To take advantage of the still-high demand but also ...
Price adjustments: Signs point to decreasing costs and increasing availability of building materials in 2005.(Vital Signs)
Jan 01, 2005; ... AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF NON-stop price increases for building materials, some relief may be on the way Economists predict that the anticipated slight drop in housing activity and greater availability of high-demand materials will be enough to drive prices down--slightly. "The ...
Show place: Before you hit the IBS show floor, take a sneak peek at some of this year's hottest new products.(Products: products and tools every builder should know about)(International builders show)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS' SHOW can overwhelm even the most seasoned trade show attendee. That's why each January we pull together a collection of the best products on the exhibition floor--ones you should be sure to see. The 20 products we chose offer a little of everything, ...
Lab work: consulting group teams with MIT to build research lab for home technologies.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)
Jan 01, 2005; ... RESEARCHERS FROM THE MASSACHUsetts Institute of Technology and consulting group TIAX combined to build PlaceLab, a 900-square-foot research facility/condominium where new housing technologies and design concepts can be tested and evaluated. The idea is not to build a Microsoft ...
Picture this.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Nextel recently introduced the i860, a picture phone that also supports the company's Direct Connect push-to-talk walkie-talkie service. The i860 features Multimedia Messaging, which lets users exchange text, images, and audio in three ways: between two i860 phones; between an i860 ...
Field control.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Back-office software vendor Builder MT has developed Builder MT Field Management software so builders can run scheduling, auto pay, document collaboration, warranty checklists, and punch lists on a wireless Tablet PC. The software maker ...
Integrator advance: Home-tech group works to advance the profile of home integrators.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)
Jan 01, 2005; ... HOME-TECH CONSORTIUM THE INTERNET Home Alliance recently launched the Home Integrator Initiative, an industry-wide effort to promote the need for certified home integrators and a common set of technology standards. "We've gone from future-proofing homes to talking about the ...
Double the strength.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Ginni Designs, best known as the inventor of the Hide-Away-Home-Theater, has released the GDI MESA Double T, a new table mount designed to hold any flat-panel display and three front speakers. The Double T's extendable arms have an adjustable spread for audio separation of ...
NextGen control.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Home Director has entered a joint agreement with HomeLogic to develop a next-generation version of Home Director's ControlPoint home automation system. The new product will let homeowners control up to six subsystems via a standard Web browser, touch ...
FAST forward: the new, 2.0 version of Pocket FAST plays well with new users.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... FAST WENT THROUGH SO MANY MANAGEment changes in the past few years that it's nice to finally see the company making some development headway. The enterprise, resource, and planning software maker received some positive reviews on the 2.0 version of Pocket FAST it released in ...
Think it through: use this list of tips to make smarter software selections.(Tech tools: technology for the smart building business)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... NOW THAT BUSINESS YEAR 2005 IS IN FULL swing, the odds are pretty strong that many builders will be in the market for some new software or other technology systems. Here are some tips for making sure this year's software doesn't become next year's shelfware. * Map it first ....
Aging in place.(National Association of Home Builders )(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... The NAHB is promoting aging-in-place features--elements in a residence that enable consumers to grow older comfortably in that space--in new and existing homes. The organization's Remodelors Council, Seniors Housing Council, and Research Center are working with members of the Aging in ...
A bright future: better economic and financing conditions will help the housing market stay on track in 2005.(From The President)
Jan 01, 2005; ... AFTER THE HOUSING MARKETS PHENOMENAL performance in 2004, it's natural to wonder if the streak will continue as we move into the second half of the decade. The NAHB anticipates that activity in our booming housing industry will hold up well in 2005, although it's going to be ...
Taking stock: last year's inventory of unsold homes might call for different sales strategies in 2005.(Unsold houses demand strategies)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE NATION'S HOME BUILDERS OPERATED IN a very favorable economic and financial market environment in 2004, and home sales and single-family housing starts soared to record levels. But inventories of unsold homes moved up during the year as well, and financial market conditions promise to ...
Systems' best.(NAHB Briefs)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... The NAHB's Building Systems Council (BSC) in November announced the winners of its 2004 Excellence in Marketing and Home Design Awards honoring the best of systems-built housing. The awards recognize topnotch marketing materials, model homes, and residential construction in the concrete, ...
Certified expansion: the NAHB's Certified Builder program increases efficiency and consistency in building practices.(The NAHB Research Center Corner)(National Association of Home Builders Research Foundation)
Jan 01, 2005; ... THE NAHB RESEARCH Center is celebrating the nationwide rollout of its National Housing Quality (NHQ) Certified Builder program at this year's International Builders' Show. The center piloted the program for more than a year and is now helping builders across the country to realize the ...
Jobs boost.(NAHB Briefs)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Though some of the country's job markets continue to be weak, 18 states, including California, Georgia, Texas, and Minnesota, have surpassed their prerecession employment peaks--and others are in a position to catch up soon, which bodes well for housing demand, according to panelists at ...
The polisher: incoming president Dave Wilson plans to cherry-pick the best benefits the NAHB has and make them shine.(Changing Of The Guard)
Jan 01, 2005; ... "WE DON'T MAKE A LOT OF the products you buy We make a lot of the products you buy better," says the slogan for the well-known BASF television ad campaign. With a little retooling, that motto works perfectly for the NAHB's incoming president, Dave Wilson. He's going to unearth, polish, and ...
CertainTeed's Insulation Group: Helping builders tackle the moisture issue in homes.(National Council Of The Housing Industry)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005 ... Moisture problems in a home and the risk of callbacks and liability concerns are something no builder wants to experience. CertainTeed Corporation's Insulation Group is helping builders tackle this issue with a new product called MemBrain[TM]. MemBrain[TM] is a first of its kind ...
David Borenstein Architects/Builders: New York builder picks Integrity[R] an a New York minute.(Integrity Celebrates Its Red Diamond Achievers)
Jan 01, 2005 ... David Borenstein Architects/Builders is a small but diverse design/build firm located just north of New York City. Their "we do it all" philosophy is more than a slogan--it's a fact! From design and construction, to electrical work, to plumbing and landscaping, this firm has an enormous ...
Solid success.(Hot sellers: sold out! Fast-moving communities)(single family homes at Falls Run)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Solid Success Falls Run, Fredericksburg, Va. WHY IT WORKED: When Falls Run, an active adult community outside Washington, opened in February 2002, it was a case of right time, right location. It appeals to those 55 and older who want a resort lifestyle but don't want ...
Multiple personalities.(Hot sellers: sold out! Fast-moving communities)(manors at Grand Pointe Meadows)(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Multiple Personalities Grand Pointe Meadows, West Dundee, Ill. WHY IT WORKED: The attached manor homes at Grand Pointe Meadows attracted buyers by providing them with unique designs at a reasonable base price, while capitalizing on the established suburban market of ...
Happy trails.(Hot sellers: sold out! Fast-moving communities)(Mill Creek at StoneBridge Estates )(Brief Article)
Jan 01, 2005; ... Happy Trails: Mill Creek at StoneBridge Estates, San Diego WHY IT WORKED: Research conducted with local home buyers revealed demand for move-up homes with more amenities, such as the 16 miles of hiking trails that connect with a county-wide trail system. * ...