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  • Call for Entries - 2013 Design Excellence Awards
    By Rob Heselbarth - Monday May 20, 2013
    Call for entries! Get the recognition you deserve. Enter your award-worthy project in the Residential Design + Build 2013 Design Excellence Awards , honoring architects, designers and custom builders for excellence in the design and construction of custom homes. Application deadline : July 26, 2013 Click here for the online application . Projects must be completed between Jan. 1, 2011, and July 26, 2013. Click here for entry rules and guidelines . Binder deadline : Aug. 9, 2013 Benefits to award winners include: Article in RD+B magazine’s October special issue Industry recognition Customized award trophy Exposure on RD+B website Press release for local distribution Advantage in local market Use...

  • I Insist You Read Every Single Word Of This Immediately
    By Rich Harshaw - Monday May 20, 2013
    Let’s take a “power words” quiz. Examine these two phrases:  Phrase 1: We Do The Job Right The First Time. Phrase 2: We Always Insist That Every Job Be Done Exactly Right The First Time—No Exceptions. The first one expresses a worthwhile idea in a straightforward, easy-to-understand way. Unfortunately, it’s also stated in such an expected, non-interesting, and uninspiring way that nobody will give it a second thought. The second phrase, on the other hand, has a certain level of panache to it. It’s intrepid, audacious, and borderline cocky. It’s not the kind of thing one says unless one is fairly certain they can follow through on the stated promise. It’s concrete, certain, and confident. And because of...

  • Snoop around this big project for Remodeling Month
    By Rob Heselbarth - Monday May 20, 2013
    Work has resumed on MAW Chicago’s whole-home renovation project in Chicago after several weeks of standstill caused by the city’s historic preservation department proceedings. After five weeks of delays, MAW Chicago in Palatine, Ill., lost no time getting work started again and catching up on lost time.   In April 2013 when Qualified Remodeler visited the project, the entire interior had been gutted and framed from scratch. Only a small wood panel ceiling in the basement remains of the original interior. The gutting reflects a change of mind by the homeowners, who chose to move forward in a new direction since QR’s most recent visit. MAW Chicago partner Mike Nagel says the plans have changed many times already, which is par for...

  • Work Spaces of QR: Graphics Cube Land
    By April Van Etten - Friday May 17, 2013
    Welcome to my day-time home. It's a bit gray, but luckily my kids’ happy faces and lovely fluorescent light fixtures brighten the space. The bottom of the picture shows what my ideal office would look like. Hey, we can dream, right? There are five things I need in order to function. My computer–you don’t want me illustrating the magazine myself. As my husband tells my kids, “Mommy is a computer artist, not a painter.” Nice.  My headphones. I don’t know if I could function without them, it gets a little noisy here in cube land. I love having other designers close by but the headphones help me focus. I also feel the need to tap my foot while designing, which would seem odd without the headphones.  Pictures of my...

  • Work Spaces of QR: The Headquarters Office
    By Kacey Larsen - Thursday May 16, 2013
    Hi, my name is Kacey, and I work in a cubicle. When people think of cubicles, they often think of drab walls that seem to be getting smaller each day. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but I always envisioned offices with cubicles as being completely uncreative places. And I am here to tell you that isn’t actually the case. My cubicle isn’t huge and the walls might be drab, those parts are true, but I don’t feel bad about hanging things on them because of that. I spread out when I work, particularly when I’m writing, but the limited space keeps me from spreading out too much. The noise level can get a little high when everyone is working, making focus sometimes difficult. Headphones are a must-have for me, because putting one ear...

  • Work Spaces of QR: The Home Office
    By Laurie Banyay - Wednesday May 15, 2013
    A couple months ago, I transitioned from working in an office environment with editorial director, Rob Heselbarth, and executive editor, Ken Betz, in Arlington Heights, Ill., to working out of a home office outside of Pittsburgh. Modern-day technology has made communication easy – emails, phone calls and remembering the one-hour time difference makes communicating a snap. I also invested in a large el-shaped desk and ergonomic office chair to keep comfortable. Between those and my company-supplied laptop, dual-monitor setup, telephone and printer, my home office is even more efficient than my Illinois cubicle was. Operable windows allow fresh air and daylight to infiltrate my office; I can’t remember the last time I had to turn on the...

  • Work Spaces of QR: The Windowed Cube
    By Kenneth W. Betz - Tuesday May 14, 2013
    By an accident of geometry, my cubicle is a couple of feet larger than the others here in the Cygnus Arlington Heights office, a satellite office 90 some miles down the road from the company’s “nerve center” in the bucolic Wisconsin countryside. (Like Cuba, which is 90 miles off the coast of the U.S., I don’t go to Wisconsin often.) Also by accident, it is in a corner with windows on two walls. Windows of any sort are the exception to the rule when it comes to cubicles here in Arlington Heights. The view of Arlington Park Race Track grandstand also is not standard for a suburban Chicagoland office building. However, it is nevertheless a cubicle, lacking doors and walls, and open to distractions from surrounding office mates...

  • Work Spaces of QR: The Office
    By Rob Heselbarth - Monday May 13, 2013
    I have an office with floor-to-ceiling walls and a door -- not a cubicle -- and I’m very grateful for it. However, I’m an extrovert and I enjoy talking with people, so keeping my door open is a necessity for me to function properly. Anyone walking past my door is fair game for a quick greeting or friendly harassment. My door is closed only when I’m hosting webinars or having personnel-related meetings or phone calls. My open door sometimes can be a challenge, too. An open door is inviting, so naturally people wander into my office throughout the day. This can interrupt my train of thought and distract me from the work at hand, but I’d rather be occasionally distracted than cut off from interaction with my colleagues. My...

  • New videos on FRP.com
    - Tuesday May 7, 2013
    This month, we've asked manufacturers to send us their latest and greatest, and the result has been a glut of new products, updated information and brand new video for our media center. Among the first new pieces of content 

  • Your Most Important Number, Part II
    By Rich Harshaw - Monday May 6, 2013
    Last Week: Finding your ‘Most Important Number’ This Week: How to get the marketing budget to make it happen, and how to spend the budget   Last blog posting I challenged you to set a goal using my “Most Important Number” method. In a nutshell, your Most Important Number is the number of sales per month you need to get in your bread & butter product category that would get you where you want to be, financially speaking. So if you’re currently selling an average of 8 window jobs a month (assuming windows is your “main” product), would 20 jobs per month get you where you want to be? What about 25? Or 50? Whatever that number is, that’s your Most Important Number. Go back and read the posting again to...

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