Blog Archives
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My firm is (skeptically) moving to BIM
By Todd Mather - Wednesday November 21, 2012
My firm just lost a project. I should say another project, because we do not always receive the contract (or commission) on all of our proposals. This one was more abrasive. The reason? Revit does not find a Home at my firm. At least not yet. We have been holding off from the BIM movement for years. There are a few key reasons for this. One, cost. Two, our projects – custom residences and remodels/additions – don’t seem to demand it. Three, why fix what isn’t broken? I know all three reasons have been diminished by the CADD gurus of our time in every blog on this topic. Still, we are not alone at our firm … but we’ll be making the move very soon now that we did not receive this large commission based upon this... -
Hurricane Sandy – How businesses can play a role in recovery
By Jeff Kaliner - Monday November 19, 2012
By Jeff Kaliner When Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast last month, it caused a massive amount of destruction in numerous cities and communities, especially in New York and New Jersey. From widespread flooding and power outages to gas shortages and the leveling of entire neighborhoods and towns — the list of damage inflicted by the storm is long and requires an intensive recovery effort. Businesses in the affected areas are also dealing with additional problems, such as revenue loss, property damage, data loss and employee absenteeism due to hardship. That’s something we know firsthand, as several of our Power locations, including offices in Long Island and northern New Jersey, were hit directly by the storm. We were lucky and only had... -
What Designers Must Address with Moulding
- Wednesday November 14, 2012
Editor's Note: This is the fourth in a five-part series about mouldings, taken from a whitepaper by Fair Lawn, N.J.-based Kuiken Brothers Co. Inc. titled "Using Moulding to Enhance the Beauty and Elegance of a Space and Create New Revenue Streams." Mouldings are used in new home construction when homeowners are trying to create a specific look and feel. They may have a preference for a certain period in history and want to recreate that. Or, they might want to fit into a neighborhood that has a commonality of style. In renovation, mouldings are generally used to change the way a room works and feels. Encourage homeowners to consider mouldings early. Christine G.H. Franck, designer and co-author of Winterthur: Traditional American... -
Walking the line between architect and showoff
By Rob Heselbarth - Friday November 9, 2012
I expect to see architecture on the cover of architecture magazines. Sometimes, however, I see photos that perpetuate a stereotype that many architects I’ve met in the past nine years tell me they wish didn’t exist. This stereotype is one of design professionals who are more interested in selling their vision rather than an ability to make their clients’ vision come to life. As one might expect of articles that follow such cover photos – photos in which only people are shown with no architecture – the editorial focus is on the person, his or her vision, awards, education, portfolio and interests. These interests might include architectural styles he or she is “into” these days. Rarely is a client’s dream listed as... -
The Digital Divide
By Kenneth W. Betz - Monday November 5, 2012
At some point early on at the Remodeling Show in Baltimore (Oct. 10-12) I was struck by the fact I was surrounded by technology, most of it working only part of the time, if at all. Wi-Fi was not to be had on the show floor, at least not reliably. Now, to be honest, I wasn’t all that concerned because I have neither a smartphone nor a laptop. Then there were the booth personnel, relentlessly thumbing their smartphones. I used to think these were really important people with a lot of urgent messages – until one of them offered to find his company's PR contact for me and engaged in that very same interminable thumbing behavior. It was then I finally realized most of those people intently staring at their smartphones were just looking... -
Free marketing we all can do
By Bonnie Pickartz - Thursday November 1, 2012
One of the most effective ways to increase your visibility in your local market is to get involved with community groups, and to step up when they need volunteers. Most of us do that in our private lives, but don't bring the business name into the mix. If you haven't already done so, now is the time to brand your company locally as a company that cares, a company that steps in when there is a need, a company that helps the community. So, how do you do this? There are probably more directions you can take than I can count, and many of them are specific to your community, but these three steps will give you a start. 1) Attend community meetings. You can read what happened at the aldermen's meeting and get the short story, but... -
The Evolution of Modern Moulding
- Monday October 29, 2012
Editor's Note: This is the third in a five-part series about mouldings, taken from a whitepaper by Fair Lawn, N.J.-based Kuiken Brothers Co. Inc. titled "Using Moulding to Enhance the Beauty and Elegance of a Space and Create New Revenue Streams." Almost all mouldings are replicated from unique/original and custom designs from products craftsmen created more than 200+ years ago. Many of these original craftsmen studied and understood proper scale and proportion and the ancient orders of Greek and Roman architecture. Throughout time, the designs were subtly distorted. An easy way to reproduce these elegant design elements was to take a moulding off of a wall, trace it on a piece of paper, fax it to a mill, and ask the mill to... -
Growing Mature Consumer Base Favors Comfort & Style
By Janice Costa - Wednesday October 24, 2012“Mature” buyers used to be viewed by much of the industry as something of an afterthought. These consumers weren’t seen as investing in major kitchen and bath remodels in great numbers – certainly not the way the baby boomers did, with their growing families, growing incomes and desire to keep up with (or surpass) the Jones. Nor were they viewed as offering the same opportunity as young consumers, who, despite limited disposable income, tended toward more creative designs and lots of technology, with the added bonus of potentially being customers for many decades to come. But with the aging of America, that’s all changing. Older consumers are remodeling in higher numbers than in years past – surpassing other age demographics... -
Why the 25E Residential Performance Tax Credit Matters
By Jeff Kaliner - Monday October 22, 2012
By Jeff Kaliner Federal tax credits for residential energy efficiency projects aren’t new to the home remodeling industry. The recent credits for windows and doors that were valid in 2010 and 2011 gave our industry a boost when the stinging memory of 2008 made consumers nervous to invest in their homes. Green home projects helped homeowners ease back into investing in their property because of the return on investment, lower utility bills, and increased resale value they promised. Now that we’re seeing more stability in the market in 2012, another exciting tax credit is on the horizon – the 25E Residential Performance Tax Credit. 25E is exciting because it provides consumers the opportunity to see the drastic impact of energy... -
Why 13 is lucky in home design
By Todd Mather - Friday October 19, 2012
I love numbers. Not math necessarily, although that does intrigue me. I find an unusual pleasure in hosting parties on dates such as August 8 in 2008, and this past week on 10/11/12. My car features the plate 6022AV0 . For those with a chemistry background, I challenge you to point out its origin. One of my favorite books is The Nothingness That Is: The Natural History of Zero . Fascinating! I even go so far as to use a prime number whenever I can. Why not? I like the larger numbers like 113, 311 or 3001. Call me strange but I have a web site bookmarked on my phone for those opportunities in which I might use one (http://www.calculus.info/tables/prime/prime.html). No one really knows…or probably cares, but it humors me...
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