BUILDING PRODUCTS presents the 50 manufacturer Web sites that contractors like best.By Stephanie Herzfeld
By offering everything from robust search features to extensive specifications to easy-to-follow installation details, BUILDING PRODUCTS' 2001 Favorite 50 product manufacturer Web sites are the cream of the crop. They have many characteristics that readers said they want in a Web site and usually a whole lot more.
To narrow down the search for the best product Web sites for this annual list, BUILDING PRODUCTS editors reviewed hundreds of sites–with the help of eight builders and remodelers–maintained by manufacturers whose products are used most by contractors surveyed in BUILDER magazine's "2001 Brand Use Study." BUILDER is a sister publication of BUILDING PRODUCTS.
The most important features of a building product manufacturer's Web site, according to our contractor-reviewers, are detailed specs, complete installation information, clear images, and helpful extras.
Demanding Detail Detailed specs often are the main reason builders and remodelers log on to the Internet, says Dennis Gehman of Gehman Custom Builder in Harleysville, Pa. Finding exact sizes, shapes, and colors saves time, reduces mistakes, and prevents miscommunication with customers. This is why sites with great specs, like Kohler's and Pella's, for example, are so popular with contractors.
"The importance is in getting sizes, spec sheets, and cut sizes because it saves me time from having to call my distributors," says Tim Wallace of Arlington, Va.-based TW Wallace Construction.
Installation Inquiry Comprehensive installation information is another mark of a great product Web site like the ones found on the Favorite 50 list. "Installation information in a [downloadable] PDF format–that's what I'm looking for," says Patty McDaniel of Boardwalk Builders in Rehoboth Beach, Del., who commends Certainteed's Web site for that reason.
Melanie Orr of Boise, Idaho-based Stronghold Construction agrees. "Installation information is very important because we don't get it from the supplier all the time, and we need to know it before we order a product to prevent ordering the wrong thing," she says.
Detailed CAD drawings and PDF files are often a pro's best friend, and usually are quick and easy to download with Adobe Acrobat, a program that can be obtained free from many of the Favorite 50 Web sites, including ThermaTru's and Merillat's.
Picture Perfect Crisp, clear product images, including application shots, are another important feature that the Favorite 50 Web sites possess. "It helps to be able to send clients to Web sites to get photos," Wallace says, so they don't have to drive around to showrooms. At the Favorite 50 sites, like those for Sterling and GE Appliances, your clients can find what they want in a fraction of the time it would take them to see the products in person.
Spectacular photography is helpful to pros as well. Jim Stetson of Colony Homes in Woodstock, Ga., notes that great photos are especially important to him because they help him become familiar with products he hasn't seen before.
Wishful (Web) Thinking Most pros would agree with James Magnotta of Lansing, Mich.-based Magnotta Builders and Remodelers that "anything that can help you sell to customers and help correctly specify and properly install products is helpful." But many techno-savvy contractors want Web sites to go above and beyond what even the Favorite 50 Web sites offer, acting as links to their subs and customers.
Michael Strong of Brothers Strong in Houston wants Web sites to integrate his firm, suppliers, and customers on the Internet so that information about clients' products can be downloaded by his subs through a link to his firm.
Meanwhile, Marty Schirber of Castle Building & Remodeling in Minneapolis says homeowners are becoming savvier as more and more information is available to them online, so pros and customers have to use the Internet together. "I want to use the Net as a tool with my customers," he says.
Favorite 50 Web Sites Jump to Reviews:
Favorite Bath Product SitesFavorite Construction Product SitesFavorite Exterior Product SitesFavorite Home Tech Product SitesFavorite Interior Product SitesFavorite Kitchen Product SitesFavorite Tools & Equipment SitesFavorite Windows & Doors SitesHere is an alphabetical list of the Favorite 50 product manufacturer sites. Air Vent
www.airvent.comAlumax
www.alumaxbath.comAmerican Standard
www.us.amstd.comAndersen
www.andersenwindows.comArmstrong
www.armstrong.comBenjamin Moore
www.benjaminmoore.comBruce
www.bruce.comCarrier
www.carrier.comCertainTeed
www.certainteed.comClosetMaid
www.closetmaid.comCultured Stone
www.culturedstone.comDal-Tile
www.daltile.comDelta Faucet
www.deltafaucet.comDelta Machinery
www.deltawoodworking.comDeWalt
www.dewalt.comDuPont Tyvek
www.tyvek.comGE Appliances
www.geappliances.comGE Sealants
www.gesealants.comGeorgia-Pacific
www.gp.comGlen-Gery
www.glengerybrick.comHalo
www.cooperlighting.com/brands/haloHarris Tarkett
www.harristarkett.comHitachi
www.hitachi.com/powertoolsJames Hardie
www.jameshardie.com/usahome.htmJohns Manville
www.jm.comKenmore
www.kenmore.comKohler
www.kohler.comKraftMaid
www.kraftmaid.comLeviton
www.leviton.comLutron
www.lutron.comMaytag
www.maytag.comMerillat
www.merillat.comMilgard
www.milgard.comMilwaukee
www.mil-electric-tool.comMoen
www.moen.comOlympic
www.olympic.comPella
www.pella.comPergo
www.pergo.comPorter-Cable
www.porter-cable.comSchlage
www.schlagelock.comSea Gull Lighting
www.seagulllighting.comSherwin-Williams
www.sherwin-williams.comSterling
www.sterlingplumbing.comSub-Zero
www.subzero.comTherma-Tru
www.thermatru.comTrane
www.trane.comVelux
www.velux-america.comVermont American
www.vatool.comWhirlpool
www.whirlpool.comWolverine
www.siding.comBUILDING PRODUCTS wants to thank the following builders and remodelers for their help in reviewing the Favorite 50 Web sites.
Dennis Gehman
Gehman Custom Builder
Harleysville, Pa.
James Magnotta
Magnotta Builders and Remodelers
Lansing, Mich.
Patty McDaniel
Boardwalk Builders
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Melanie Orr
Stronghold Construction
Boise, Idaho
Marty Schirber
Castle Building & Remodeling
Minneapolis
Jim Stetson
Colony Homes
Woodstock, Ga.
Michael Strong
Brothers Strong
Houston
Tim Wallace
TW Wallace Construction
Arlington, Va.