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From the aging houses in our grandparents' neighborhood to the new homes in our own just-developed neighborhoods, the American house has evolved a great deal.
Handling customer changes above the standard allowances set in the initial contract is the lifeblood of the custom home business.
For years, home technology has been more about selling structured wiring panels and integrated security systems than explaining the real benefits of the high-tech lifestyle to homeowners.
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Recently, BUILDER went out into the field to analyze the complete purchasing process—from negotiating better discounts with vendors to designing back-office purchasing systems. Through our extensive survey and field report, we bring you an industry blueprint for controlling purchasing costs.
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- Builder Kimball Hill Homes partners with BuildTopia to develop customer service software tools.
- The Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association develops traveling educational display.
- TrueLine releases its Sales Solution sales automation software at this year's Builders' Show.
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Four builders formed a consortium that set specifications for a modern construction management system.
Builders told us loud and clear that improving their purchasing operations is a top priority this year. Use these seven trends and tips gleaned from our 2004 Purchasing Survey to control costs, streamline paperwork, and improve your bottom line.
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Toward the end of the 18th century, Beacon Hill was still pasture land, an extension of Boston Common, its only structures a powder house and a watch house that presumably contained the beacon that gave the hill its name. By the middle of the 19th century, it was completely inhabited, on one side...
Powder rooms are often forgotten spaces. Small and utilitarian, they offer few, if any, architectural possibilities.
The husband's vanity, made from a strong, dark wood, projects out at the sink. The wife's vanity, fashioned from painted white wood with beadboard details, recedes at the sink.
There's nothing imperfect about such big-ticket items as the soaking tub, glass vessel sinks, and shower tower, all from Kohler. They make perfect sense in a home that's an 11,000-square-foot custom beauty.
This kitchen looks like a typical well-designed space with granite countertops and high-end appliances.
Given everyone's preoccupation with storage these days, it's no surprise that pantries are making a comeback.
It's all about location, location, location with this kitchen, whose layout the Oklahoma City builder Newhaven Homes has dubbed "club-style."
The floor plan has a small but efficient work triangle for everyday cooks, but it also has a butler's pantry and additional clean-up areas that can serve as a staging area for parties.
Mixing materials is a trend that's hot with kitchens these days, but it's a look that can be tricky to pull off. This winning, remodeled kitchen is an example that works on all fronts.
Design factored into the interior, of course, but it's the materials and equipment that really give this Victorian-inspired kitchen its authentic look.
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2004 Watermark Awards: Best contemporary kitchen in a single-family detached custom or remodeled home—less than 3,000 square feet square feet.
The designers seamlessly blend granite, a raised walnut bar, and a stainless steel sink/counter in the space.
What Senhauser did was strip away the ceiling and relocate the plumbing to gain valuable inches of headroom. He removed the upper cabinets on one wall and replaced the pass-through with an island, which created a better visual and physical connection to the breakfast room and increased the overall...
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From traditional kitchens with homespun details to clean-lined, contemporary spaces, Builder's second annual design competition highlights the best when it comes to inventive kitchen and bath configurations. A watermark spells quality when it comes to paper. Take a look at how that seal of approval...
Price is the third most important quality to builders when choosing a supplier, according to Builder's 2004 Purchasing Survey, but most aren't doing what they could to ensure their company gets the most competitive pricing available.
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Use these tips to set up Builder MT or the purchasing system your company decides on.
For Artery Homes in Bethesda, Md., changing its business processes to manage an automated system based on issuing purchase orders to subcontractors instead of receiving invoices presented more challenges than the actual technology.
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By handling materials in a predictable, methodical way and recognizing the inevitability of delays, you can prevent a purchasing logjam when materials arrive on the building site. Here are a few tips to keep your jobsite humming.
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One major manufacturer has a grand plan for solving the problem of mismatched roofing shingles on the jobsite—and preventing purchasing backlash in the form of returned materials or unhappy clients.
How do you make sure that tons of lumber, windows, frame systems, and roof tiles arrive at the worksite in the right amounts, colors, and condition, so they don't slow the rapid pace of production?
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Mark O. Lords offers these tips for effective purchasing...
This year in Las Vegas our reporter shadowed a builder to find out what builders think about when they research products and how they decide what products to purchase for their homes.
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Looking to leverage your development's volume into greater buying power and more attention from manufacturers? Here's a handful of lessons from Dancing Waters.
Underneath the snow and ice, something quite hot is happening at the suburban St. Paul development of Dancing Waters.
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Van Metre's purchasing software is part of a company-wide “operational” system. Here are some things the software designers kept in mind when it came to putting together their very own system.
Van Metre's software system has been designed to save time for the homeowner, and time and money for the builder.
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Three companies were honored with National Housing Quality (NHQ) silver awards at the 2004 International Builders' Show.
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Shifts in the interest rate structure (long-term rates rising more than short-term rates) are likely to materialize later this year and in 2005, and builders will need to mine the ARM market for all it's worth.
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- The latest edition of the NAHB's “Housing Facts, Figures, and Trends 2004,” provides essential historical information on trends in U.S. home and apartment building.
- The National Green Building Conference contributes to the NAHB's effort to develop more resource-efficient, environmentally...
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As we move into the peak construction and sales season, it's especially important for builders to know exactly what buyers want in a new home.
Depending on where you build, you may never even consider installing an automatic irrigation system for your houses. But it's a category that's worth taking a look at. According to the California Urban Water Conservation Council Web site, many new homes now come equipped with some form of...
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Plumbers, plasterers, and other union subcontractors in booming Las Vegas suggest that unionization of subcontractors would raise the quality bar.
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Once the epicenter of mold litigation, Texas has seen a calming of both lawsuits and consumer fear about mold.
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A coalition of builders, Realtors, and farm groups soundly defeated an attempt by an unusual pairing of environmentalists and local trade unions to protect 700,000 acres of unincorporated rural land in eastern and northern San Diego County.
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British Columbia-based Xantrex Technology and Atlantis Energy Systems of Sacramento, Calif., have formed an alliance that will make it easier and more affordable for home builders to install solar power systems on their houses
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Single vendor rewards programs have always favored the large-volume, production builders. Under such programs, it could take two to three years for a small builder to earn enough points to win a trip or a new computer.
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An Arizona Daily Star report concludes that government fees and sales taxes account for 7 percent to 12 percent of new-home prices in Arizona, which equals about $20,000 or more. Fees have been hiked in recent years to pay for roads, parks, sewer and water lines, and other services needed by new...
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The EPA has named Veridian Homes, Wisconsin's largest home builder, as an Energy Star Partner of the Year for its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by building energy-efficient homes. All Veridian homes meet U.S. Energy Star and Wisconsin Energy Star standards and are Green Built...
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Officials in Sarasota County, Fla., have proposed changing construction setbacks to reduce beach erosion and maintain public access to beaches. About 200 landowners would need variances to build.
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Some of the best names in the business have signed on as subscribers to Design-Lens, an online architectural and interior design library that provides photographs and design details on newsworthy residential communities from coast to coast.
Requirements for a 48-inch-wide bracing wall next to garage doors can be reduced to as little as 18 inches with steel framing, 24 inches with wood.
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Despite the housing boom, manufacturers of wallboard, roofing, insulation, and other basic materials have not enjoyed a significant windfall. Added manufacturing capacity in the late 1990s, home builder consolidations, and builder access to alternative, less-expensive products can be blamed for...
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A mural that graces one wall of Villa Harvey Mandel, part of the St. Vincent de Paul affordable housing complex in San Diego, measures 72-by-42 feet and is made up of 226 sections of stained glass mounted on prefabricated cement slabs that weigh in at an impressive 6.75 tons.
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A survey of 500 residential and commercial builder customers conducted by Intuit found that customers generally trust builders. Fifty-seven percent said they trust their builder a great deal; and 84 percent say they would recommend a residential builder or contractor they had recently hired. When...
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A study published in the Journal of Urban Economics finds that homes in new urbanist neighborhoods cost 15.5 percent more than comparable homes in traditional neighborhoods. The study looked at sales prices of 48,000 single-family homes in Portland, Ore., and such neighborhood characteristics as...
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The federal agency has proposed offering a zero down payment FHA mortgage loan for first-time buyers.
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Residential builders can earn their payback from energy-efficient construction within five years.
The HOMExperts division employs 550 people and generates $85 million in annual revenue from its various offerings: handyman services for consumers, installations for The Home Depot's EXPO Design Centers, basement refinishing franchises, and the builder services.
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It's hard to think of a topic that means more to the health and profitability of home building companies.
Homeowners need more storage space than ever; here?s how to help them choose the right cabinetry.