Nation's Building News Online: February 7, 2005Print All Articles Text Version |
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High-End Housing Emerges as a Driving Force in the Remodeling MarketHome owners with incomes over $120,000 and those living in high-end homes costing $400,000 or more are emerging as “one of the anchors” of the nation’s remodeling industry, William Apgar, a senior scholar at the Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies, told convention-goers at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Fla., last month. Looking at the demographics behind the remodeling industry, Apgar said that “Generation Xers” born between 1964 and 1975 are shaping up as a new market force and those in the group with the highest incomes are joining with affluent baby boomers and seniors to fuel growth in the top end of the remodeling sector. According to a new study from the Joint Center, “The Changing Structure of the Home Remodeling Industry,” the number of home owners with inflation-adjusted incomes exceeding $120,000 soared by 50% from 1995 to 2003 and they spent more than $43 billion on remodeling in 2003, which was a full 31% of the total $138.1 billion expenditure on home improvements. Although the high-income group accounted for only 30% of total U.S. household growth during that period, they were responsible for 61% of the inflation-adjusted increase in improvements by home owners, the report says. In sharp contrast, households with incomes below $80,000 accounted for 41% of household growth but a slight 3% of the increase in home improvement spending. Apgar added that homes topping $400,000 accounted for only 11% of the housing stock in 2003 — or 8 million units — but were responsible for 30% of home improvement expenditures. Owners of these homes fueled over 90% of the growth in improvement spending between 1995 and 2003, he said, with owners in this group increasing their remodeling expenditures from $8 billion to more than $40 billion. Owners of the high-end homes, Apgar said, completed more than 800,000 room additions in 2002-2003, which accounted for 43% of total spending in this category. The group also accounted for one-third of total spending on kitchen and bath remodels. Of the more than $40 billion spent on improvements in high-value homes in 2003, $34.1 billion of the work was done by professional contractors, according to the Harvard report, leaving only 15% in the hands of do-it-yourselfers. By comparison, among owners with homes valued at less than $100,000, one-third of improvements were do-it-yourself jobs. Even so, affluent households still contributed to do-it-yourself activity, the report said, with a D-I-Y component found in 28% of all projects completed by owners with $120,000+ incomes. “Overall, the nation’s 10 million highest-income home owners spend an average of $800 each year on D-I-Y projects,” the report says, which is “some 90% more than owners with lower incomes.” Baby boomers, who are now moving steadily into their 50s, still dominate the remodeling market and accounted for 52% of total improvement spending in 2003, Apgar said, “but Generation X is starting to come on strong, growing rapidly in homeownership” and accounting for 28% of remodeling expenditures in 2003. The 30-somethings who comprise the Generation X group are already spending as much on remodeling as the baby boomers spent when they were at the same age, Apgar said, with household outlays averaging $2,200 in 2003. However, when it comes to remodeling, Gen Xers are more likely to do the work themselves, he said. In 2003, D-I-Y accounted for 41% of the younger generation’s spending on home improvement, compared to a 26% share for baby boomers. Older households, Apgar added, may spend less on improvements as they age and find themselves living alone or in an empty nest and not needing additional space, but their use of professional remodelers goes up. The Harvard report notes that assessing Gen X remodeling demand is complicated by the fact that it includes a large share of minority and immigrant households, groups with potentially different home imrpovement needs. Minority participation in the remodeling market has been up across the board, Apgar noted, and Hispanics just about doubled their total remodeling expenditures over the past 10 years. “Will Gen Xers maintain their D-Y-I activity?” Apagar asked. “Don’t worry about this group being absent from the remodeling scene.” Building News Coast To CoastHousing for Professionals Hard to FindA new schedule taking effect in June will allow firefighters in Breckenridge, Colo., to work longer but fewer shifts so that the one in three living outside the district can reduce their commuting time. “We’ve condensed the schedule so they can work 48 hours, then have four days off to limit the commute time,” said Gary Green, the fire chief, who is concerned about retaining employees at his firehouse. About 13% of workers in Summit County commute from outside the county, and that figure is expected to climb to 20% by the end of this decade. A report commissioned by the Summit Housing Authority estimates that nearly 4,000 new housing units would be needed to meet demand in the county in 2010, and about 64% of the units would need to be priced in the $112,000-$268,000 range to make them affordable for locals. “We have a good number of people who want to buy and there are no units available,” said Bonnie Osborn, executive director of the housing authority. Housing at High Costs — Teachers Find County UnaffordableFor Montgomery Blair High School English teacher Pam Bryant, the $200,000 price tag on a small apartment sent her looking for housing outside of Montgomery County, Md. where she works. “Oh my God, it was a nightmare!” she said. “I don’t know which teacher, which person, would pay that much money for a tiny little one-bedroom, one-bath condo.” Still, Bryant only has to drive about half an hour to work, which isn’t bad compared to co-worker Joseph Lynch, a foreign language resource teacher, who drives 90 minutes from Frederick, Md. “Maybe we could afford a house in the county, but there would be no curtains on our windows,” he says. “We got so shocked by prices that we couldn’t possibly live here.” Middle-income public servants have a tough time finding housing they can afford in a county where prices have been surging everywhere, according to County Councilman Steve Silverman. “Teachers, they’re really out of luck. People making income twice as much as teachers are having a hard time finding housing in the county.” Ikea Sells Flat Pack HousingSwedish furniture chain Ikea has announced that it will begin selling its own flat-pack houses and apartments over the counter at its 13 British stores next month. An open-plan, one-bedroom apartment, with high ceilings and a communal garden, will cost about 70,000 pounds, and will be available to first-time buyers with annual incomes as low as 15,000 pounds. The flat packs will be built by Ikea subsidiary BoKlok, with six apartments in each L-shaped block and between three and seven blocks on a site. Land and builders have already been lined up, and the prefabricated homes should be ready for occupancy by the autumn. Ikea is already selling flat pack housing in Scandinavia. Idea for Prefab Housing Debuts in Chile and Thrives in MissouriUsing a vacation home she built for her parents three years ago in their native Chile as a prototype, Rocio Romero is selling two prefabricated housing models — one 1,150 square feet and the other 1,400 — from a sales office in St. Louis. She says her houses are stylish, modern and affordable. Her home kits fit on a single flatbed truck and can be shipped anywhere in the United States relatively inexpensively. The smaller house sells for $31,000, and after shipping and assembly costs, the house is in the $86,000-$138,000 price range. The larger home kit sells for $39,000. The standard home sits on a concrete slab or concrete bricks; the roomier version sits above a basement, which can be a walk out. About 10 of the homes have been sold in the year they’ve been on the market, and Romero says that her business is now profitable, with sales picking up. As Housing Costs Rise, NIMBYism Is SlippingA poll by the Rauch Foundation of Garden City found that 89% of Long Island, N.Y., residents are concerned that rising housing prices will prevent younger workers from being able to afford to live there, resulting in a “brain drain” that will cast a shadow over the region’s economy. The poll also found that many residents are open to new housing policies such as building rental apartments in downtown areas and requiring developers to set aside a portion of new projects for affordable housing. About three-quarters of those surveyed said they supported the idea of building housing on former industrial, commercial or government sites, but less than half responded favorably to changing zoning laws to allow a limited increase in the number of apartments or town houses in areas zoned for single-family homes. Only about 67,000 acres of vacant, developable land remain on Long Island, about one-tenth of its total land area. With millions of dollars in public money being spent to preserve open space from development, and with some municipalities setting higher minimum acreage requirements for new property, the land that is left is disappearing at an even faster rate. Housing Advocates Learn Ways to Beat NIMBY BiasA sellout crowd of 175 people from across the nation — including leaders of nonprofit housing corporations, members of social justice groups, urban planning students and public officials — attended a recent workshop at the University of California at Berkeley to discuss ways of fighting “Not in my backyard” opposition to low-income housing. Speakers said that the usual approach of attempting to build a consensus through town hall-style meetings often doesn’t work very well. Gathering supporters such as construction workers, teachers’ unions, social justice committees or local churches was one of the approaches advocated at the daylong meeting. Other ideas included filing lawsuits to signing “good neighbor agreements” to making moral appeals to provide for the needy. One speaker said organizing bus trips for opponents to tour similar projects in other communities was a successful approach. Compensating neighbors with a new park, a day-care center or even a litter crew for area sidewalks was also suggested. Housing, Immigration Called Keys to the FutureBoston’s ability to grow is being hampered by an overheated housing market, according to Harvard University economist Edward Glaeser. A study by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce found that younger workers are leaving the area, in part, because of the high cost of housing; many condominiums sell for more than $300,000. “This is less of a world city or region than it should be or could be if it had a different set of policies surrounding new construction,” said Glaeser. “And it will not reach its full potential over the next 20-30 years if it continues with these policies. So, if Boston’s economy is to grow, then we’ll have to build more housing.” Glaeser, who is director of the Rappaport Institute for the Greater Boston Area, said that more than 30,000 residential building permits were issued for the city proper in the 1960s, but that number dropped to 3,600 in the 1990s. Thanks to the efforts of Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, more than 13,000 units have been built since 2000. Glaeser says Boston needs to increase its housing production in the city and its suburbs by at least 1% annually, or its economic growth rate and population will fall. Housing Developer Says Preserving Mouse Habitat Cost $3 MillionThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it is taking the Preble’s meadow jumping mouse off its threatened species list after DNA evidence indicated that the nine-inch rodent is probably identical to another variety of mouse common in the West. The news came too late for La Plata Investments, which at a cost of $3 million has set aside 155 acres of mouse habitat and made other accommodations for a 7,600-acre development in the Colorado Springs area. Land-use restrictions stemming from mouse preservation concerns barred the developer from providing recreational trails in the community and also delayed a street extension. Nearly 31,000 acres had been designated as critical habitat for the mouse along streams in Colorado and Wyoming. Condo Fever Turns Buyers Into Early BirdsVisiting Miami from San Francisco, Angelina Umansky arrived at the sales office of a new downtown condo development at 8 a.m. the day after seeing some model units. About 50 other buyers were already standing in line. Two hours later, a sales agent gave her four minutes to decide which unit to buy and she offered $350,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment. When she called on behalf of a friend less than eight hours later, she was told the asking price on a unit like hers had climbed 9% to $380,000. “This is a perfect storm for a frenzied housing market,” said Susan Wachter, a professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “The economy is strengthening, the restrictions on development are increasing and long-term mortgage rates are still historically low.” And with interest rates starting to creep up, more buyers have tended to pile into the market, trying to lock in good rates. According to NAHB, an estimated 115,000 condos were sold last year, a 32% jump from 2003. In New York, sales were up 8.2% in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to a year earlier, and average condo prices were up 11.1% to $1.29 million, according to real estate appraiser Miller Samuel. Home Sales Worth a Million — State’s High-End Market SurgesMore than 33,000 properties were sold for more than $1 million in California last year, according to La Jolla-based DataQuick Information Systems, an annual leap of $73.5%. However, two years earlier many of those properties would have been priced below the $1 million threshold. “A million dollars just isn’t what it used to be when it comes to California real estate,” said DataQuick President Marshall Prentice. The Bay Area and Southern California accounted for virtually all of the sales. Newly built homes accounted for 5,210 of the $1 million-plus sales; 1,677 condominiums were in that category. Military Personnel Gain Access to New Real Estate LoanA new mortgage loan program from Countrywide Home Loans is aimed at making it easier for enlisted U.S. armed forces personnel and their families to buy homes without much money for a downpayment or closing costs. Under Countrywide’s U.S. Military Optimum Loan Program, the borrower would be required to make a minimum downpayment of $500 or 1% of the sales price. In addition to base pay, families can include in their qualifying income for the loan flight or hazard pay, quarter’s allowances and proficiency pay. Income from a boarder renting out a room during a family member’s deployment can also be counted, as well as supplemented undocumented income from borrowers who have taken second jobs. Also under the program’s guidelines, a family member or close friend can cosign for the primary borrower who is buying a home during deployment. For military families with Countrywide mortgages who find themselves under financial duress during active duty, another program forebears payments or recasts loans, temporarily reduces mortgage rates higher than 6% to 6% and provides counseling. Cities Riding Waves of Success With Well-Planned Waterfront RestorationsOf the 75 largest cities in the U.S., only six are not located on a significant body of water, so the opportunities for new waterfront development and redevelopment are abundant. Boston and Baltimore are the most notable examples of successful waterfront restoration and adaptive reuse. The Port Commission of San Diego currently is planning to revitalize a 25-acre stretch of its historic downtown waterfront, which encompasses an old police headquarters building. Slated to begin late this summer, is the development of the San Pedro waterfront and plaza at the Port of Los Angeles — a seven-mile stretch of waterfront property extending from the Los Angeles Downtown Harbor to the Long Beach Harbor. Tax Increases Ravage Commercial PropertyIn an effort to appease home owners who are angry about their rising property tax bills, states and cities are taxing commercial properties much more heavily than they were 10 years ago, according to a new study from the Minnesota Taxpayers Association, widening the gap between commercial and residential property taxes. According to the state-by-state study of property taxes paid last year, the average ratio of commercial to residential property-tax rates increased to 3.329 to 1 from 2.751 in 1995. On average, a $1 million commercial property had a property-tax rate three times as high as the rate for a $70,000 home, and 43 cities had some form of preferential treatment of residential property, up from 33 in 1995. Even so, home owners’ property taxes are going up. The study found that Newark, N.J., recorded the highest residential property-tax bill on a median-value home of the 55 big cities surveyed, at $8,637. It was followed by Bridgeport, Conn., at $6,393; Miami, $6,096; Detroit, $5,516; and Providence, R.I., $5,443. The average for all of the cities was $2,788. Landscaping Stones May Pose Risks to the EnvironmentA chemical analysis of the colorful crusts left around ornamental rock after watering drought-resistance plants in such areas as Las Vegas and many other cities in the southwestern United States found elevated concentrations of zinc, molybdenum and copper, according to Stephanie A. Mrozek of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At one elementary school in Las Vegas where a sample was taken, the concentration of dissolved copper in a puddle was measured at four times what the Environmental Protection Agency says is safe for drinking water. The trace metals in the crusts probably are leaching from the crushed rocks because of their pyrite minerals. Because most of the rocks are gravel size or smaller, they collectively have a large surface area over which the acid-making and rock-dissolving reactions can take place, Mrozek says. Salt crusts don’t form when pyrite-free crushed rock is used in the landscaping. Fastest Growing Remodeling Markets Located Primarily in the SunbeltWith the nation’s residential remodeling market fast approaching an annual volume of one-quarter of a trillion dollars, Kermit Baker, director of the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, noted several trends that are changing the industry at a time when it is poised to continue the steady real annual growth of roughly 3% characterizing the past 10 years. The remodeling market has become increasingly dominated by home owners, who have been contributing about 75% of all remodeling expenditures, and 80% of that spending has been on improvements and only 20% on maintenance and repairs, according to a new Joint Center report, “The Changing Structure of the Home Remodeling Industry.” Home owners undertake remodeling projects to modernize or otherwise improve the livability of their homes, and Baker said that 45% of spending for home owner improvements — or $60 billion of the almost $140 billion spent in 2003 — involves changes to interior space such as kitchen and bathroom remodels and additions, other room additions and other structural additions. Replacements to exteriors (including roofing, siding, windows and doors) and interiors (such as flooring, wall finishes and ceilings) represented about 28% of the home owner spending on improvements in 2003. The remaining 18% went toward general improvements to the property, such as driveways and retaining walls. Although home improvement activity has been concentrated in the Northeast and Midwest, where the housing stock is older, Baker noted that homes built in the 1960s and the 1970s in the Sunbelt are now reaching their prime remodeling age. Of the nation’s top 25 markets for home owner improvements, the areas that experienced the most growth in 2003 tended to be in the Sunbelt, he said. The value of remodeling permits in the South and West increased at a double-digit pace in 2003, but only about half that rate in the Northeast and Midwest, according to the Harvard report Robust Sunbelt markets for home improvements in 2003 included: Miami, up 38.8%; Phoenix, up 35.8%; Los Angeles, 34.5%; San Diego, 21.4%; Tampa, Fla., 18.8%; and Atlanta, 8.9%. Among major Sunbelt markets, only Dallas-Ft. Worth and Houston trailed down, by 13.3% and 8.9%, respectively. Over the past decade, home owners on average spent about 10% of the 1995 value of their homes on improvements. However, 44% reported spending between 10% and 50% of their home’s market value, and 6.7% spent more than 50%. The timing of expenditures can explain the divergence of these spending patterns, according to Baker. “Improvements often come in a flurry,” he said. “Having recently done another project, the ‘while we’re at it’ syndrome” occurs. He added that, “Home owners focus on the most serious eyesore. Once it’s corrected, another eyesore becomes evident.” Baker noted that the nation’s remodeling contractor base continues to be fragmented. “While the top 10 U.S. home builders doubled their mid-1990s market share to over 20% of all homes sold in 2003,” the Harvard report says, “the top 10 remodeling firms that year captured just 1% of home owners.” The country’s top 500 remodeling contractors accounted for less than a 4% share. Small companies may be better poised to withstand downturns in the markets and to meet local demand, the Harvard report says, but it notes that “small contractors are increasingly out of step in an industry that is becoming more and more specialized” and that is being driven by home owners who are looking for upscale improvements that often involve complex jobs requiring skilled project management. “Manufacturers are responding to this demand by rapidly introducing a host of new product offerings,” the report says. “For their part, product distributors have begun to market to narrower customer segments and tailor their services and inventory mix accordingly. These changes leave small remodeling contractors alone as generalists in an environment that is rapidly moving toward specialization.” NAHB analyst Gopal Ahluwalia said that about one-third of remodeling work done by professional remodelers is subcontracted today, compared to less than 10% in 1980. By comparison, 60% of the work is subcontracted in new construction. Housing SnapshotAs expected, the Federal Resereve Board last week increased its Federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%, and banks followed by raising their prime rate to 5.5%. While one-year adjustable rate mortgages have been moving up some, the cost of 30-year fixed-rate mortgages continued to move down slightly. "We will probably see the ARM rise a little more over the next few weeks in anticipation of further rate increases by the Fed while the long-term fixed rates remain fairly flat," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. "Mortgage rates remain historically low, which helps to maintain a robust housing industry. Looking forward, we continue to expect long-term rates will not rise very much this year, and that the economy will grow at a sustainable pace, and this should translate into a continued good atmosphere for housing." Remarks by Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan on the U.S. trade deficit and a proposed fiscal 2006 budget deficit that trims discretionary domestic programs outside of homeland security by 0.7% brought some strength to the dollar at the end of last week and continuing into this week. The Bush Administration is proposing to reduce the budget deficit from 3.5% of the Gross Domestic Product currently to 1.7% by 2008. The Labor Department last week reported that the nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in January, down from 5.4% in December, and was at its lowest level since September of 2001. Lumber prices took a considerable leap forward last week, surprising many. The cost of framing lumber rose from $384 per 1,000 board feet to $404, according to Random Lengths, compared to $352 a year earlier. But the price rise was even more pronounced for plywood and oriented strand board; the panel composite price surged from $375 to $424 per 1,000 square feet. Mortgage Interest Rates30 Year Fixed Rate: 5.63\% Housing Starts: Dec. 2004Total: 2.004 million\% New Home Sales: Dec. 2005 *1.098 million Existing Home Sales: Dec. 2005 *6.69 million * Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate NAHB Is Your Business PartnerIf you were one of the record 105,000 housing professionals who attended this year’s International Builders’ Show in Orlando, then you saw for yourself that nobody puts on a show like NAHB. From the largest assembly anywhere of cutting-edge building products and services to presentations by expert speakers on the issues that are shaping our industry, in four super-charged days NAHB’s annual exposition provides the resources and the ideas that can keep your business ahead of the competition. NAHB is the best business partner you could have, not just at the start of the year but all year long. I am committed to providing our members with the tools they need to score success in an industry that is always fraught with challenges. We are fired up about prospects for housing in 2005 and we are ready to deliver. In the coming year, we’re going to continue to focus on what NAHB does best, and we’re going to do it better than ever. One of our top priorities is improving the business environment in which we all operate. This means eliminating the regulatory barriers that frustrate our efforts to supply the housing that is sorely needed in our growing communities. And it means empowering our members with educational opportunities so that they will have the wide range of abilities needed to prosper in the home building business — to assess your marketplace, provide your prospective customers with what they want, run an effective operation, navigate the approval process, turn neighbors into supporters of your housing plans and much, much more. We’re going to be more proactive in moving forward our legislative agenda in the 109th Congress. We’re going to tackle issues head-on. One of the top issues emerging in the Senate will be reforms for the housing industry’s government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) — Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. Following the recommendations of a specially appointed NAHB task force on this issue, our board of directors has just approved major policy on oversight reform, and we’re ready to lead the debate. Another goal we will continue to pursue with full determination is increasing the supply of affordable workforce housing for teachers, police officers, fire fighters and other essential employees who have been priced out of living in the communities they serve. We brought this issue to national attention last year and identified resources and approaches that will begin to address the problem. We will pursue those initiatives this year, and we will also continue our support for proposals by the Bush Administration to create a homeownership tax credit and a zero-downpayment FHA mortgage to boost homeownership opportunities in this country. In our commitment to make NAHB your true business partner, we will also be increasing our efforts this year on retaining current members and acquiring new ones. Membership is the lifeblood of this association. Our grassroots membership is the source of our strength, and in 2005 we plan to make the members of our federation even stronger through the expansion of NAHB’s educational programs and networking opportunities, including the 20 Clubs. Finally, I want to let you know about the Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund. With an initial donation of $250,000 designated by the NAHB Board of Directors in Orlando, the fund will be directed to rebuilding efforts that provide temporary and permanent shelter for survivors. I have asked Bob Mitchell, a past president of NAHB, to lead this effort. We will be working with U.S. charitable organizations to demonstrate our concern, and I urge you to join in this effort through a tax-deductible donation. For more information in this issue of Nation's Building News on how you can do your part to address the shelter needs of nations devastated by the tsunami, click here. You can ask the President of the United States, leaders in the Congress, the chairman of the Federal Reserve or the top economists in the country, and they will all tell you that housing has been the driving force supporting our economy for the past several years. And you can ask the parents of your childrens’ friends at school, members of your church congregation, people standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, and they will tell you that there are few things more important for their families than housing. That is an awesome responsibility for a single industry, but one in which we can all take great professional pride. I promise you that NAHB will continue to be your voice — the voice of housing in America. I look forward to serving you and our entire membership. Builders Applaud Economic Agenda in Bush State of the Union AddressThe nation’s home builders expressed support last week for several initiatives outlined by President Bush in his State of the Union address that are designed to keep housing and the economy moving ahead at a healthy pace. “The National Association of Home Builders looks forward to working with the White House and leaders on Capitol Hill to eliminate unnecessary regulatory barriers that impede economic and job growth; to pass class action tort reform to curb the number of frivolous lawsuits that unnecessarily drive up the cost of housing; to enact association health plan legislation so that small businesses are able to provide quality, cost-effective health care to their employees; and to make tax relief permanent,” said NAHB President David Wilson. The President stated in his speech that America has “raised homeownership to the highest level in history,” but in order for him to achieve his previously stated goal of adding seven million additional affordable homes to the nation’s housing roster in the next decade, NAHB is urging the Administration to renew its support for homeownership tax credit legislation that would increase the supply of affordable homes. The program is designed to bridge the gap between the cost of developing affordable housing and the price that buyers can afford to pay in many lower-income neighborhoods. The tax credit received majority support in each chamber of Congress last year, and NAHB will work with lawmakers to move this proposal forward in the year ahead. “The homeownership tax credit will make it economically viable for development to proceed in inner cities, struggling suburbs and isolated rural areas,” said Wilson. “This initiative is expected to spur the production of 50,000 new or rehabilitated homes annually and is another important step toward achieving the national goal of providing a decent and affordable home for every American.” In laying out his economic agenda, Bush said “we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits.” To make health care more affordable, he also called for the creation of “association health plans for small businesses and their employees.” NAHB supports these efforts and is urging the Congress to approve S. 5, the “Class Action Fairness Act of 2005.” The bill was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) late last month and approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, and it is expected to be considered by the full Senate this week. Association health plan bill H.R. 525, “The Small Business Health Fairness Act,” which was unveiled on Feb. 2 in the House, would allow small businesses to pool their employees, through membership in trade associations, to negotiate lower insurance costs and increased health options. “Association health plans enjoy broad, bipartisan support and the measure has received the enthusiastic backing of the White House. To help address the nation’s urgent health care needs, we urge the Congress to act quickly on this matter,” said Wilson. The President also called for passage of a broad energy plan to make America more secure and less dependent on foreign oil. In the 108th Congress, lawmakers included energy efficient tax credits for new, existing and rental home construction in a comprehensive energy bill and NAHB is calling on Capitol Hill leaders to include these measures in any new energy package introduced in the new congressional session. “President Bush summed it up best when he told the nation: ‘These proposals are essential to expand this economy and add new jobs,’” said Wilson. “And we look forward to working closely with the Administration and congressional leaders from both parties to enact these important measures.” To read S. 5 or H.R. 525, click here and enter the bill number in the box at the upper left. For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252. NAHB Senior Officers Urge Congressional Leaders to Focus on Housing Mission of GSEsAs the Congress prepares to discuss new oversight measures for the housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks, NAHB Senior Officers last week engaged in a series of critical meetings tied to the ongoing debate. NAHB President David Wilson and Immediate Past President Bobby Rayburn discussed the association’s views with the key lawmakers who will play instrumental roles in shaping any GSE reform proposal — Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), the committee’s Ranking Member Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) and House Financial Services Chairman Michael Oxley (R-Ohio). The Senior Officers made it clear that NAHB wants to work with Congress and the Administration to ensure that the GSEs’ housing mission remains the central focus as lawmakers move to enact meaningful regulatory restructuring of the housing finance entities. The NAHB leaders also expressed their concern over a growing momentum on Capitol Hill to consider a series of regulatory changes that could diminish the ability of the GSEs to provide housing financing at the lowest possible cost. And they stressed that it is important for NAHB to be “at the table” when this package of changes is considered. In late breaking news on these issues, Standard & Poor’s, the only debt rating agency that had expressed doubt about the potential impacts of provisions to allow a regulator full authority to place Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac into receivership, last week reversed itself on the likely impact of such a change on the GSEs’ credit ratings. Speaking at an American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research forum examining whether receivership powers are necessary for Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s regulator, S&P executive Michael DeStefano said that his agency “wouldn’t have any credit problem with establishing a receivership.” However, DeStefano also added that the likelihood of any government takeover of the GSEs in the future is extremely remote. “From a practical perspective, the notion that a GSE would be liquidated by anybody under any circumstance would be so remote that I think it would be hard for us or for capital market participants to take that seriously as a real option.” For further information, e-mail Michael Strauss, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252. Photos by Herman Farrer Senate Ready to Consider Class Action Tort Reform This WeekThe Senate leadership has renewed efforts early in the session to pass class action tort reform. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) introduced S. 5, the “Class Action Fairness Act of 2005,” on Jan. 25. The bill would make it easier to shift class action lawsuits from state courts into federal courts in cases seeking more than $5 million in damages and where many of the parties involved are in different states. In interstate class action cases, the plaintiff or defendant could have the case removed to federal court. On Feb. 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 5, without amendments, by a vote of 13 to 5. Senators Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) joined all 10 Republicans on the panel in approving the bill. Prior to the panel vote, NAHB sent a letter to the full committee supporting the bill and opposing any amendments. The identical measure stalled on the Senate floor last July when lawmakers attempted to attach several contentious and unrelated riders to the bill. S. 5 will be considered in the full Senate this week. If the Senate approves a “clean” bill without amendments, the House Republican leadership has indicated it will pass the Senate bill rather than its own version of class action legislation (H.R. 516) and send the measure immediately to the President. NAHB continues to urge senators to oppose any amendments to S. 5 that would endanger the compromise with House lawmakers and delay this legislation. The bill represents a key vote for the association when it reviews the voting records of members of Congress. To view the bills, click here and type S. 5 or H.R. 516 in the box in the upper left hand corner. For more information, e-mail J.P. Delmore at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8470. Builders Endorse Association Health Plan LegislationAssociation health plan (AHP) legislation introduced on Feb. 2 by Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Sam Johnson (R-Texas), Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) and Albert Wynn (D-Md.) would address the problem of the nation’s rising number of uninsured and help alleviate the high cost of health care, according to NAHB. “NAHB has been a strong advocate of AHPs as a solution for the skyrocketing health care costs over the past decade that have driven many small businesses out of the health insurance market entirely, forcing them to abandon coverage for their employees,” said NAHB President David Wilson. H.R. 525, “The Small Business Health Fairness Act,” is identical to legislation that passed the House in the 108th Congress with broad bipartisan support. The measure would allow small business owners to band together across state lines through membership in a bona fide local, state or national trade association to leverage their size, just as large businesses and unions do, to negotiate lower insurance costs and more options. The legislation has the strong backing of the Bush Administration and more than 160 trade associations. “Access to quality, affordable health care is an important issue to home builders and America’s small businesses,” said Wilson. “H.R. 525 would enable America’s working families to receive the cost-effective, high-quality health care coverage they deserve.” To read the legislation, click here and enter H.R. 525 in the box at the upper left. For more information, e-mail Michael Strauss at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8252. What You Need to Know About Maintaining a Safe WorkplaceIn general, every employer has an obligation to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its employees. Not only does this comply with the law, but a safe and healthy workplace benefits your business in other ways:
Legal or Regulatory Basis The Occupational Safety and Health Act extends to virtually every employer in the country; self‑employed persons are exempt. This law is administered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Some states have their own OSHA standards and program, but to have such a program, their standards and practices have to be at least as effective as OSHA. Check your state laws and regulations for requirements. What Employees Can Do Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, employees can refuse to work in environments they consider dangerous and/or life threatening. They can call OSHA to report hazards, which may result in an inspection. They can pursue these rights without fear of retaliation or discrimination and can ask for an investigation if they believe this right has been violated. What OSHA Can Do Under the law, OSHA may inspect your work site to look for safety hazards, may set standards for safe practices and may issue fines and penalties. An OSHA Inspection An OSHA inspector will arrive at your work site for an inspection without advance notice. If this happens, ask to see the inspector's credentials and verify his authenticity. While the inspector has the right to enter the work site at that time, you may request that the inspector wait for a few minutes until a senior officer from your company can arrive. You can request a warrant for entry, but this very important decision should be made with legal assistance. The inspector will brief you on the nature and focus of the inspection. This may include talking to employees, which can be done privately. If the inspector has been summoned by an employee, that employee may remain anonymous. The inspector may take pictures, collect samples and videotape evidence. The onsite company representative may — and should — accompany the inspector during the site inspection. You should take notes about what happened and what was said by both the inspector and you. Also take pictures of the same evidence the inspector photographs. Finally, after the inspection, the inspector will confer with you about any alleged hazards found. What You Must Do Under the Law If you have 10 or more employees at any time during the year, you must maintain records of occupational injuries and illnesses at each business location. Use the following recordkeeping forms: OSHA Form 301 — Injury and Illness Incident Report. This is one of the first forms you must fill out when a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred. Together with the Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses and accompanying Summary, these forms help the employer and OSHA develop a picture of the extent and severity of work-related incidents. Within seven calendar days after you receive information that a recordable work-related injury or illness has occurred, you must fill out this form or an equivalent. Some state workers’ compensation, insurance or other reports may be acceptable substitutes. OSHA Form 300 — Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. The Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses is used to classify work-related injuries and illnesses and to note the extent and severity of each case. OSHA Form 300A — Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses. The Summary indicates the total number of injuries for the year in each category. At the end of the year, post the Summary in a visible location so that your employees are aware of the injuries and illnesses occurring in their workplace. Refer to your state and local laws and regulations. Most state laws require filing of OSHA records with a state agency, from the employer's first report of injury. If an on‑the‑job accident occurs that causes the death of at least one employee and/or the hospitalization of three or more workers, you are required to report the accident in detail to the nearest OSHA area office or state agency. You are required to post a notice or poster announcing safety protections in a conspicuous place. Go to www.osha.gov to view and order notices and posters. Copies of OSHA forms 301, 300, and 300A — as well as detailed instructions and examples for filling them out — can be found in "Managing Your Employees: Human Resources Guide for Builders," available at BuilderBooks.com. The publication contains a model personnel policies and employee handbook you can customize for your company, a section on legal and regulatory authorities that affect personnel policies and suggested systems and processes for managing your workforce. It also contains a CD of forms and checklists for managing human resources policies and programs. View or purchase "Managing Your Employees" online, or call 800-223-2665.
NAHB Has More Than 170 Resources to Help You Run Your Business More Profitably
Go to NAHB's Business Management Tools Web pages for instant access to more than 170 timesaving, moneymaking and cost-cutting business resources to help you run your business more profitably. Get guidance on accounting and financial management, business strategy, computers and information technology, customer service, human resources and more. Resources are added weekly, so bookmark www.nahb.org/biztools to go directly to these vital business management resources. Local and state associations, link directly to www.nahb.org/biztools from your Web site and give your members instant access to these resources. It will make your HBA's Web site the place to go for the information and guidance they need to succeed. Subscribe to NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source NAHB’s Business of Building e/Source is your monthly electronic guide to the hot issues and emerging trends in home building business management. You’ll find practical advice, tricks of the trade and sound business guidance — all delivered monthly, straight to your desktop, in a quick and easy-to-read format. Business of Building e/Source is available free to NAHB members and their employees. To subscribe, click here on the members only side of www.nahb.org. PowerPoint Presentations Will Take You to the Next LevelA yellow tablet and a 25-foot ruler are not enough. Every remodeler should take a sales kit or portfolio presentation to every prospective customer meeting. Customers want to see more than what you are planning for their homes. They want to see your past work in order to determine your capability of doing their job. How often have your heard questions about details such as, “What does a six-panel door look like?” Or, “What is the difference between colonial and streamline casing?” Customers ask because they are not familiar with the names of products we use every day. A sales kit will help you fill in the blanks for them. Traditional Portfolios Are Heavy and Unwieldy For the last 25 years I have taken scads of pictures of our work and compiled a very large portfolio — it is brimming with 8- x 10-inch pictures and weighs about 25 pounds ― to show my prospects. The portfolio has become unwieldy to say the least. I have sorted the photos differently for different customers from time to time, and sometimes I couldn’t find the picture I wanted to show because of all my reshuffling. But that has changed because now I have all my pictures indexed, duplicated and blown up to 8-1/2- x 11-inches — and my whole presentation only weighs 4.3 pounds! What’s more, I can find anything that I or a customer wants in seconds. Electronic Slide Shows Are Responsive, Light ― and Easy to Create All my pictures are now on Microsoft PowerPoint in my notebook computer. Even though I am not a computer jock, this is amazingly simple to do. (I also have the slideshow on my desktop in the office for prospects who come to the office.) You can create a PowerPoint or similar electronic slide show. All you need are two things — a notebook computer with PowerPoint (or similar) software and a digital camera. Use the digital camera to take pictures of your projects and products, download the photos to your computer and then create a slide presentation. I also have taken digital pictures of my old photographs using a desk lamp for light and a tripod on the desk to steady my camera. It works very well. I have sorted my pictures into a several different files by category, for example:
Organize Your Presentation So You Can Show Customers What They Want to See By organizing my presentation this way, I can bring it up and click from one relevant photo to the next with ease with just a couple of key strokes. The pictures are always in order, they don’t get lost or scattered and there are no fingerprints or bent edges to make them look ratty. Most contractors have a notebook computer and digital camera these days, but they don’t take advantage of all the capabilities and flexibility the technology offers. When creating a slide show presentation, be sure to save each different presentation as a separate file. You can use the same picture in several different files and presentations, you can have as many files as you want and they can contain as many pictures as you desire. Remember, at the heart of it, creating an electronic slide presentation is quite simple:
You will never have to lug around photographs again. You will be delighted with the ease and convenience of the electronic presentation because your work always will be instantly available. Most importantly, your sales process will be greatly enhanced by full screen color displays and images of your fine design and craftsmanship. Edd Knight is president of EAK Knight Construction, Inc. of Carbondale, Ill. Knight has been a carpenter for more than 50 years, and during that time he has built several hundred homes and remodeled and repaired several thousand. He is currently the president of the HBA of Southern Illinois. For more information, e-mail Knight.
The NAHB University of Housing Offers Designation Programs and Other Courses The NAHB University of Housing offers CAPS, CGR, CGB and a variety of other professional designation programs and business management courses that set builders and remodelers apart from the competition. To learn more about NAHB’s designation programs, visit www.nahb.org/designations. For a complete list of all current education offerings, click here. Who Will Be the Next Remodelor™ of the Month? The Remodelor™ of the Month (this link is accessible to Remodelors™ Council members only) award program is underway. Don't miss your opportunity to be named the Remodelor™ of the Month. Brewery Site Provides Workforce Housing in BrooklynA residential development on the site of a former brewery is one of six projects recognized by NAHB at the International Builders’ Show in Orlando last month for its contribution to efforts nationwide to provide affordably priced housing for teachers, police, firefighters and other essential workers in the communities they serve. Winner of the NAHB Innovation in Workforce Housing Award, Rheingold Gardens Partnership Homes in Brooklyn, N.Y. is comprised of more than 150 dwelling units, including two-family homes, three-family homes and condominiums. The project is part of a 6.7-acre brownfield redevelopment on the site of the former Rheingold Brewery. The entire project consists of more than 400 units of housing, including low-income rental apartments and an affordable housing cooperative. The completed project will include a day-care center, a senior home care office and training center and retail space. Developed by the Bluestone Group of Fresh Meadows, N.Y., the project is an important part of the revitalization of Brooklyn’s Bushwick area. Major stakeholders in the project included the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council , which acted as community sponsor and marketing agent for the Partnership homes and developer for the other components of the Rheingold redevelopment; The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development; the Housing Partnership Development Corporation; New York State Affordable Housing Corp.; and JP Morgan Chase. “The Bushwick area is facing market pressures of rising housing prices due to gentrification, but has not seen significant increases in real incomes,” said Eric Bluestone, who accepted the NAHB award. "Our goal was to produce workforce housing for people in the community. The housing had to be affordable to households with family incomes between $40,000 and $75,000." "It is my pleasure to bring attention to projects that are designed to meet the needs of America's working families," said NAHB 2004 President Bobby Rayburn. “The Innovation in Workforce Housing Awards emphasize creativity in community design, financing and in partnering with other community groups. I can’t think of a better way to single out builders and developers who are ahead of the curve on addressing this critical need.” For more information about workforce housing and these awards, including eligibility requirements, click here, or e-mail Kym Kilbourne at NAHB or call her at 800-368-5242 x8447. Award photo by Oscar Einzig Photographers Take Advantage of National Desigation MonthFebruary is National Designation Month and to celebrate the month The NAHB University of Housing is offering more than 140 classes during February. The NAHB University of Housing offers more than a dozen professional designations covering industry basics such as business management and marketing techniques, along with specialized courses including aging-in-place programs, property management and more. Earning a designation allows NAHB members to hone their business skills and convey to their clients that they have superior training, practical experience and in-depth knowledge. Additionally, designation holders can take advantage of valuable networking opportunities throughout their enrollment by working closely with expert instructors and other professionals both within their field and outside their specific areas of expertise. To participate in National Designation Month, visit Designation Month Resources on the NAHB Web site. Avoid These Traps That Provoke Fair Housing ClaimsWell-meaning businesses get caught up in fair housing binds even though most are familiar with the various federal, state and local laws that prohibit discrimination in housing, according to Jeffrey Ross, of Seyfarth Shaw LLP in Chicago. These companies become embroiled in fair housing legal battles primarily because of “misunderstanding and miscommunications,” according to Ross. Meetings and apologies with claimants would help diffuse the situations before they escalate into costly, time-consuming claims, he said. “First, I would insist on a face-to-face meeting with the claimant,” Ross said. Owners and the company representatives involved should meet with claimants, show concern and listen to the complaints. If they do, “they may be able to resolve the issue right then and there,” he said. “Also, give consideration to apologizing — not for discriminating against a claimant because, most likely, they didn’t. They should apologize for how this person was made to feel,” he said. Ross has represented developers, builders, real estate companies, municipalities and individuals in fair housing matters. In addition, on a pro-bono basis, he has brought fair housing claims against companies. So he knows the issue from both sides of the fence. What to Look Out For, What to Avoid At the International Builders’ Show in Orlando, Ross explained how builders, in general, fell into 13 common fair housing traps and what they could do to avoid these traps. These traps include:
Residential Designers Aim for Million-Dollar Look at an Affordable PriceAt a time when prospective home buyers are increasingly design- and value-conscious, builders can glean details from million dollar homes and apply them in inexpensive ways in more affordably priced housing, panelists told convention-goers at the International Builders’ Show last month in Orlando, Fla. Builders can consult reference materials on residential design and when they find details that will work they can then search for products that are good-looking reproductions of the costlier original, said Tony Crasi, of Crasi, Inc. in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. “Synthetic stone and other materials are getting better,” he said. When a client asked him to design a Gothic house, Crasi said, he found a book at Border’s and was off and running. He recommended four publications as design sources:
As other sources of inspiration, Crasi suggested looking for ideas, and taking photographs, in old neighborhoods built before the Depression and at estate sales and open houses. He also recommended architectural tours, which are conducted in most cities, and Professional Builder magazine’s annual tour of Europe, where all of the ideas originally came from. The next step involves critiquing the details, and that’s “all about scale, massing, getting the right pieces in the right places,” he said. Don’t try to force Tudor details on a colonial home or impose French country design where it doesn’t work, he advised. And make sure that the scale and proportion feel right. Suppliers may be able to suggest alternative materials that cost less, he said, and subcontractors may have some pointers on how to help simplify labor. Crasi said that fireplaces make a good focal point in a room, and he showed how a builder can save $4,700 on this expensive detail by using one made of metal for $2,300 instead of masonry for $7,000. Two-foot by six-foot columns are another design favorite of his. When made of drywall, their cost comes down from $1,000 to $175. The look of wood wall paneling can be obtained by coating drywall and painting it out as trim, he added. Lita Dirks, of Lita Dirks & Company in Englewood, Colo., devotes her efforts to decorating model homes. “You don’t need expensive Henredon furniture,” she said. “You need a good knockoff that’s less expensive.” “Look for memory points,” she said, “a spot in the room that makes somebody comfortable in the model, an area that they can focus on.” For lighting, Dirks said she shops at companies like Progress. For flooring, and popular products such as distressed wood and bamboo, she goes to www.bruce.com or www.mannington.com. Dominick Tringali, of Dominick Tringali Architects in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., recommended L.J. Smith as “a great resource” for wrought-iron railing. Tringali said that he is a big advocate of designing with alternative materials and finding them as stock items. “You can get that million dollar look with synthetic materials,” he said. Follow the Four ‘Knows’ to Sales SuccessAs an HR professional, I’ve had the opportunity to work with, support, lead and be a professional salesperson. After working in many different industries, I’ve concluded — beyond a shadow of a doubt — that the same professional and personal characteristics spell success for sales representatives and sales managers across all markets and products — including new home sales. Let’s face it, for a sales representative or sales manager to achieve success, your company must have quality products, service and efficient operating systems in place. A viable, long-term enterprise needs these things just to “get in the game.” Likewise, all sales representatives and sales managers must have and be proficient at operating systems that I call the “Four Knows” ― just to be able to handle their role basics. The ‘Four Knows’ You Need to Know
The Four X Factors to Sales Management Success Not every successful sales representative can become a successful sales manager. The main difference is that the effective sales manager not only possesses the “Four Knows,” he or she also understands and consistently applies an additional set of characteristics which I call the “Four X Factors” (or “extra” factors). X Factor #1 — Know how to coach and counsel.
X Factor #2 ― Know how profit and loss works in your company.
X Factor #3 – Know how to select, train and retain successful sales representatives.
X Factor #4 – Know how to analyze and adjust company performance systems.
One other item of importance for the sales manager is the fact that you will be spending less time face-to-face with the customer. You must commit this additional energy and time to developing your “X Factor,” and to developing the “Four Knows” in those who report to you. Successful sales representatives and sales managers require a significant, yet distinct set of skills. Management needs to recognize and cultivate these skills in its staff. One of the most frequent mistakes I have seen companies make when selecting new sales managers is to simply give the position to the salesperson with the best field sales record. This does their entire organization a disservice. In conclusion, while you are busy with the “Four Knows” and the "Four X Factors,” remember to commit time to developing the next sales manager or two for your company. If you do all of the above, you’ll be nearly ready for the next regional, divisional or national sales manager opening in your company. Mike Owen is vice president of human resources, sales, marketing and business development for Empliant, Inc. of Chapel Hill, N.C. Owen has 30 years of human resources, operations and sales management experience. E-mail Owen for more information. Originally published in NAHB’s Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine ©2004.
Subscribe to Sales + Marketing Ideas Magazine for Cutting-Edges Information For additional cutting-edge sales and marketing information, subscribe to NAHB’s Sales + Marketing Ideas magazine. Call 800-368-5242 x8192 or visit www.smimagazine.com to subscribe or order a copy. Click here to learn about membership benefits of the National Sales and Marketing Council and the Institute of Residential Marketing.
Residential Marketing Courses and Designation Programs for Sales & Marketing Professionals The Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM) offers four designation programs for sales and marketing professionals: For more information on these designation programs, click here or call 800-368-5242 x8192. To locate a MIRM in your state, visit www.nahb.org/MIRM. BuilderBooks.com Offers Sales and Marketing Publications Online
BuilderBooks.com offers a variety of sales and marketing publications online. To view or purchase these publications, click here. Dallas-Ft. Worth Developer Named Chair of Home Builders Institute BoardPatsy Ruth Smith, president and CEO of Herman Smith & Co., has been named 2005 chairman of the board of trustees of the Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB. She was married for 44 years to the late Herman Smith, a former NAHB president and prominent land developer and philanthropist, and took control of the company upon his death, successfully completing a 240,000-square-foot major shopping center and focusing on the company's business of developing and selling lots in Dallas-Fort Worth. An HBI trustee for the past nine years, Smith is well acquainted with the institute’s workforce development initiatives and resources. A strong advocate for HBI’s youth training efforts such as Project CRAFT and its 30-year partnership with Job Corps, Smith pledged to continue the work begun by her predecessor, James Sattler, a builder from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “We would like all of our NAHB membership to become familiar with our programs, the careers we help start every day and the thousands of young people who place their trust on our industry to succeed,” said Smith. “We need to educate our members about HBI and the significance of what we do to support the nation’s home building industry.” Smith continues to serve on the NAHB Executive Board after several years as a presidential appointee. She also serves on the National Housing Board of Governors, is a lifetime trustee of the National Housing Endowment and is a national and local director of the Greater Fort Worth Builders Association. Among her many volunteer activities, she is on the Endowment Board of Baylor University, a trustee of Dallas Baptist University and past president of Women's Haven, an institution for battered and abused women. She has been recognized by her local press as one of the county’s most influential business women. For more information about the Home Builders Institute, e-mail Maria McIntyre, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8912. HBI Job Corps Students Shadow Industry Mentors on Groundhog DayOn Feb. 2, Groundhog Job Shadow Day, students and instructors enrolled in Home Builders Institute (HBI) programs at Job Corps Centers around the country left their shops and classrooms behind and headed for the job site. Sponsored by America’s Promise, Junior Achievement and the U.S. Department of Labor, among others, Groundhog Job Shadow Day enables young people to shadow workplace mentors as they go through a day on the job, demonstrating how skills learned in their training are applied in the workplace. In Washington D.C., students from the Potomac Job Corps Center shadowed the U.S. Department of Labor’s Division of Engineers, headed by Chief Engineer Paul Flick. This was the first time the 10 students visited the Department of Labor, and their shadowing activities took them to basement areas of the building that most guests never see. The students also received a surprise visit from Job Corps National Director Grace Kilbane. In Tucson, HBI’s plumbing, electrical and facility maintenance trades at the Fred G. Acosta Job Corps Center “shadowed” industry professionals from Becklin Construction. Company owners Ed Castelhano and Richard Fink, accompanied by construction manager Clair Klopp and contract manager Kirsten Hoak, each took a group of students through a 6,100-square-foot custom home the company is building. The Craftsman style house sits on three-quarters of an acre in the Tucson Country Club Estates development and will have all the modern amenities. Alex Jacome of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, where Castelhano has been a member since 1978, thought a visit to the home accompanied by its builders would be a worthwhile Groundhog Job Shadow experience for the students, and it was. “This was an eye opening experience for all the students. Seeing such a beautiful home being built not only gave them a glimpse into custom home construction, but also what they can personally achieve in life if they set their mind to it,” said John Gallagher, an HBI plumbing instructor and a faculty advisor for the NAHB Student Chapter at the center. Tim Jackson of the Home Builders Association of Greater Dallas helped coordinate shadowing opportunities with member builders for HBI students enrolled in Rick Oberlin’s plumbing class at the North Texas Job Corps Center in McKinney. Unfortunately, the outing had to be cancelled, but “plans are underway to reschedule before the month is out”, according to Oberlin, who also serves as faculty advisor of the NAHB Student Chapter at the center. Meanwhile in Mt. Vernon, Wash., Fabian Rosales, a facilities maintenance graduate from Grady Baker’s class at the Cascades Job Corps Center, mentored one of the program’s current students, Luis Cuidad-Real. Morales, the maintenance supervisor at the Summerglenn Apartments complex, also established a work-based learning internship program for HBI students and will begin serving on the center’s Industry Advisory Council this year. Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of NAHB, is the largest vocational trainer in Job Corps, which provides federally funded residential job training and education for at-risk youth who are 16-24 years old. For more information on HBI or its Job Corps programs, e-mail Maria McIntyre, or call her at 800-795-7955 x8912. Whirlpool Joins Alliance Promoting Energy-Efficient ProductsWhirlpool Corporation announced last month that it has joined the Noisette Urban Alliance (NUA), a 15-member corporate manufacturing partnership setting out to redevelop a 3,000-acre area of North Charleston, S.C., and in the process provide an example of how societies can be designed and built for sustainability and energy-efficiency. Headquartered in Benton Harbor, Mich., Whirlpool Corporation is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — the Supplier 100 of NAHB. Whirlpool said that it will be participating in the new Noisette Urban Alliance Studio, a facility that provides educational programs to building industry professionals and the public. The studio’s mission is to introduce to the mainstream American consumer resource friendly concepts such as durability, energy efficiency and “green” environmental guidelines. “Whirlpool Corporation takes an active role in researching and developing resource-friendly appliances,” said Guy Minnix, the company’s director of contract marketing and strategy. “These appliances are designed to help home owners realize significant water and energy savings over time. More importantly, they help us promote more eco-friendly societies. This particular project offers us the unique opportunity to share what we’ve learned with the building community and their home buyers.” The revitalization of North Charleston, which is rebounding from the loss of the Charleston Naval Base in 1996, will cost $1.85 billion. With a focus on education, the NUA studio will help develop a market for innovative and efficient products, many of which, despite billions of dollars each year in corporate investments, never reach home builders and buyers because consumers have not been sufficiently exposed to the concepts behind them. Noisette Company CEO John Knott, Jr. likened the studio to “a permanent trade show” where Whirlpool will be participating in educational programs on incentives for purchasing these various products; the company will also join with NUA partners in product research in an effort to develop new technologies for healthier living. Whirlpool Executive Confirmed as NAHB Associate National Vice President In other news from Whirlpool, NAHB last month selected the company’s director of trade relations, Omer “Butch” Gaudette, as the association’s 2005-2006 national vice president. In that position, Gaudette will represent NAHB’s more than 150,000 associate members. He says that he intends this year to strengthen relationships among local, state and national members to ensure all have a better understanding of the issues they face within the building industry. In his new role, Gaudette will be a voting member of the NAHB Executive Board and will have the opportunity to attend regional events to represent the association’s associate members and speak to their groups. Through Whirlpool Corporation, Gaudette has played an active role in the building industry for almost two decades. He served as NCHI co-chair and a member of its board of trustees, and he was the council’s liaison to the NAHB Associates Committee. This feature is solely for educational and informational purposes. Nothing on this page should be construed as policy, an endorsement, warranty or guaranty by the National Association of Home Builders of the featured product or the product manufacturer. The National Association of Home Builders expressly disclaims any responsibility for any damages arising from the use, application or reliance on any information contained on this page.Concrete Cracking — Four- vs. Five-Inch SlabsDear Builder’s Engineer, Will a 5-inch slab have less chance of cracking than a 4-inch slab? Also, what is the best way to eliminate surface cracks on porches and garages without pouring at a different time than the main house? — Mike DuPont, DuPont Construction, Ponchatoula, La. Mike, thanks for your question. Unfortunately the answer is not so easy. A little background: In general, concrete is at its largest volume the moment it oozes into the forms. As it loses water from hydration and evaporation, it shrinks. As it shrinks it cracks. Period. It cracks. Regardless of thickness or anything else, it’s going to crack. The trick is to control the cracking. Here’s how:
Now, to answer the questions. Regarding 4-inch or 5-inch: 4-inch-thick slabs work just as well as five in residential applications IF all of the above items are adhered to. If subgrade is suspect and vehicle loads will be present you are better off with a 5-inch slab. For slabs that will only see foot traffic, certainly 4-inch is fine, but again, proper preparation is important. I once saw plans for a new fire station. The slab was designed 10 or 12 inches thick with two mats of rebar. If the subgrade was really weak, i.e., an old peat bog or bay mud, this structural section might have been warranted. However, this fire station was to be located on a stable, mildly sloping hillside with soil bearing capacities in excess of 2,000 pounds per square foot. I think the structural engineer got a little carried away; I would have designed a slab half that thick with half the rebar. The best way to eliminate surface cracking is by doing what I recommend in 1-4 above. Also, it is a good idea to place a couple 3-foot long sticks of #4 rebar diagonally at every reentrant corner because you know a crack will emanate from that location. Place the first stick about 3 inches from the corner and the next about 9 inches from the corner, both at mid-height of slab. You’ll still get a crack, but it should be hairline at most. Tim Garrison of ConstructionCalc.com, is a professional engineer, author and software producer for the building industry. Send e-mail to buildersengineer@constructioncalc.com. Tim reads every one. This column cannot be reprinted without permission from the author. The views expressed in this article represent the personal views, statements and opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views, statements, opinions or policies of the National Association of Home Builders. NAHB does not necessarily endorse any of the views expressed by the author and NAHB is not responsible for any direct or indirect consequences arising out of the views expressed in this article. Post-Builders' Show House Tour Raises $20,000 for Kidney Foundation, CharityThe doors of The New American Home were opened to the public for nine days following the International Builders’ Show, and the additional tours generated $20,000 for the National Kidney Foundation and the Mid-Florida Home Builders Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Home Builders Association of Metro Orlando. The charity-oriented tours were spearheaded by Kim Goehring, president of Goehring and Morgan Construction in Orlando, Fla. Goehring, a kidney transplant patient, built The New American Home and thought that he could successfully raise money for the foundation by opening the house to public tours after the builders’ show. “Anytime I see an opportunity that can help the Kidney Foundation, I put my efforts into it,” Goehring said. He scheduled the public tours for after the International Builders’ Show, but before the new owners, who purchased The New American Home just prior to the builders’ show, moved in. Tickets for the tour were $5 per person. The charity tours drew 4,000 visitors and raised about three times as much as Goehring originally anticipated. “We thought that we would raise about $6,000 or $7,000 but we raised way more,” Goehring said. “The crowds were phenomenal. We had 800 or 900 people through each day of the weekend.” Goehring said about $15,000 from the proceeds were donated to the National Kidney Foundation. His local home builders association foundation, which supports projects including YMCA, Boys Club, children’s eye care and children’s safety programs, was given about $5,000. Goehring credits community support for the large turnout. The Orlando Sentinel donated and produced several ads promoting the tour. The Baldwin Park Development Company, which developed the 11,000-acre Baldwin Park community where the show house is located, donated funding for radio ads to promote the tour. In addition, the developer bought tour tickets for its Baldwin Park residents. “We think that just about as many people toured the home after the show as during it,” Goehring said. Jacksonville Builders Help Safe Harbor Boys Home Stay on CourseIn one local example of how the nation’s home builders contribute to their community throughout the year, the sales and marketing team at North Florida Builders, a Woodside Company in Jacksonville, recently purchased and delivered two pairs of leather work gloves, a dictionary and a thesaurus to each resident of the Safe Harbor Boys Home. Safe Harbor’s waterfront facility provides a safe alternative home environment aboard former military vessels for 15- to 17-year-old boys who have had behavioral problems at home or at school. The boys learn seamanship skills and have access to instruction in carpentry, welding, boat maintenance and repair, gas and diesel engine repair and some basic electrical wiring. “Safe harbor is a remarkable organization that truly helps at-risk teenage boys,” said Linda Mathis, a vice president of the custom home building company. “We enjoy supporting charities like this one and the opportunity to help make a difference in our community.” “It’s hard to put into words how great the people at North Florida Builders have been to us,” said Robbie Smith, Safe Harbor’s executive director. “There are so many times they have gone out of their way to help. They support us all year long.” North Florida Builders is a member of the Northeast Florida Builders Association, which also counts itself as a supporter of the boys home. Help Tsunami Survivors Rebuild Their HomesMany NAHB members already have responded to the devastating earthquake and tsunami disaster in South Asia by generously giving to numerous relief agencies that are providing vital emergency assistance to the survivors. As the relief effort continues and moves from the acute, emergency phase into recovery, the home building industry is rallying to address the longer term need for temporary and permanent shelter in the tsunami-affected nations. Over the years, NAHB and its members have united to help those in need, demonstrating time and again that Home Builders Care, a philosophy as well as a call to action that is emblematic of the industry's commitment to community service and charitable causes. In response to what will be an overwhelming need for permanent shelter, NAHB and the National Housing Endowment have established the Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund to raise desperately needed funds. With an initial donation of $250,000, designated by the NAHB Board of Directors at the International Builders’ Show, the fund will be directed to rebuilding efforts that provide temporary and permanent shelter for survivors. Please help by making a tax deductible donation to the Home Builders Care/National Housing Endowment-Tsunami Shelter Fund. Money raised by the National Housing Endowment will be granted to one or more Please direct your donation check to: National Housing Endowment Checks should be made payable to the National Housing Endowment and, in the memo section, please note the Tsunami Shelter Fund. The NAHB Senior Officers have selected Past President Bob Mitchell to oversee and guide this fundraising effort. For more information, contact Troy Patterson at the National Housing Endowment at 800-368-5242 x8483 or Kym Kilbourne in NAHB Public Affairs, x8447. Subscribe Your Employees to NBN Online and Earn a Chance to Win a Digital CameraNAHB members, sign up three or more employees to receive Nation's Building News Online in the "Make Your Business Click" contest and you'll be automatically entered for a chance to win a FREE Sony Cyber-shot® Digital Camera. See official contest rules for more details. All active NAHB members, HBA staff and executive officers are eligible. Watch for a New Look for Nation's Building News Coming this March, Nation's Building News will have a new look. The new NBN will have even more of the information you need — like the latest lumber prices, interest rates, industry news and information that will help your business — in an even easier-to-read format.
Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available to you 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Member Log In" button to get started. If you are a member and need information about NAHB products and services, use the NAHB Staff Contact Directory to look up the direct telephone extensions for NAHB staff experts. Earn NAHB WorldPointssm Rewards When You ChargeNAHB members are invited to apply for the only credit card that supports NAHB each time a purchase is made and rewards cardholders with points for travel, cash, brand-name merchandise and more. Click here to learn more about the rates, fees, other costs and benefits associated with the use of the NAHB WorldPoints credit card from MBNA America Bank. Use the online application today. For the most up-to-date details on the Member Advantage discount program and all of the participating companies, go to http://memberadvantage.nahb.org. Or visit www.nahb.org to explore the full range of benefits associated with membership in your local, state and national home builders associations.
Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available to you 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Member Log In" button to get started. If you are a member and need information about NAHB products and services, use the NAHB Staff Contact Directory to look up the direct telephone extensions for NAHB staff experts. Calendar of Events
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Make Your Connection With www.nahb.org Make your connection to the latest housing industry news and information with www.nahb.org — the official public and members-only Web site of NAHB. Log in today to register for educational seminars, meetings and networking events; find important economic and housing data; and learn the latest developments in NAHB’s efforts to promote housing. It’s all available to you 24 hours a day at www.nahb.org. Just click the "Member Log In" button to get started. If you are a member and need information about NAHB products and services, use the NAHB Staff Contact Directory to look up the direct telephone extensions for NAHB staff experts. |