Project Signage Gets Noticed

Thomas M. Leigh, Architect recently installed project identification signage on a 2-family house renovation located at 219 North Broadway in Peeksill, New York. Please click on the picture to enlarge the sign.

Just like real estate sales signs, construction project signage can help generate leads from neighbors and potential driveby customers.

Install one of our signs on your next project. We do make house calls.

Construction Site Weather Forecasting

Construction Site Weather Forecasting

Flag Still = Calm
Flag Moving = Light Wind
Flag Blowing in Breeze = Heavy Wind
Flag Wet = Light Rain
Flag Dripping = Heavy Rain
Flag Dry = Sunny
Flag White = Snow
Flag Still & Cold = Icy
Flag Invisible = Fog
Flag Gone = Hurricane

AGC: Construction unemployment reaches 19.2%

Building Design and Construction
June 5, 2009

Unemployment in the construction sector climbed to a “horrendous” 19.2 percent (not-seasonally adjusted) as an additional 59,000 construction workers lost their jobs in May according to new federal data, said construction economist Ken Simonson today.


Simonson, who discussed the significance of the new jobs data during a media conference call with contractors from across the country, said that construction employment has declined by 990,000 jobs, or 14 percent, in the past year while overall nonfarm employment has declined by 4 percent.


“Construction continues to bear a disproportionate share of the pain from the recession,” Simonson, the chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said. “Simply put, the unemployment rate for construction in May was horrendous.”


Simonson said that the construction employment figures would likely have been worse if not for the stimulus. “The stimulus is doing its job putting men and women back to work,” and, “It is boosting opportunity and generating economic activity in an increasingly broad geographic area.”

Read Simonson's remarks at: http://www.agc.org/galleries/news/May%20Jobs%20Remarks.pdf.

Builders say demand for front porches rising

By Mary Beth Breckenridge mcclatchy-tribune

A front porch is more than a shelter from the elements. It's a friendly face on a home, a comfortable bridge between our private lives and our public selves. And almost by its very presence, it conveys neighborliness.

That's a big part of the reason housing experts believe the front porch is regaining its importance in home construction.

Increasing demand for front porches in new homes was projected by most of the 60 builders, architects, designers and other specialists who were surveyed for the National Association of Home Builders' Home of the Future study in 2007.

Among the panelists, 70 percent predicted front porches would become popular in new homes of about 2,400 square feet, while 79 percent expected it to be a desired feature in upscale homes of 3,000 feet or more. The experts aren't talking about porches intended primarily for decoration, noted Steve Melman, the association's director of economic services.

"This is something where you could actually sit out," a covered space big enough to accommodate a swing or a table and chairs. Melman thinks the movement has several roots.

Front porches fit with the trend toward traditional home design, and they meet homeowners' desire for a more casual lifestyle, he said.

What's more, Melman said, porches feed people's desire to belong. A front porch is an icon of the American neighborhood, and its presence helps create a sense of community almost instantly".

For more go to ......
http://www.housingzone.com/probuilder/articleXml/LN981759458.html?nid=2469&rid=10833251

Thomas M. Leigh, Architect is currently designing a front porch addition for a 1970's home in Cortlandt Manor, NY; a Hudson River Town.

Successful remodeling contractor marketing techniques

Business Results Survey: Repeats and Referrals

Repeats and referrals dominate in the remodeling industry

Jonathan Sweet, Senior EditorApril 1, 2009

Professional Remodeler

Repeats and referrals continue to be the most reliable source of leads for most contractors, accounting for almost 80 percent of lead activity.

Remodelers use a variety of tactics to get the word out, with the most popular being job/truck signs (74 percent), company Web site (58 percent), organization membership/networking (48 percent), print advertising (48 percent), direct mail (39 percent) and Yellow Pages (35 percent).

Conversely, this means that many remodelers are ignoring two of the basics of marketing: 24 percent of companies don't use job site or truck signage and 42 percent don't have Web sites, including 21 percent of those with revenues over $3 million.

http://www.housingzone.com/proremodeler/article/CA6651310.html

The Power of RE*

Building Permits Doink (Chart)

BUILDING PERMITS

Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in March were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 513,000.

This is 9.0 percent (±4.1%) below the revised February rate of 564,000 and is 45.0 percent (±4.1%) below the March 2008 estimate of932,000.


Single-family authorizations in March were at a rate of 361,000; this is 7.4 percent (±3.5%) below the revised February figure of390,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 132,000 in March.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AllAmericanInvestor/~3/JLS4egmN9JI/building-permits-doink-chart.html

TML - If we could have the growth we had from 1992 to 2007 all over again, that would be nice.

AIA Compiled Guide to Stimulus Funds

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) that was signed into law in February has just now begun releasing tax dollars into the economy. The AIA estimates that the ARRA contains up to $130 billion that can be used for the design and construction of buildings. AIA has compiled a list of where much of this money is going.

http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek09/0417/0417n_stimulus.cfm

Using Icynene Spray Foam insulation in existing construction.

Using Icynene Spray Foam insulation in existing construction.

It has a 60:1 expansion ratio.

I just saw a trade video by Icynene Insulation using spray insulation application in new construction, but, even a better application of pour in spray insulation that expands at a 60:1 ratio in existing wall cavities of say a older victorian home which might not be insulated at all and have just plaster walls. That is a tremendous opportunity for work.

http://www.icynene.com/product-videos/

5O Strategies to Green your Environment

The 50 strategies represent readily available and effective tools and techniques that will have an immediate impact on architects’ ability to achieve significant carbon reduction. They span a spectrum from broad-based site and planning objectives to specific, building-based concepts.

Each strategy includes an overview of the subject, typical applications, emerging trends, links to information sources, and important relationships to other carbon reduction strategies.

http://wiki.aia.org/Wiki%20Pages/Table%20of%20Contents.aspx