Is the Residential Construction business model obsolete?

In practice the Design/Bid/Build model was never functional but evolved from commercial practices as the only model available. D/B/B at its core contains the three elements of any contract or project; value, cost and time. Design establishes the value the project objective Bid objectifies the cost of the work Build is the management process With…

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Construction Project Schedule

The project schedule is an important and too often overlooked tool. A lot of time is put into preparing the schedule, sometimes for show, other times to meet contractual obligations. But, if contractual, why is it required? Too often the clients do not understand it, the superintendent ignores it and it rarely gets reviewed or…

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If you are a builder – Project management IS your business

If you are a Builder, Remodeler or General Contractor you are in the project management business, you just happen to manage construction. We live and die one project at a time, so how you manage your project is how you manage your business because that is your business. We work ourselves out of work, one…

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Is your association planning a major construction project?

Do you head up the building committee on the club board or Is your HOA planning a substantial project for the community, are you stumbling as how to get the project off the ground? Associations are the classic clients in need of a construction consultant or owner’s Rep. Let me guess. Your role on the…

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Building your dream home? For success, think of it as launching a small business

A custom home, one built just for you in the perfect location, with every amenity just the way you want it. It is very exciting and should be fun but there will be a lot of work between your dream and enjoying the view pool side. One of the first tasks is understanding where to…

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Profit is not the icing it is the meal.

Let’s start with an understanding of what profit is and why it is necessary, as we all know profit is the money left over after all of the bills have been paid, but as a business owner it is NOT the money you have earned it is the money the business has earned, and the…

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It takes a lot of building to create a building

Labor cost, we are all aware it is a big expense, but do you take the time to really understand where productivity is costing you money or jobs? From a construction standpoint, far too often, we focus on the cost of materials, after all, it is an assembly of materials when we are done, a…

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Building is a verb before it becomes a noun.

Let’s look at the cost of construction for a typical residential project, where is the money? The process begins with design, Architects, engineers, consultants all need to bring your idea to life. 100% of the cost associated with the design is labor. The business will have overhead expenses but what is being paid for is…

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Construction Consultant what does it mean for you and your project?

The construction consultant or Owners representative is a vital often overlooked member of the construction project. The role is necessary and is required for every project but too often is administered by the client. For the Owner, Obviously, this is not the best use of resources, the decision process alone is overwhelming, design decisions, material…

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Residential construction “Business” or is it?

"COFFEE & CONSTRUCTION"

For the minority in the residential construction business, they are a business first and a just happen to make money as a residential contractor, for most the opposite is true. When I started out in large commercial contracting the adage of the firm was “we are a business first and just happen to make our…

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