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odelingmag.com

Y O U R T O O L B O X F O R S U C C E S S

Best practices from this year’s top remodelers

Darryl Rose, Get Dwell,

Winnetka, Ill.

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MONEY SPENT ON

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M A Y 2 0 1 4 / R E M O D E L I N G 5R E M O D E L I N G M A G . C O M

O N L I N E N O W

Show and Tell takes on new meaning with the

creation of a Video Gallery at remodelingmag.com.

Check out more than 130 videos on topics such as lead-safe practices, new products, and marketing.

WHAT’S HOT?Readers rule in our new

“Trending” section on the home page. That’s where we list two of the week’s

most popular stories.

REMODELING (ISSN 0885-8039) Volume 30, Number 5, is published monthly by Hanley Wood, One Thomas Circle NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. Copyright 2014 by Hanley Wood. Opinions expressed are those of the authors or persons quoted. Reproduction in whole or in part prohibited without written authorization. REMODELING is sent free of charge to qualified readers involved in the remodeling industry. Publisher reserves the right to determine recipient qualification. Out-of-field subscription rates: US and possessions: $44.95; Canada $59.95 (Canadian dollars); all other countries $65 (US funds). Single copy price: $8.00 except Buyer’s Guide, $10. For subscription information, write Circulation, REMODELING, PO Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065. Canada Post Registration #40612608/G.S.T. number: R-120931738. Canadian return address: Pitney Bowes Inc., PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Periodicals Postage Paid at Washington, DC, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to REMODELING, PO Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065. Member: BPA Worldwide (BPAWW) and American Business Media (ABM).Ph

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47 COVER STORY / BIG50Our annual search for the newest members of America’s remod-eling elite uncovers a group that excels in management, market-ing, personnel, and operations. Borrowing their good ideas could make a big difference at your company.

70 BEFORE + AFTER / CURRENT AFFAIRSA Seattle home gets its final strategically targeted remodel to put the finishing touches on what has been an Asian-inspired work in progress for several years.

10FROM THE EDITOR

17PUNCH LIST Visualizing the Big50 / A look at the location and size of the elite group’s newest membersSurvey / How the Big50’s gross margins compare with the nation’s top performersRegs / Feds ramp up their crackdown on lead-paint rule violations Projects / A remodeler revamps Frank Lloyd Wright’s only synagogueTechnology / Will robots occupy a spot on your payroll?

27YOUR BUSINESS Operations / Prevent employees from running to the supplier too oftenHow-To / Maintain work-life balanceGood Form / Master draw schedule to get paid on time Contracts / A way to ensure that clients read the fine printFinance / Tips for maintaining even cash flowManagement / The passion behind blue-collar work; stepping stones to steady growth

39DESIGN FOCUSK+B / At Milan’s EuroCucina, a bowl motif inspires an entire kitchen’s designHome Performance /Installation practices make or break product effectivenessProducts / Noise-reducing windows, an energy-efficient entry door, and more products for the exterior

80YOU BUILT IT Nautical theme kids’ bedroom

V O L . 3 0 , N O .5Contents 05.14

On the cover: portrait of Darryl Rose of Get Dwell by Brian Kelly

47

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If you can imagine the ultimate living environment, our collection of handcrafted products makes it

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Hanley Wood is committed to publishing quality content

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R E M O D E L I N G M A G . C O M

From the Editor /

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1 0 R E M O D E L I N G / M A Y 2 0 1 4

Work is extra fun when you’re learning something new every minute, and so it was for me when I edited the reports on this year’s Big50. In profi le after profi le, I found myself making mental notes to remember creative ways to bring in revenue, operate more e� ciently, fi nd potential custom-ers, and assure those clients will become customers for life. The Big50’s ways of doing business are sure to help you tune up your operation as the

weather warms and business quickens. Here’s my list of ideas worth embracing. • Buresh Home Solutions owner Brian Buresh talks to suppliers to fi nd potential

new hires. Re-Bath of Tucson uses interns from the local business college. • Crescent Builds has implemented a $250 charge for preliminary estimates.

This helps screen out ambiguous leads. The fee is deducted if the client signs.• Distinctive Design Remodeling’s Jonathan Penn re-measures every job him-

self after it’s sold, but not because he mistrusts his team. This way, new cus-tomers get to meet the company owner. In addition, Penn says, “I want to know what was sold and to make sure that everybody understands” exactly what is in the contract.

• DreamMaker of Bakersfi eld o� ers two-hour seminars on kitchen remodeling and what to look for in a remodeler. The company provides dinner, wine, and dessert, which one of the owners makes herself.

• The handyman service at Get Dwell charges every client a “day fee” of $45 to cover transportation, and the fee is included regardless of whether the project manager is at the house all day or just part of it.

• Last fall, Majestic Exteriors called past customers in select markets to o� er them a free gutter cleaning in return for allowing the company to post its yard sign. Forty people responded in one town.

• Messier Construction’s Rick Messier personally delivers employees’ paychecks each Friday. “It forces me to visit the jobsites,” he says.

• Once a home project is complete, Outback Decks hosts a party there, where it invites neighbors to view the company’s work.

• Re-Bath of Illinois o� ers clients a lifetime supply of its proprietary cleaning product. Each quarter, clients can come into one of the franchise’s o� ces to get a free bottle. It keeps the company on the customer’s mind.

• A popular event for past, existing, and prospective clients of Tenhulzen Resi-dential is “cooking without a kitchen.” A professional chef visits the showroom and demonstrates how to prepare meals with just a microwave oven, refrigera-tor, and sink—handy for those in the middle of a kitchen remodel.

• All employees at West Construction take the DISC personality profi ling test. It helps match team members to prospective clients.

• Salespeople at Window World of Baton Rouge don’t get their checks until the company gets paid.

• Yankee Home Improvement’s marketing takes homeowners by surprise in or-der to get their attention. For instance: Instead of a letter or a postcard, the com-pany mailed out bottles with messages inside them.

My favorite takeaways from this year’s Big50

Steal These Ideas, Please

Craig Webb, [email protected]

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Sal Alfano Editorial Director [email protected] Berenson Chief Design Director [email protected] Webb Editor-in-Chief [email protected] Bell Art Director [email protected] Bush Managing Editor [email protected] Hunter Chief Editor, Products [email protected] Hodges Assistant Managing Editor [email protected] Regan Assistant Editor [email protected] Blahut Editorial Intern [email protected] Lofgren Graphic DesignerJen Aranyi Graphic DesignerAustin Heller Web EditorJim Cory Contributing Editor

ContributorsJoanne Cleaver, Victoria Downing, Chuck Green, George LeVines, Judith Miller, Carl Seville, Bruce D. Snider, Martha Spizziri, Paul Winans

Margaret Coulter Lead Production ManagerMarni Coccaro Production ManagerBernadette Couture Production Coordinator Pamela Fischer Inside Sales Ad Traffic ManagerBetty Kerwin Prepress CoordinatorMary Leiphart Audience Marketing DirectorPaul Ruess Group Director/Audience Marketing & CirculationLois Landa Customer Service ManagerChara Anderson Circulation Promotions DesignerAnn Russell Reader Service ManagerHolly Miller Director/Channel & Product MarketingMegan McCloud Creative Services Art Director Rick Strachan Group President/ Residential RemodelingKim Heneghan General Manager Online / Residential Remodeling HANLEY WOOD MEDIADave Colford PresidentJoe Maglitta Executive Vice President /Executive ProgramsTom Rousseau Executive Vice President /Strategic Marketing ServicesJennifer Pearce Senior Vice President/Strategic Marketing Services & Consumer MediaSarah Welcome Senior Vice President /Audience OperationsMari Skelnik Senior Director/Media Services & Account CoordinationCathy Underwood Senior Director/ Print Production PUBLISHED BY HANLEY WOODPeter Goldstone Chief Executive OfficerFrank Anton Vice ChairmanMatthew Flynn Chief Financial OfficerDave Colford President / MediaAndrew Reid President / DigitalRick McConnell President / ExhibitionsJeanne Milbrath President /MarketingChristopher Veator President / MetrostudyPaul Mattioli Senior Vice President /Corporate SalesMichael Bender Vice President / General CounselSheila Harris Vice President / MarketingRon Kraft Vice President/ Business Planning & Analysis Keith Rosenbloom Vice President / Corporate Controller

Editorial and Advertising Offices: One Thomas Circle, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20005–5811 Phone: 202.452.0800 Fax: 202.785.1974Subscriber Customer Service: omeda.com/rm [email protected] Phone: 888.269.8410 Fax: 847.291.4816Privacy of Mailing List: We rent our subscriber list to reputable companies. If you do not wish to receive promotional material from other companies, please call us, toll free, at 888.269.8410Postmaster: Send address changes to Remodeling, PO Box 3494, Northbrook, IL 60065Printed in the USARemodeling will occasionally write about companies in which its parent organization, Hanley Wood, has a business interest. When it does, the magazine will fully disclose that relationship. Articles in this magazine are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal, financial, or business management advice.

Railing Dynamics, Inc.

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Subscription inquiries and back issues: 888.269.8410 For list rentals: Scott Perillo. 203.778.8700 ext 132 For a media kit: Phillip Hernandez, [email protected] Reprints and licensing: Wright's Media, Nick lade marco 877.652.5295 ext. 102, [email protected] Published by Hanley Wood

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Punch List Every circle shows a Big50 winner. The size represents total number of employees (from 1 to 95), while the color gradation shows the year the company was founded.

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MAY 2014 I REMODELING 17


Punch List /

This year’s Big50 members post gross margins in line with the nation’s top performers

Head of the Class

Lowe’s will pay a record $500,000 civil penalty to settle allegations that contractors it hired violated the federal Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced.

The penalty—by far the largest ever imposed for an RRP violation—came after the EPA reviewed records from projects performed by companies working under contract at 13 Lowe’s stores.

Lowe’s was accused of failing to provide documentation showing that specific contractors had been certified by the EPA, had been properly trained, had used lead-safe work practices, or had correctly used EPA-approved lead test kits at renovation sites.

As part of the settlement announced on April 17, Lowe’s must institute “a robust, nationwide program” at all 1,700 of its U.S. stores to ensure its contractors are properly certified. That program will include a checklist that contractors must follow to assure they follow-lead safe practices. Contractors won’t get paid until they complete the checklist.

Feds Ramp UpRRP Crackdown

Big50 companies are pacesetters as well as role models, and this year’s contin-gent is no exception. The average Big50 member (excluding Window World, which at $446.2 million alone dwarfs the other 49 together) reported an average gross margin of 34.3% of revenue in 2013 and an average net profit of 8.8%. That gross figure is right in line with the average for the top 25% of all Remodelers Advantage Roundtable members through the first half of last year, while the net is a couple of points behind. Gross margins went as high as 59.3%, while three companies reported net profit margins topping 20%.

While useful as benchmark, the Big50 and Remodelers Advantage numbers lump together all types of remodelers, and thus hide differences between com-panies that are full-service or design/build firms and those that are replacement contractors or handyman shops. So let’s examine those groups separately.

For the 26 Big50 members that do full-service or design/build work, the aver-age gross margin totaled 26.6% while the average net was 4.8%. In contrast, the 23 replacement contractor and handyman companies (again excluding Window World,) posted a collective gross margin of 38.5% and a net profit of 11%, This fits with anecdotal evidence that consumers’ gradual increase in remodeling expen-ditures following last decade’s housing crash had begun with the less expensive, replacement contractor-oriented jobs than with the generally bigger-ticket proj-ects that full-service firms offer. In such a scenario, it’s logical that replacement contractors would rebound first.

As usual, owner salaries varied dramatically. Among full-service companies, the average pay in 2013 was $107,109 but the actual amount ranged from $8,654 to $200,000, and that person at the lower end took a bonus of more than a quarter mil-lion dollars. Replacement contractor owners’ average salaries also varied widely: the average was $135,835 but the range went from $54,000 to $300,000. —Craig Webb

R E G S

B I G 5 0

1 8 R E M O D E L I N G / M A Y 2 0 1 4

AVERAGE REVENUE ($ THOUSANDS)

2012 2013 2014 (f)

Full-service* $1,505 $2,106 $2,546

Replacement** $4,305 $4,638 $5,980

*Includes design/build firms**Includes handyman, decking, and K+B specialty firmsNOTE: Revenue for Window World as a company was omitted to avoid overly skewing the results.

2013 MARGINSGross Net

Full-service* 32.6% 11.8%

Replacement** 41.1% 18.4%

BIG50 BY THE NUMBERS

HOW THE BIG50 SPEND THEIR REVENUE

MaterialSubsField laborSales commissionsNon-field laborMarketingOffice/vehicle expensesAll other costs

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Remodeler takes on project in the famed architect’s only synagogue

In a Wright StateB Y C R A I G W E B B

Former Treasury Secretary Donald Regan once compared his job to being in a shovel brigade that follows a parade of elephants down Main Street. John Hanson would be excused if he felt the same way about Frank Lloyd Wright—an elephant among archi-tects, with a massive collection of achievements. He also left a mess for engineers struggling to keep his works upright and re-modelers charged with updating his buildings for modern needs. Fallingwater is an example of the former, while Beth Sholom Syn-agogue outside Philadelphia is Hanson’s challenge.

Hanson, owner of Hanson General Contracting, in Philadelphia, has begun work installing an elevator to provide handicapped ac-cess in the 65-year-old building. It’s the only synagogue Wright designed and has been a National Historic Landmark since 2007.

One of Hanson’s challenges is to put a device that depends on straight lines into a building where no walls are plumb and the roof is translucent. “It’s really an ambitious piece of architec-ture,” Hanson says. “Each piece of glass on the roof is 200 to 300 pounds. No walls are plumb or square—by design. It’s eccentric.” Working with architect John Milner, he’s taking over a stairwell for the new elevator. Work should be complete by early October.

“One thing we can confirm is that, as with Fallingwater, he comes up with really cool, ambitious architecture that is memora-ble and humbling,” Hanson says. “But the detailing of it. … the roof has leaked since it was built. That’s what happens with his work. It’s really challenging to get it to perform.”

P R O J E C T S

Punch List /

Creative Challenge.As remodeler John Hanson will attest, architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s genius didn’t extend to engineering prowess.

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TECHNOLOGY

Coming to Your Payroll? It isn't even 5 feet tall, but the bluelimbed worker known as SCHAFT is getting outsized attention these days. That's because SCHAFT is the top candidate to w in the $2 mill ion DARPA Robotics Challenge. It also could be a prototype for your staff one day.

SCHAFT -product of a Japanese/ American firm of the same name, which was recently acquired by Google-garnered its fame by winning the trials phase of the challenge last December. Over t wo days, it wa lked over ramps and concrete blocks, opened doors, cleared a pile of 2x4s, drove a small veh icle, connected a fire hose, shut off valves, and even climbed a ladder. (Watch SCHAFT work on You Tube.) The finals, to be held between December 2014 and June 2015, wi ll present even tougher tests.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is the same Pentagon outfit credited w ith creating much of the foundation for today's Internet. Now it's sponsoring the Robotics Cha llenge to encourage the creation of robots that can work in disaster areas and in hazardous cond itions-not unlike some remode ling jobsites.

Future Worker? SCHAFT's potential onjobsites is clear. It still needs a lot of electronic hand-holding to do its work, but improvements are coming quickly.

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In management consultant Leslie Shiner’s presentation, “10 Easy Things That Can Put Me Out of Business,” error No. 7 involves running to the supplier too often. Your crew’s time is too precious, and their per-hour costs too dear, for you to let them fritter away hours and dollars by driving off to the local supplier. Once you figure those expenses, she asks, how much did that forgotten box of nails really cost?

It’s in that context Shiner suggests you do something that might seem odd: Set up an agreement with a taxi company to pick up your order from the supplier and bring it to you. That

errand could cost $50, but it’s still cheaper than the produc-tivity you lose when full-time workers spend an hour going to and from the yard, she says.

And if you’re working in a city, you might soon have other options. Uber, the Web-based alternative taxi service, has just rolled out a courier service in New York City called Uber Rush. It uses bicyclists and pedestrians to ferry goods across Manhattan now, but if the concept succeeds, Uber could ex-pand its service in other cities as well as consider deliveries via auto.

B Y C R A I G W E B B

Material MileageO P E R A T I O N S

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Your Business /

There are many reasons to shoot for work-life balance be-yond simply wanting to enjoy personal time. For exam-ple, it’s been shown that people don’t think as creatively when they’re stressed and that our productivity improves when we take breaks.

But some people think that the idea of work-life balance is all wrong. “‘Balance’ assumes that we spend an equal amount of time in all or most areas of our life,” writes Ivan Misner in his blog. Misner is the founder of the business networking organiza-tion BNI. He calls the idea of balance a myth, preferring the term “harmony.” One area of life—work or personal—may predominate at certain times, but in the end it can work out to a healthy mix.

DIFFERENT TYPESSimilarly, researchers Ellen Ernst Kossek and Brenda Lautsch prefer to speak about flexibility rather than balance. They refer to two types of people: Separators, who maintain firm boundar-ies between work and personal life, and Integrators, who switch back and forth between the two (think of the typical workahol-ic checking his or her smartphone at the soccer game). A third type—called “Volleyers” or “Cyclers”—switch between Integrator and Separator styles.

Integration gets a bad rap, but Kossek and Lautsch say that some people can integrate successfully. And sometimes, work and personal life naturally intersect. For instance, Dawn and Tom Wotton, owners of Home Sweet Home Improvements, in Bealeton, Va., find that they get many business leads through volunteer activities such as scouting and parent-teacher groups. Tom says that a rapport spontaneously builds among volunteers who are working toward a common cause.

But, he cautions, just be sure that you’re volunteering for the right reasons. “It’s a mistake if you’re there primarily for the purpose of developing a lead and not because you are passionate about being involved in the program,” Tom says.

Don’t stress out about achieving work-life balance. There are ways you can integrate your home and business lives.B Y M A R T H A S P I Z Z I R I

Finding the Sweet SpotH O W - T O

FINDING THE BEST FITEach approach to crafting a life has pros and cons. What’s im-portant is finding one that works for you. Whatever your current style and situation, these tips can help you (and your employees) achieve the goal.

• Track your time. Kossek and Lautsch suggest taking note of when you feel the most stress. That will indicate which areas you should change.

• Experiment with different schedules (and periodically reevaluate). As your life circumstances change, you may need to switch strategies.

• Schedule “appointments” for important leisure activities. • Think ahead. Before accepting a job, consider how it will

affect your schedule. The Wottons will pass on a project if the prospect’s scheduling expectations are unrealistic or if the job requires long commutes for their employees.

• Try a four-day workweek during the summer. At Home Sweet Home Improvements, the Wottons have found that this can be a boon for employees with families, since they can spend long weekends with the kids and save on daycare. Clients may also prefer this schedule. Just be sure that you set expectations up front.

• Have standard operating procedures in place. This makes it much easier to delegate tasks, says building-industry con-sultant David Lupberger.

• Outsource. An expert marketer, bookkeeper, or computer tech can do certain jobs much more efficiently than you. (Lupberger suggests that administrative and marketing work are often the first things it makes sense to outsource.)

Finally, ask others how they manage their time. Friends, fam-ily, and colleagues face the same challenges, after all. —Martha Spizziri is a freelance writer with more than 25 years of experience writ-ing for magazines and websites. She also contributed to this month’s Big50 report.

“ You cannot have balance as an entrepreneur, but you can create harmony. ... Harmony is something different.”

—Ivan Misner, founder and chairman of global networking organization BNI, quoted in Inc.

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Your Business /

To view and download this and other forms, go to http://remodeling.hw.net/GF

Big50 member Diane Portelli of Quality Home Renovators, in St. Petersburg, Fla., has worked hard at refining the com-pany’s standard contract. And her work has paid off: Portelli credits the contract with helping head off many potential disputes. The 14-page core contract also includes several side documents, one being a master draw schedule that’s used in conjunction with a separate construction schedule. It’s a simple Microsoft Word document, but using it helps assure that money flows to the remodeler at a steady rate.

Draw PokerG O O D F O R M

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Remodeling consultant Leslie Shiner isn’t known for being a fan of the rock group Van Halen or its former lead singer, David Lee Roth, but her advice at a recent JLC Live seminar echoed a practice that Roth and the band became famous for in the 1980s involving Brown M&Ms.

In those days, Van Halen’s concert contracts stipulated M&Ms were to be provided as backstage snacks, but that all brown M&Ms had to be removed. If they weren’t, the promoter wouldn’t get paid. To help make their point, band members trashed their dressing rooms when they saw the offending candy.

Today we know why: Van Halen was putting on an unprecedentedly huge road show, and thus promoters needed to be aware of the band’s lighting, sound, and electrical needs. Inserting a no-brown-M&Ms provision gave the band a quick indication of whether the promoter had read the contract.

You may lack the band’s 1980s hair, but you too benefit when clients take time to read the contract, particularly the section on change orders. So Shiner suggests you add a line in that section stipulating that you charge a $200 admin fee for every change order requested. It gives you an opportunity to discuss why change orders matter. Then, if you’d like, offer to waive that fee for the first few orders. This makes you look good—and the client never even knew your main objective.

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With the market growing stronger by the day, one would think that remodelers’ problems would be over. But now the best of the bunch have encountered a new dilem-ma: They’re growing themselves right out of business.

This rapid growth is causing severe cash flow short-ages, and too many remodelers lack the resources and

the know-how to manage these issues.I spoke with Walt Mathieson, an accountant and president of

Mathieson Consulting, in Glendale, Ariz., who shared some tac-tics for remodelers who are beginning to feel that cash crunch:1. Use metrics and modeling to forecast when to add staff.

I N S I G H T B Y V I C T O R I A D O W N I N G

Boom or BustF I N A N C E “Create a metric for the amount of production volume a produc-

tion manager, a project manager, or a lead carpenter can handle,” Mathieson says. “Then create your schedule with an eye toward when you will have maxed out your current staff.”2. Use the client’s money to finance their project. Never bor-row to produce a job, and don’t use your own money, either. In-stead, collect as much up front as you can. Invoice frequently and be firm on collections. 3. Review your formula for developing your selling prices. “Growing companies often need to invest in additional support staff, equipment, and more,” he says. “This means that overhead goes up—requiring additional gross profit dollars to cover it.”4. Collect receivables quickly. Mathieson’s warning: “This mon-ey can have a huge impact on easing the strain of poor cash flow.”5. Regularly monitor client satisfaction. Unhappy clients may hold back payments.6. Be profitable and build a cash reserve. Experts agree that an “emergency” fund equal to four to six months of overhead should be on hand to help when cash flow gets tight.

Most remodelers are delighted to be in a growth market again. Just keep your eye on the cash to make sure you don’t grow yourself out of business. —Victoria Downing is president of Remod-elers Advantage, an organization dedicated to helping remodelers build high-performance, profitable businesses.

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In the U.S., being a blue-collar worker is often not considered a desirable way to make a living. This is a huge change from the ’50s and ’60s, when one worker was able to support an entire middle-class household.

As someone who banged nails back in the day, it’s always a pleasure to read about blue-collar workers who are proud of what

they do—regardless of the trade.In Berkeley, Calif., there’s a small chain of hot dog eateries called

Top Dog. They serve nothing fancy, just good sausages with the works. Recently I came across an interview with an employee at Top Dog, someone who has worked there with pride for 23 years.

Blue-collar work isn’t just a job, it’s a passionI N S I G H T B Y P A U L W I N A N S

Your Best Work M A N A G E M E N T He preferred to go unnamed, so we’ll call him Top Dog Guy.

Here are a few quotes from Top Dog Guy that I think are useful for anybody who has passionate workers on their staff.

• “There’s this perception in America that a truly educated man wouldn’t work with their hands. But why is a person that works with their hands any less intelligent than one that sits at a desk?”

• “Whatever happened to being an honest person who does a good job and is proud of the work they do to make a living? There’s nothing wrong with getting dirty and sweaty at work—that’s what showers are for.”

• “My job gives me a sense of pride because I’m someone who believes that anything can be an art. You can be an artist and make food as long as you do it with pride, skill, dedica-tion, and passion.”

What’s the point here regarding your company? Simple: You need to foster workers who have pride in what they do. Not doing so can cause a drop in business, your employees to leave, or worse, your em-ployees to continue to “work” at your company while sabotaging it.

Celebrate those employees who get it, and make sure that they’re more than fairly compensated. By doing so, you’re helping to make blue-collar work as respected as it should be. —Paul Winans, a veter-an remodeler, now works as a facilitator for Remodelers Advantage, and as a consultant to remodeling business owners. [email protected]

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A few weeks ago a swarm of potential new clients descended on my office, all asking the same question: “How do I stop the madness and grow my company to the next level?”

Let’s step back and look at this from 30,000 feet to clar-ify which are the problems that most threaten success as you grow. (And be aware that anything more than 20%

growth from last year threatens company survival.)First ask: “Where do I want my company to be in five years?”

Follow that with: “Where am I now?”Spend some time answering the first question. Just as archi-

tects create cloud diagrams to rough out the flow of a house, so

Put systems in place to manage growth and achieve your dreamsI N S I G H T B Y J U D I T H M I L L E R

Stepping Stones to GrowthM A N A G E M E N T

should you create big pictures of the business you’re working hard to create. Write a paragraph or two describing your company for the “remodeler of the year” award you hope to accept in 2020. Then break down that paragraph into discreet components and define each to the best of your ability.

Here are some ideas to get you thinking.First, the owner: Alpha Baker Charley is 50 years old and lives

with his wife and their three children—two boys and a girl ages 17, 14, and 6. Their house is nearly paid off and they’ve saved sufficiently to support all three kids through college. Their retirement funds are on track to allow them to work minimally after age 65. They enjoy

three family vacations a year; Mr. Charley is often unavailable to the office for two weeks at a time. They are charitable contributors to their community.

Then, the company: ABC Remodeling’s office consists of 1,000 feet of showroom and office space designed and remodeled by Mr. Charley. ABC is a full-service design/build firm working with high-end clients. It has 14 people in the field and five in the office. Known for its outstanding systems, ABC has a 98% GuildQuality rating and relies on a combination of return clients/referrals and an expanded network of new clients brought to it by marketing opportunities. Volume ranges between $3 million and $3.8 million per year, with an average job size of $175,000. Gross profit margin over the past three years has averaged 32%. Company bonuses were given at New Year’s and the owner enjoyed an annual salary close to $300,000.

Sounds pretty good, right? Although the company described is fic-titious, it’s a combination of many firms that I’ve known. Though it may take 10 years of hard work, mistakes made, and lessons learned to grow a company such as this, the time to start is now!

So onto the next question: “Where am I now?” You can figure this out by focusing on the seven primary functions that every company—regardless of size or product or market—must effec-tively manage to be successful. Once you’ve completed that focus, you can pinpoint your greatest opportunities for improvement this year.1. Marketing: A system that brings you the right clients.2. Estimating: A system that develops accurate, complete pricing.3. Sales: A system that converts the right client to construction at the right price, which produces sufficient profit for the company.4. Production: A system that produces the job on time/on budget with satisfied clients and no accidents.5. Finance/admin: Two interrelated systems, each of which man-ages the flow of accurate, complete information throughout the organization. Finance manages job cost and accounting informa-tion; administration manages the rest.6. Resource management: A system that controls and protects company assets.7. Leadership: A system to develop and maintain company cul-ture that attracts the right staff and clients and increases the company’s value to the community.

Each of the seven functions requires effective systems to be successful. A system consists of a set of processes that, when followed by the right employee, regularly produce the desired results over time. Identify the areas where you need to focus attention for the next three months by rating your company’s ability to produce predictable, consistent desired results in each of the seven areas. Use a five-point scale. Anything under a five requires immediate attention, but because you shouldn’t throw too much change at your company at once, focus on just one area at a time.

Stepping stones to growth start with a clear understanding of your goals, both personal and professional. Combine that with systems designed to control the most obvious voids in current company operation, and establish metrics by which to mea-sure. Then track progress against goals and rework as necessary. —Judith Miller is a Seattle-based business consultant and trainer.

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Contain Your EnthusiasmK + B

EuroCucina, Europe’s biennial celebration of kitchen de-sign, brought 128 exhibitors to Milan, Italy, last month hoping to start trends that will cross the Atlantic. Among them was Ki (shown), a line for kitchens and baths created for Italian manufacturer Scavolini by the Japanese designer Oki Sato.

“Ki” is the Japanese word for “container” or “bowl,” and the Ki line exemplifies this. “Instead of blending a living room–like environment with a kitchen, Sato used a rounded-white-bowl motif in both a bathroom and kitchen setting,” wrote Dan Rubinstein, who covered EuroCucina for Remodeling’s

sister publication Architect. “Ki” also can mean “wood” in Japanese, and Sato’s design uses plenty of it. Regardless of which of the three available finishes are used, the Ki line promotes ultra-uniformity, Rubinstein wrote. “The shape of the bowls are used repeatedly throughout, from the stove to the sinks, in both designs,” he noted. “Even the backs of the kitchen chairs are reminiscent of the container.”

For more from EuroCucina and the rest of the Milan Furni-ture Fair, go to architectmagazine.com and search for “Post-cards from Milan.”

Bowl motif permeates all aspects of this kitchen design

4 0 R E M O D E L I N G / M A Y 2 0 1 4 R E M O D E L I N G M A G . C O M

Design /

H O M E P E R F O R M A N C E

Iam often asked my opinion about “green” building products. My standard answer is that green building and remodel-ing is about the process—not the products. The “greenest” products in the world, when not installed as part of a well-thought-out building system, won’t make a building green. And with a few exceptions, almost any standard building

product can be part of a green building when used properly.Now that I have that o� my chest, let’s get to the good stu� .

I’ve used some products recently that, when used correctly, can be a part of a good, green home. One that I recommend is Huber’s Zip System. Although I was skeptical when I fi rst saw it, having recently used the product on my own addition I must say I’m impressed.

The Zip system consists of OSB with a water-resistant coat-ing sealed with tape at all joints, including window and door openings. My initial skepticism with the product comes from the lack of an overlap at its horizontal joints. Instead of the overlap, it relies on tape to provide an excellent weatherproof and air seal. This is a great opportunity to create a continuous weather and air barrier, critical to high-performance building and remodeling.

As with any product, correct installation is critical. The tape must be installed on a dry surface and pressed tightly onto the panels with a roller.

On my own house, I installed Home Slicker vented rain-screen between the Zip System and the siding. Vented rain-screens can signifi cantly reduce the amount of water and va-por that gets into a house through sheathing, allowing for both drainage down and evaporation up and out before any mois-ture enters the sheathing. Without a vented rainscreen, siding attached directly to sheathing—even with a housewrap—can allow vapor and water to get into the wall structure.

It’s hard to sell something that your clients can’t see, partic-ularly when they really want those granite counters, but using high-quality products and methods that improve the durabil-ity of your projects will, over time, improve your reputation and reduce callbacks and warranty issues.

Some high-performance products may cost a bit more than traditional materials, but the minimal extra costs are worth it considering the long-term benefi ts. —Carl Seville is a leading authority on single and multifamily green remodeling and certifi-cation. He is co-author of Green Building: Principles and Prac-tices in Residential Construction. skcollaborative.com

Installation practices make or break product effectivenessI N S I G H T B Y C A R L S E V I L L E

It’s Green But ... Tool lust is an incurable condition; what does change is the particular tool that remodelers are most likely to have and most likely to want. Earlier this year, Remodeling’s sister publication Tools of the Trade asked pros to list whether they owned any of 33 different 18-volt cordless tools. A total of 326 remodelers responded. Of that group, 91% had a drill/driver, topping all other products, while their most-wanted product was a jigsaw, at 33%.

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Design /

2

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E X T E R I O R P R O D U C T S

1. WILLKOMMEN, REMODELERS // KOEMMERLING WINDOWS & DOORSGermany’s Koemmerling Windows & Doors has entered the U.S. market with a variety of products, including its PremiDoor Lift/Slide door line. With a sash height of 8 feet, PremiDoor’s 19-foot-wide sash can be extended to 38 feet. Despite their size, a 600-pound Koemmerling door can be opened and closed with one finger, the company says. The threshold is made of a wood-plastic composite. PremiDoor | 800.330.2239 | koemmerling.com

2. QUIET INNOVATION // THERMAL WINDOWS & DOORS’ SILENTGUARD WINDOWSSilentGuard windows offer to the replacement market a line of windows with noise-reducing technology that cuts exterior sound by 43% compared with single-pane aluminum windows, Thermal Windows & Doors says. The windows have a sound transmittance class of 34. (Most single-pane windows top out around 28, while double-pane windows get

you to about 33.) The line includes woodgrain interior finishes, exterior paint finishes, and decorative hardware. SilentGuard | 800.245.1540 | thermalwindowsanddoors.com

3. IT’S A BRISA // ODL BRISA RETRACTABLE SCREEN DOORODL introduced the Brisa Retractable Screen Door, promoting it as a product that can be installed on an in-swing, out-swing, or sliding door in 30 minutes using just a power drill. Brisa fits 32- to 36-inch-wide doors and, with two cuts, can be customized for doors that are 28 to 31 ½ inches wide, the company says. When Brisa isn’t being used, the screen retracts into a thin housing that blends into the door frame. ODL | 866.635.4968 | odl.com

4. LEAF ME ALONE // PLY GEM GUTTER PRODUCTSPly Gem has added two brands to its line of gutter products. Leaf Logic’s rippled design is intended to help keep wet leaves from sticking to its surface, while a front trough and drainage holes maximize drainage.

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tube ready to use and can be painted in two hours. Roof Plus Sealant | 800.347.4583 | titebond.com

7. CURB APPEAL // SIMONTON DECORUM WINDOW UPGRADESPersonalize window interiors and exteriors with an array of options from the Decorum by Simonton custom upgrades collection. Styling choices include exterior colors in cream, brick, pine, chocolate, bronze, tan, and driftwood. For interiors, laminate finishes offer the warmth of woodgrain in antique cherry, maple, and contemporary oak. Finish the look with window and door hardware in standard finishes, plus a selection of metal finishes including oil-rubbed bronze, brushed nickel, and polished or antique brass. An infrared-cured coating minimizes scratching. Decorum | 800.746.6686 | simonton.com

8. READY TO EMBARQ // PROVIA EMBARQ FIBERGLASS DOORProVia cites independent testing to claim that its new Embarq Fiberglass Entry System is the most energy-efficient entry door in the U.S. The doors have a U-factor of 0.10 in part because they are 2 ½ inches thick. There’s a dual perimeter seal and a custom-designed sweep. Embarq comes in six styles and three woodgrain looks: cherry, mahogany, and oak. Different styles and finishes can be applied to either side of the door. ProVia | 877.389.0835 | proviaproducts.com

It has a 20-year warranty. Leaf Smart (shown) is a mesh screen with a raised back and arched shape that’s intended to prevent buildup of twigs and debris. It features a five-year material warranty. Leaf Logic/Leaf Smart | 888.975.9436 | plygem.com

5 WOOD YOU TRY IT? // ROYAL BUILDING PRODUCTS CELECT CELLULAR EXTERIORS SIDINGCelect Cellular Exteriors is a lap siding and trim line designed to provide the aesthetics of wood with the low maintenance and durability characteristic of cellular PVC. Its maker claims that Celect can be installed 50% faster than wood without the need for special tools, and its patented interlocking system minimizes the appearance of seams and keeps out moisture. The siding comes in 18 colors; trim is white. The line also offers four types of shutters. Celect | 855.523.5328 | royalbuildingproducts.com

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Role models can be hard to find, much less emulate. You’re so busy pursuing leads and managing projects that there’s little time to track down and learn about the peers whose expertise, business judgment, professionalism, and financial success merit a second glance. That’s why we do the searching for you. Every year since 1986, Remodeling has sought out people at 50 com-panies whose stories merit making them members of our Big50. We read their applications, ask for financial data, and interview each company in order to come up with a list of truly notable people. Read their stories on the following pages (and in more detail online) to find dozens of ideas, tips, and thought-pro-voking stories. While most on the list truly are big, with three-quarters fore-casting revenue this year of at least $1 million, there also are companies in this group that are far smaller. There’s something to be learned from all of them.

This year we again partnered with GuildQuality, an Atlanta-based customer-satisfaction polling company, to identify candidates for the Service Excellence Award. Based on the results of customer surveys, the award recognizes incoming Big50 winners who consistently deliver an exceptional customer experience. They are identifi ed by this symbol

next to their names.

/ REMODELING STAFF, WITH JIM CORY, GEORGE LEVINES, MARTHA SPIZZIRI, AND CHELSEA BLAHUT /


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CHILDHOOD PASSIONMatthew Breyer Breyer Construction & Landscape, Reading, Pa.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 13 2013 volume: $1.5 million Staff: 2 office, 5 field

Breyer has been working in construction ever since he could hold a hammer. He advanced from building decks to designing them and finally to selling them. Today his company completes about 150 projects annually. He has ramped up marketing efforts and invested in design software that, he says, renders images “good enough to ... get prospects to say yes.” Breyer also added basement finishing as a way to mitigate the impact of seasonality. As volume increases, Breyer aims to add staff, redefine his role in the business, and cut inefficiencies by building controls into production and cash flow. He takes advantage of manufacturers’ installation training and requires employees be industry-certified.

GROWTH SPURT Andy Schafer, Greg Wade Advantage Carpentry & Remodeling, New Berlin, Wis.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 5 2013 volume: $690,000 Staff: 1 field

Despite launching their company right after the economic collapse, Schafer and Wade have never been without work. The “carpenter’s mindset” they started with—build the work for wages—soon gave way to a hunger to learn how to create and run a remodeling business. They started reading business books and joined Remodelers Advantage. The company began to focus on interiors and gained a loyal client base. It’s now hiring staff as the owners shift from field to office. An open, up-front sales process aims to make a “positive, lasting impression” on customers. Both owners are involved in projects throughout, using an online project management system to streamline communication.

TEAM PLAYERSCharles Thayer All Around, Golden Valley, Minn.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 6 2013 volume: $12.7 million Staffing: 21 office, 1 field

While others stressed about the housing market collapse, All Around made the most of it by cleaning foreclosed homes. Today, it operates a multi-service rehab company with six corporate clients, completing 400 to 600 projects per month that range from full-scale remodels to carpeting, roofing, and cleaning. Jobs average about $7,000. Because almost everything is subcontracted—only roofing work is done in-house—the company is picky about who it partners with: One in 50 contractors it uses works out long-term. Job coordinators receive incentives on top of their base salary. A quality-control employee with knowledge of the job goes out to the site with an iPad to ensure customer satisfaction. Real estate agents are loved; one job will often lead to 10 referrals.

KNOW YOUR LIMITS Adam and Julie Rossi Blue Sky Remodeling, Broomfield, Colo.

Design/build remodeling Years in business: 8 2013 volume: $2.8 million Staff: 1 office, 5 field

“We win a lot of our smaller jobs and basement projects with our fun, flexible innovative designs,” says Adam Rossi, who owns Blue Sky Remodeling with his wife, Julie. Blue Sky excels in part by out-sourcing: the marketing director works 40 hours a month, another business provides IT support, and bookkeeping is moving out so the office manager can focus on sales. Blue Sky’s employees have iPhones and laptops, and the company uses BuilderTrend’s scheduling and communication tools to keep in touch with clients and one another. The Rossis worked with a business coach for a few years to gain business know-how they needed but hadn’t learned while studying engineering in college. Now they aim for 33% growth this year.

Get extended Big50 profiles at Remodelingmag.com

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LESSONS LEARNEDJonathan Penn Distinctive Design Remodeling, Lexington, Ky.


Distinctive Design Remodeling (DDR) offers clients three products: additions, basements, and garages. No K&B, unless that’s part of the addition. And when the company’s salespeople—all designers/estimators—call on prospects, their goal is a signed contract that night. Penn bought DDR in 2010 after years working as general manager for a large replacement contractor, and the efficiencies common in the replacement world are now part of how DDR operates. It can turn a job in half the time it would take a competitor. DDR does this because Penn looks at the jobs like an assembly line; he doesn’t start too many jobs at once and keeps crews on the job; and he retains a core group of 12 subcontractors, striving to keep them busy 365 days a year.

UP THE ANTE Mark Watson, Joseph LeVecchi Exterior Medics, Alexandria, Va.

Replacement/specialty contractor Years in business: 7 2013 volume: $6.2 million Staff: 5 office, 8 field

Watson and LeVecchi took a year to do some serious planning before opening Exterior Medics. Prior to their partnership, both men spent time in sales at roofing companies specializing in storm work, and both worked as suppliers to home improvement companies. So in putting together an exterior contracting business, they knew what they wanted to avoid. Their first major decision: not naming the business after themselves. “The industry is filled with that,” Watson says. Instead, the pair thought about their company as a brand. Today 55% of Exterior Medics’ business is roofing, and 20% of the company’s sales come from repeat/referral business. The company is actively growing its commercial division, which specializes in servicing the property management side of things, such as condo complexes.

KNOWS HER STUFFAlan and Tania Goodman Majestic Exteriors, Freehold, N.J.


Competitors hate seeing Majestic Exterior’s trucks in a driveway because, according to owner Alan Goodman, “they can’t bring the level of professionalism we bring.” Another aspect that makes Majestic Exteriors stand out from the competition: company president and salesperson Tania Goodman. The Goodmans say that customers often are surprised when a woman arrives to sell them a roof, but that initial shock quickly translates into sales: Goodman has been so successful that Majestic has more women in training. In the early days this husband-and-wife team worked on roofs together. But thanks to an increase in business, the couple has split responsibilities, with Tania selling and making executive decisions and Alan running production. Over the last three years, Majestic has grown from one or two roofs a week to a four a day.

STAY THE COURSE Chris Payson West Chester Design/Build, West Chester, Pa.

Design/build remodeling Years in business: 7 2013 volume: $1 million Staff: 1 office, 4 field

Payson admits that if he had been able to foresee how bad the housing economy would get, he might have delayed launching West Chester Design/Build. But Payson persevered through the crash, even when customers in his pipeline let him know they couldn’t move forward on projects. Today Payson says that staying the course proved to be a blessing in disguise because “It made us appreciate everything that came our way and work even harder.” He believes that customers appreciate the “youthfulness, vibrancy, and energy” that members of his staff bring to projects. “That’s how word has spread so quickly about us,” says Payson, 32, who was just 25 when he started.


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RULES OF ENGAGEMENT Darryl Rose Get Dwell, Winnetka, Ill.

Handyman services Years in business: 19 2013 volume: $442,000 Staff: 2 office, 7 field

Rose daydreamed about making it as a handyman, and his initial plan called for selling home maintenance contracts. But he soon learned that what his suburban Chicago customers really wanted was someone reliable to replace doors, repair drywall, and rebuild stairs. Get Dwell charges time and materials, and Rose has learned that it’s critical to have clear communication. The company’s project agreement establishes a scope, a schedule, what homeowners want done, costs involved, and how Get Dwell is paid. More than nine out of 10 clients are female homeowners, and in the beginning, before he could afford to invest in marketing, Rose plugged into “the Mom network” to get work. Now, about half of Get Dwell business comes from repeat customers, much of the remainder from homeowners searching online for a tradesman.

SWITCH HITTER Gary Carlson Carlson Homes, Scottsdale, Ariz.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 13 2013 volume: $2.4 million Staff: 1 office

Though he focused on custom homes when he started out, once the housing crisis came Carlson turned to remodeling and found he really liked it because it was customer-intensive. That shows in his process: After an initial client meeting, Carlson and the trade contractors walk the whole house. “I’ve found that to be a very positive experience for [customers] because they know that they’re dealing with people they can trust in their home,” he says. But Carlson doesn’t do formal walk-throughs at the end of the job. “It puts the customer in the position of being an adversary,” he says. Instead, he finds that by encouraging customers to ask questions during the course of the job, he gets more information that, ultimately, produces a better end result.

BRAGGING RIGHTS Joe Pavone, Rob QuigleyBradford & Kent, Downers Grove, Ill.


When Pavone started Bradford & Kent in 1987, his team sought to deliver one-of-a-kind designs and projects—a mission that they still strive for today. Quigley began overseeing the projects as general manager in 2002. The company has architects and interior designers on staff, though most of the production is done by subs and is supervised by Bradford & Kent construction managers. Designers are also involved in the sales process. Customers get personal service from both Pavone and Quigley, and the community knows Bradford & Kent as being a high-quality contractor, Pavone says. “They know we’re not the cheapest [but] that we’re a good value and that when [the job is] done, it will be something they’re going to be proud to show their friends and neighbors.”

CUSTOMER-CENTRIC Brian Buresh Buresh Home Solutions, Clive, Iowa


Buresh grew up in a contractor family; his father is a custom home builder with almost 50 years of experience. But after graduation, Buresh strayed from the fold and worked in the corporate world. Then a brief stint selling siding and windows inspired him to go into the remodeling business for himself. In 2003, he founded Buresh Home Solutions, whose services include installing roofing, siding, windows, decks, and patio covers. Buresh prides himself on the quality of his company’s customer service and client communication. To ensure consistent levels of customer care the company uses a manual it developed. Sales and marketing are also company strengths. “We really focus on trying to help homeowners find what works best for them,” Buresh says. “I know a lot of people say that, but we actually do it.”


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FEEDBACK LOOP Sarah Henry Gaspar’s Construction, Seattle

Kitchen & bath remodeling Years in business: 41 2013 volume: $3.5 million Staff: 8 office, 11 field

When Rich Gaspar started Gaspar’s Construction in 1973, it quickly became a family affair. His wife, Cathy, joined the company doing office work, then received a degree in interior design and started designing projects. Daughter Sarah Henry joined them in 2002 and is now the majority owner; Rich and Cathy—members of Remodeling’s Big50 Class of 2000—recently retired. One of Sarah’s most coveted contributions was adding a handyman business about seven years ago. The business has grown to make up about one-third of the company’s volume. The company uses subcontractors on its construction projects, but Gaspar’s Construction employees run each job. “They’re swinging hammers while running the project,” Henry says. Additionally, Gaspar’s is passionate about seeking detailed feedback from clients. Staff members meet weekly with customers during production to identify pain points.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES Tom and Dawn WottonHome Sweet Home Improvements, Bealeton, Va.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 24 2013 volume: $528,000 Staff: 1 office, 3 field

Tom and Dawn Wotton see themselves as guides, helping clients navigate the bewildering array of choices that come with a remodeling project. Surprisingly, much of the company’s business comes through volunteer activities in their small community. “Believe it or not, we run into our clients at those,” Dawn says. “You’re talking to people in everyday situations instead of [a situation where] I’m in their house trying to pitch a kitchen.” The company has started offering seminars, which helps get their name out and aids in finding promising leads. “We scrutinize the leads we get,” Tom says. “We don’t take them if we know they’re not going to be profitable.” Staff expertise also gets high priority. “We spend a lot of time and money training our employees so they can answer homeowners’ questions,” Tom says.

HOUSE DIVIDED David Martin Remodeling Concepts, Langhorne, Pa.


At the moment, Remodeling Concepts has 220 reviews on Angie’s List. And not by coincidence—half of the company’s leads come from Angie’s members. The company’s work is an even split between exterior and interior projects. Interior projects are done with the help of an in-house designer and a kitchen-bath showroom. Owner Dave Martin knows a lot about building. The entrepreneur became a remodeler in college when a landlord asked him to construct an addition. He hired some buddies and in 2004 started a business that grew steadily until 2009. Soon after the slump, Martin cut overhead by 30%, joined Remodelers Advantage, and consulted two marketing companies to determine if he should have two companies with two names. Both told him the same thing: Keep the name and figure out how to cross-brand it. He’s still working on that.

LIFETIME OF LEARNING Jeff KuhnKuhn Construction, Islip, N.Y.


Kuhn took a leave of absence from teaching high school English in 1986 when he began taking jobs in roofing and siding. He never went back to his teaching job, but he also never stopped learning. That’s especially true with sales, which he did singlehandedly for the first 20 years of Kuhn Construction’s existence. Like a lot of full-service remodeling companies, Kuhn Construction saw fewer projects with the onset of the recession. So Kuhn bought into Liners Direct, a one-day bath product. That new business was a challenge, Kuhn says, because success depends heavily on generating leads. So the company began putting marketers in big-box retail stores and setting up booths at local events. Today the company divides its energies between design/build and the liner business, with handyman jobs helping to generate additional large projects.

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YOUNG GUN Chris Fox, Matt CarlsonFox Home Innovations, Manhattan, Kan.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 4 2013 volume: $514,000 Staff: 4 field

Fox sells, designs, selects, and orders materials, while co-owner Carlson “takes care of all the jobs while they’re happening,” Fox says. The company does projects that range from handyman work to six-figure remodels. Small jobs can quickly get big: for example, a fix on a porch railing morphed into a $65,000 bathroom. Leveling with clients is key to gaining trust and preventing jobs from becoming unmanageable. Not long ago, Fox had a client who wanted the company to remodel a master bath and a kitchen simultaneously. Fox advised against it. “It’s all about the experience our customers have with us,” he stresses. “Once a month we shut down to take an aerial view,” Fox says. This frank discussion between the partners is valuable even when spare time is rare, he says.

OUT THE WINDOW Tammy WhitworthWindow World (corporate), North Wilkesboro, N.C.


Window World is not only the dominant seller/installer of vinyl windows in the U.S., with sales approaching $500 million, but also the country’s largest dedicated home improvement contractor. It’s in the midst of a transition to a full-fledged exterior remodeler, offering siding and doors through its 150+ franchise units. Door sales at the company have taken off, increasing 42% last year. Charity work is important. Window World is the No. 1 corporate partner of St. Jude’s Hospital, the children’s research hospital in Memphis, Tenn. The company also has volunteered use of its plane to Veterans Airlift Command, which provides free air transportation to post-9/11 combat wounded veterans and their families for medical and other purposes.

TURNING PRO Michael D. West West Construction, Avon Lake, Ohio

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 35 2013 volume: $1 million Staff: 5 office, 4 field

West approached his first client on a whim. “I walked up and said: My name is Mike West. I do siding, windows, and roofing and you need all three.” He got three more jobs out of that project. A move from the city to Cleveland’s suburbs forced West to rethink his business. For the first time he had to advertise and keep books. He soon found out that the two keys to building well were also crucial to operating a successful remodeling business: be organized, and communicate. West Construction evolved the design agreement into a “partnership agreement.” After an initial consultation, designers develop a budget based on similar projects the company has built. The designer prepares drawings plus selections. With a preliminary budget analysis in hand, clients are asked to sign a partnership agreement—“a letter of intent with tweaks”—committing them to work with the company.

NICE NICHELucas C. Papageorge Jr. LCP General Contractors, Fairfield, Conn.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 4 2013 volume: $802,000 Staff: None

A third-generation construction guy, Papageorge started his first company in 2000 while still doing side jobs. By 2005 its main focus was participating in the Connecticut-version of “Flip This House,” a TV program that featured investors buying, remodeling, and reselling houses at big profits in four regions of the country. The 2008 recession, along with executive disputes, killed the program, and Papageorge and his business partner also parted ways. Today LCP General Contractors, which does everything from siding jobs to whole-house remodels, has a niche, and the niche is a town: Fairfield, Conn., once a quiet bedroom community for commuters to Manhattan but now “booming,” with two universities. Rethinking his approach to remodeling had Papageorge making some strategic decisions. His conclusion: Transform himself and his company into Fairfield’s remodeler.

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LOYAL BREEDDavid R. Miller D.R. Miller Design Build, Hartville, Ohio


Having started out in the remodeling industry 30 years ago by working for his father, Miller eventually struck out on his own with D.R. Miller Design Build. High-end kitchen and bath jobs are the main source of business for the company. Other favorite projects include room additions and whole-house remodels. Miller sells and designs the jobs using Chief Architect, and a cadre of trade contractors ensure that quality work keeps the company’s services in demand. Homeowners get a detailed copy of their job schedule to help manage expectations and keep jobs on track. The company also offers a two-year workmanship warranty on all of its work, and will often fix something after even the warranty has expired just to keep clients happy.

HOW IT’S DONE Fred Finn, Stan Statkiewicz, Anthony Navigato Euro-Tech, Bensenville, Ill.


Finn likes to compare his company to an octopus moving in the water. “There are three arms doing what they’re supposed to do,” he explains, “but five are going all over the place. You’ve got to get some of those arms under control.” Euro-Tech has never had a year when all eight arms were functioning perfectly, but there have been years when six arms were fully under control. Much of that stability has to do with the realistic attitude of its three co-owners about who can and should do what to ensure cohesion. For instance, where some home improvement businesses use up to 60 lead sources to keep the sales team busy, Euro-Tech directs its efforts into fewer than 10, including canvassing, in-store demonstrators, purchased leads, and referrals.

SOCIAL GENIUS Robert Gockeler KraftMaster Renovations, Chatham, N.J.

Kitchen & bath remodeling Years in business: 5 2013 volume: $1.6 million Staff: 2 office, 1 field

KraftMaster Renovations is known for helping clients throughout the entire remodeling process, Gockeler says. “Literally, it’s taking people shopping and laughing and having fun.” Most new customers find Gockeler’s company on Facebook, where he posts photos of the entire process—from the first shopping trip to the finished remodel. “It really helps potential new clients,” he says. “They see the exact same process on every single job.” Additionally, Gockeler has a blog detailing their finished projects and offering design tips. He also posts and buys ads on Houzz, connecting both businesses and consumers. When he’s not connecting with consumers digitally, Gockeler is known for his community involvement. After Hurricane Sandy, he and his son Robbie parked a truck downtown and collected donations for relief.

BIG SPENDER James Roland Window World of Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La.


For a guy with a window replacement empire, Roland is remarkably low-key. His company is called Window World of Baton Rouge, but it includes branch operations in New Orleans, Dallas, Houston, and Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. Roland was drawn to Window World by the idea of going into the house armed with an itemized menu of products and options. It didn’t take him long to thrive. By 2005, the Baton Rouge company was Window World’s second biggest dealer. Then Hurricane Katrina happened. Within three months, Katrina sent Window World of Baton Rouge sales skyrocketing from 1,600 to 2,000 units per month to 11,000 units. To cope, the company outsourced crews, moved into a larger facility, and poured excess cash back into advertising, transforming Window World into a brand in Southern Louisiana.Get extended Big50 profiles at Remodelingmag.com

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SOLE FOCUS Lou PagnuttiDecks Unique, Commack, N.Y.


When it comes to describing what makes Decks Unique stand out from the crowd, Pagnutti isn’t shy. “We’re the biggest deck builder in New York state, the biggest on Long Island, the eighth-largest Trex installer in the country,” he says. Decks Unique builds decks and only decks. Pagnutti has been a designer, seller, and builder of decks long enough to watch construction go from nails, bolts, and pressure-treated pine to the “jigsaw puzzles” that his crews assemble today. Homeowners “think a deck is a deck—until you show them the products,” he says. Company salespeople offer homeowners a slide show on a laptop equipped with a drawing program and a materials list. If homeowners like the design, they come down to the Decks Unique showroom and select materials. “We want [clients] to pick everything,” Pagnutti says.

HONORED GUESTS

Brad Fluke The Honey Do Service, Bristol, Va.

Handyman/small projects Years in business: 12 2013 volume: $2.1 million Staff: 20 office, 28 field

When Fluke’s father started a handyman service called Tom’s Honey Do, Fluke became its first employee, operating out of a two-car garage. He then built The Honey Do Service by analyzing all the negatives that homeowners associate with remodelers and handyman companies, then addressing them one by one. He created a brand out of such lessons, so that Honey Do personnel would be viewed as “honored guests” in the home. A major difference between Honey Do and other handyman organizations is that the handymen don’t sell the job. When a homeowner calls, an estimator/salesperson goes out to estimate and sell the job, including collecting a deposit. And while most handyman organizations price their jobs on a time and materials basis, Fluke’s works on a fixed cost per proposal “because that’s what the homeowner wants.”

VALUE ADDED Ricky Scott, Robbie Edwards The Kingston Group, Nashville, Tenn.


Scott and Edwards work with three or four core real estate agents who supply them with referrals. That work, plus revenue from their Property Services division—for homeowner association boards, mainly—makes up the bulk of The Kingston Group’s growing business. With companies imploding during the recession, “We learned from what we saw,” Scott says. He is particularly adamant about not taking on debt, and the company’s approach to cash flow has allowed it to grow steadily. And while many companies with thinner margins have dropped their health care and 401(k) plans, The Kingston Group has recently beefed up its benefits package as it seeks to add talented staff. The company also no longer allows trades to charge time and materials, instead requiring that they provide a lump-sum bid. Kingston gets at least two bids on each critical aspect of a project.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS Robert and John Kulp Kulp’s of Stratford, Stratford, Wis.


Bob Kulp started his business at age 19, the same year he was married. Always of an entrepreneurial bent, he has at times branched out into ancillary product lines, even developing a substantial commercial business that eventually overrode the company’s residential roofing work. The company has made successful forays into solar and metal roofing—today metal makes up somewhere between 60% and 70% of the company’s residential work. Long active in the National Roofing Contractors Association, Bob today also sits in the Wisconsin legislature. Where most roofing companies install using subcontractors, especially as a way of avoiding ever-rising workers’ comp costs, Kulp’s of Stratford installs with its own crews. The practice leads to “better control of the quality of customer service,” president John Kulp says.


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REMODELING REINVENTION Seval and Melinda Dzinic Euro Design/Build Remodel, Richardson, Texas


Starting a remodeling company wasn’t high on the list of career ambitions for mining engineer Seval Dzinic and his wife, Melinda, both originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The remodeling company they created was started to provide jobs for tradesmen arriving as refugees from ethnic conflicts in the region once known as Yugoslavia. But if the Dzinics didn’t know much about residential renovation when they started, that’s all in the past. Both now have industry certifications and are active in industry associations. They work as a team: Melinda is an award-winning designer known for building lasting relationships with clients, while Seval runs the projects. “We trained,” Melinda says, explaining how a pair of outsiders transformed themselves into the owners of one of the Dallas area’s premier remodeling companies.

STYLE MAVENS

Grady and Diane Portelli Quality Home Renovators, St. Petersburg, Fla.


“If you can take one of these older homes apart and put it back together, you can build anything,” Diane Portelli says of the historical homes that are the couple’s focus. Beginning as little more than a hobby for the couple, their operation became so busy that it morphed into a real business in 2009. Once up and running, Quality Home Renovators soon found itself competing with a ton of former home builders who had entered the remodeling market by default, but the Portellis weren’t deterred. “It’s two different lines of work,” Diane says,“building new versus taking a house apart.” And though whole-house remodels are the core of the business, the Portellis developed other lines of work: insurance restoration and a substantial sideline in property rehabs involving 203(k) loans.

VERY, VERY SPECIALTY Tim Brown and Tim Brown Jr. Rain Gutter Specialties, South Jordan, Utah


Imagine if your company’s average job was $1,100 and you did somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 jobs a year. Cash flow challenges? You bet, says Tim Brown Jr., owner of Rain Gutter Specialties. That’s why Brown, whose family has been involved with gutters for about five generations, decided to make some changes to the company business plan. To increase the average sale and net profit, he added a gutter cover product and heat cable installation. Next came the addition of siding. And, beyond simply having more products to sell, Rain Gutter Specialties started charging the right price, Brown says. The result: The company’s average sale increased by 22% last year—and in 2013 the company enjoyed the most profitable year in the business’s history.

FAMILY AFFAIR

Rolf and Derek Schroeder Rolf Schroeder General Contractors, Ivyland, Pa.


For more than 30 years, Rolf Schroeder General Contractors has been exceeding homeowners’ expectations in Bucks and Montgomery counties with its designs and finished construction, a fact to which its long roster of recent awards attests. Derek—who has worked on and off at the company since he was 14—returned after college in 2008 to work full time as office manager. He also designs, does the marketing, manages projects, and is a carpenter. Last year the Schroeders revamped the company website with a content management system, allowing new material to be easily added without the need for a Web designer. At RSGC they “bring a detailed scope of work, and what it includes and what it doesn’t include, so you know what you’re paying for,” Derek says. “That establishes trust up front.”

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REMODELING REALITIES

Everett and Patty Gray DreamMaker of Bakersfield, Bakersfield, Calif.


Before the Grays bought a DreamMaker franchise in 2002, they were a truckandladder contractor working out of their home. The franchise gave them access to the systems needed to manage and grow their business. And business did steadily grow, to almost $3 million in sales, until the 2008 recession hit and sales fell by 65%. But the hard times proved instructive: The Grays found ways to manage, and operating with a smaller top line provided a chance to rethink how they do business. “I’d rather be at smaller revenue and a bigger net profit … with fewer employees,” Patty says. The company is proactive on warranties, calling at three, six, and ninemonth intervals after job close to check in with clients, and it offers twohour seminars every other month on kitchen remodeling at a local appliance store that has working kitchens set up for demonstrations.

BUSINESS BUILDER Andrew York ProDeck Construction, San Marcos, Calif.

Replacement/specialty contractor Years in business: 4 2013 volume: $750,000 Staff: 6 field

Just scraping by in his first year of business, York caught his break after appearing as a contestant on the DIY Network building a gazebo is six hours. He won the nationally televised event, and one West Coat viewer who owned a beach house hired him. At the time, Trex’s composite deck marketing featured a lot of East Coast homes, so York pitched the West Coast beach house to the company. Trex agreed to supply the material in exchange for the rights to take photos. That led to ProDeck building several display decks in San Diego County, and York’s business took off. ProDeck uses fixed price bidding, and typically runs two jobs at a time, each job usually taking two weeks. In the future, York hopes to train another project manager so he can add one more crew and grow the business. He’s also considering expanding ProDeck’s services, but plans to use subs in those cases.

GET ENERGIZED Skip and Lorenzo Wyatt Mr. Handyman of Upper Fairfield County, Fairfield, Conn.

Handyman/small projects Years in business: 10 2013 volume: $5.2 million Staff: 6 office, 46 field

Skip Wyatt entered the handyman business with no experience. He’d been in sales and marketing, retired early from IBM, and was looking for something new to do. As a marketer, he saw a need for the service Mr. Handyman offers, and a contractor was born. Skip’s son, Lorenzo, joined the business about four years ago. The company has four lines of business: handyman; remodeling; and home energy, which has two components: energy audits and energy upgrades. The home energy business grew rapidly and now makes up about twothirds of the company’s sales. Still, Skip expects the remodeling portion of the business to see substantial growth this year. He recently hired a designer to boost the franchise’s capabilities.

PERFECT PARTNERS

Neal Sciacca, James Anastasio New Jersey Siding & Windows, Randolph, N.J.


Sciacca was in clothing manufacturing before he ever sold a window, though he’s been selling products his whole life. But when clothing manufacturing went overseas, he became part owner of a home improvement company, giving him the knowhow needed to start his own a few years later. He partnered with Anastasio to run the production end. Many home improvement companies are great at generating leads and converting them to sales. What they’re often not so good at is ensuring consistent quality. With Sciacca as president managing marketing and sales, and Anastasio attending to production, New Jersey Siding & Window is now a sales and marketing machine. Anticipating an uptick in business, the company is planning to move and will transfer its operation to a larger location this year.

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BEYOND THOROUGH Chris Risher, Jeremy Martin RisherMartin Fine Homes, Austin, Texas


College friends Risher and Martin parted ways after graduating—Martin worked in tech sales, Risher in production building. But when Martin took over his parents’ business building spec homes, he invited Risher to join him as a partner. Two years in, the company found its identity in whole-house remodels and additions of $350,000 to $1 million. The company offers general contractor and project management services, drawing on a network of hand-picked trades to build. Clients find their own architect, or RisherMartin helps them find one, but it doesn’t subcontract design work. The company distinguishes itself from competitors with its pre-construction services and fixed pricing structure; microscopic level of project pre-planning; and paperless office—all project managers carry iPads to communicate in real-time.

BUSINESS THAT LASTS Steve and Melissa Cunningham Cunningham Contracting, Williamsburg, Va.

Design/build remodeling Years in business: 26 2013 volume: $870,000 Staff: 1 office, 5 field

Steve Cunningham has never done anything other than construction. But for a long time that involved working for other contractors—and a certain degree of dissatisfaction came with it. Side jobs multiplied and Cunningham, at 21 years old, told himself, “I am going to create something from nothing, and it’s going to be a business that lasts.” Initially his company specialized in all aspects of flooring, but that evolved into the idea that it would be a one-stop shop for home renovation. Bathrooms became a bridge to full-on remodeling. Owners Steve and Melissa are both hands-on, being personally involved in all aspects of the company. Continuing ed is a priority through acquiring certifications, training, and involvement in industry organizations.

QUALITY, GUARANTEED

Ger Ronan, Leo Duplessis Yankee Home Improvement, Northampton, Mass.

Replacement/specialty contractor Years in business: 11 2013 volume: $4 million Staff: 15 office, 35 field

Ronan, top producer at a local home improvement company, founded Yankee Home Improvement to implement his own systems and ideas. Well-trained salespeople, fresh approaches to marketing, and diligent customer service have propelled the company’s growth. General manager Duplessis sees the company’s website as the first step in familiarizing prospects with Yankee’s services, thereby making the sales appointment all the easier. Yankee offers five guarantees or warranties, among them the guarantee that if a customer finds someone to do the job at the same scope but for a lower cost, Yankee will give the homeowner the difference plus $150; and the company’s unconditional double lifetime warranty on windows and siding, as well as a manufacturer 50-year warranty on shingles.

MANAGEMENT MACHINE

Robert V. Quillen Quillen Bros. Windows, Bryan, Ohio


A true specialty retailer, Quillen Bros. Windows strictly sells windows and doors. Owner/founder Bob Quillen tracks and benchmarks every aspect of the business that’s key to performance: 47% of demos (where a product is presented and a signature on a contract requested) were closed in 2013, a figure that has remained consistently high for the last five years; and the canvassing program is coming in at 7.8%—as in marketing cost—Quillen says. “That’s where my growth is coming from.” Quillen Bros. recently opened a branch operation in Fort Wayne, Ind., and has plans for more: Quillen intends to soon be a major player in all of Indiana, not just in Fort Wayne. The company also has shown steady growth in Net Sales Per Lead Issued: an issued lead equated to $1,620 in revenue in 2009, and $2,088 last year.

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MODEL MARRIAGE

Jeff and Lisa Walling Re-Bath of Tucson, Tucson, Ariz.

Bathroom remodeling Years in business: 5 2013 volume: $2 million Staff: 3 office, 9 field

The Wallings first interacted with Re-Bath when they hired their local franchisee to remodel their own bathroom. Years later, they bought the franchise in their area. Lisa oversees marketing; Jeff is in charge of production; and their son, Austin, manages sales. All production work is done by employees. Streamlined production is one of the company’s strong suits. “We’re able to get in and out in a very timely manner because [baths are] all we do,” Lisa says. The couple’s goal is to grow the business by 10% each year for the next five years by boosting advertising. And they seem to be well on their way to further expansion, having recently purchased a second Re-Bath franchise in El Paso, Texas, and a 5 Day Kitchen franchise as well.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL

August Bergdahl, Emilee Birrell, Todd Gits Crescent Builds, Seattle


Over time working in the field and as a project manager, Bergdahl identified the systems and processes that make up a remodeling company. Then he started his own. He began with small jobs because, with the onset of the recession, little else was available. Those initial small jobs allowed him to build the client base and architect relationships that today supply most of the company’s business. Bergdahl sells the work; wife Emilee Birrell meets with architects and clients to prepare for production; and partner/production manager Todd Gits manages the execution. An internal weekly status meeting ensures clear communication; and a $250 charge for preliminary estimates helps screen out ambiguous leads. Crescent Builds also created a service division to manage smaller projects, which often plant the seed for larger projects later on.

MEETING OF MINDS Brian Miller, John Gwaltney Outback Deck/Virtus Services, Roswell, Ga.


Atlanta-area contractors Miller and Gwaltney had been running into each other at various local contractor networking events for some time. Miller had a deck operation and remodeling business, while Gwaltney’s company specialized in windows, siding, and roofing. When Gwaltney needed new office space, Miller invited him to relocate to his building. The two got along so well that they decided to combine their operations under the umbrella of Virtus Services. The company is committed to the idea that in brand-conscious Atlanta, homeowners want to deal with a company that specializes in one aspect of home improvement, not a generalist. Since forming Virtus, the companies under its umbrella have added 30% to their volume and 29% to profitability, primarily by reducing personnel and cross-selling jobs.

FLEXIBLE ENTREPRENEUR Mark Curry Your Remodeling Guys, York, Pa.


When Curry sold his previous company, which manufactured and sold windows, siding, and sunrooms, the sales agreement’s fine print forbid competing in the same market. So he launched a new company and shaped it as he saw fit. First he sold garage organization systems, then added closet organization. The economy tanked, and he took on cabinet refacing. Next came energy savings services. YRG sets itself apart from its competitors by focusing on what the house needs and the clients want, making a point of providing lots of options rather than a limited product offering. Last year, when the non-competes expired, YRG got back into the window business. It was a year that produced better revenue, but flattened profits. “I look at it as a colossal failure,” Curry says, “not to have that sustained growth on the bottom line.” Time for the next adaptation.

SHOW BUSINESS Michael and Traci Tenhulzen Tenhulzen Residential, Bellevue, Wash.

Design/build remodeling Years in business; 6 2013 volume: $2.3 million Staff: 6 office, 7 field

Tenhulzen Residential has done away with traditional construction job titles in favor of film industry ones. Michael Tenhulzen is director, not CEO; his wife, Traci, isn’t a salesperson but an executive producer; and on-site superintendents are location managers. The reason, Michael says, is that it helps staff and clients better understand the construction process: pre-production, production, and post-production. The org chart changed, too: It now has the client as its center, and job descriptions are given from the customer’s perspective. A popular event that the company hosts is “cooking without a kitchen,” where a professional chef visits Tenhulzen’s showroom and demonstrates how to prepare meals using just a microwave oven, fridge, and sink—handy for those in the midst of a kitchen remodel.

FINE DESIGN

Pam Kofsky Elegant Interior Designs, Ambler, Pa.

Design/build remodeling Years in business: 11 2013 volume: $250,000 Staff: None

Past knowledge has proved helpful for Kofsky. A previous career as a tax consultant for large corporations prepared her well for steering remodeling clients through the budgeting process; and she tapped her early aspirations to be a fashion designer, parlaying them into interior design. The award-winning designer first entered the remodeling world by volunteering her design skills. But soon she was truly in the game, with certifications. Kofsky’s designs aim to combine functionality and elegance. Much of her work comes via remodelers who approach her about designing a job they’ve been hired to build. “A lot of remodelers resist hiring a designer because they don’t want to incur the additional expense,” she says. “They want to knock out an update. But if they could give homeowners choices, it would be amazing.”

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TOUCH POINTS

Steve Zarndt Re-Bath of Illinois, Decatur, Ill.

Bathroom remodeling Years in business: 15 2013 volume: $3.3 million Staff: 6 office, 14 field

Re-Bath of Illinois aims to offer exceptional experience every time. Accordingly, the company’s customer satisfaction system includes a minimum of nine communication points. Zarndt says it’s worth it: it ensures that customers are happy, and from that follow the referrals that happiness brings. The company handles all its own unlicensed trades work and does its own plumbing; only electrical is routinely subbed. “The client wants speed, choice, and convenience,” Zarndt says. That means not only getting in and out quickly, but communicating well. A customer advocate handles phone calls when clients have a problem. “It used to be part of the production department, but that’s like having a fox in the henhouse,” Zarndt says.

SMOOTH FINISH Nick Richmond, Brian Darrick Matrix Basement Systems, Arlington Heights, Ill.


Matrix Basement Systems, founded in 2009, manufactures, markets, sells, and installs in the Chicago area. Run by partners Darrick and Richmond, the company is now selling components to other home improvement operations as well. While the other basement finishing companies were disappearing during the downturn, Richmond identified that it wasn’t the product that was the problem, it was the ability of homeowners to finance the purchase. So he set about ensuring that customers could get credit. In its first year the company sold $2.5 million in basement systems. Last year, sales neared $8 million. Managing growth and establishing a clear direction for the company have been the partners’ priorities.

ALL ABOUT AUTHENTIC

Stephen Scott Ray Ray Building Co., Birmingham, Ala.

Full-service remodeling Years in business: 8 2013 volume: $1.1 million Staff: 1 office

After a career in the military, Ray worked as vice president of operations for a remodeling company before leaving to revive his father’s old business, Ray Building. A man whose ties to the community are many and whose passions run deep, Ray’s projects tend to come from select neighborhoods in Birmingham, usually via referral. Projects tend to be on the larger side—often whole-house remodels—and Ray shows up every day to work on them, on point of principle. “Our clients like to see involvement with the actual contractor,” he says. “They loathe the term ‘drive-by contractor.’” Ray’s work in the community—particularly on behalf of disabled veterans—has made this company and its owner a standout.

NEW BEGINNINGS

Rick Messier Messier Construction, Tiverton, R.I.


Messier always played with the idea of working in construction because his father did. So when the United Automobile Workers strike forced him to shift careers, he took a chance on construction, starting his business in the back of a pickup truck. At first, he concentrated solely on the physical work. Soon after, he started attending builders’ conferences and remodeling shows to learn more about running a business. Eventually he built his business into the 17-person operation it is today, with whole-house remodels making up a large part of the company’s work. Going forward, Messier would like to add another niche related to remodeling—possibly insurance restoration, which he has done in the past.

Get extended Big50 profiles at Remodelingmag.com


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Remodeling projects are infamous for outgrowing their original scope, but architect Nils Finne and builder Mark Vassallo knew that wouldn’t happen with this 1920s Seattle home. “This was the fourth project I did with the owners,” says Finne, whose earlier interven-tions included a new kitchen, a remodeled living room

and master bedroom suite, and a stone-paved backyard terrace that doubles as the roof of the home’s below-grade garage. This time around, the work would consist of a new study and master bath, a reworked stairway, and a reconfigured third-floor suite. That and no more, Finne says, “because we had done every-thing else.” Limited scope doesn’t always mean limited impact, however. This culminating project expands and enriches the owners’ experience of their house, rounding out its character with an Asian-inflected modernism that blends seamlessly with the original building.

A strategically targeted remodel puts the finishing touches on a much-updated Seattle residence. / by Bruce D. Snider

Current Affairs

Red Zinger. Replacing an existing sun porch, the red cedar-clad addition contains a new study at the first floor and a master bathroom and dressing room above. Ph

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CHEERING SECTIONThe addition occupies the footprint of an old single-story sun porch, with a study on the first floor and a master bath and dressing room above. Finne stretched the volume of the sec-ond-floor space with a series of projecting bays. One, which turns the southeast corner of the room, contains an L-shaped vanity cabinet; two smaller versions wrap twin built-in dress-ers with countertop windows on three sides. The arrangement elevates the everyday routines of washing and dressing, says Finne, who asks, “How many dressers do you know that have their own little bays?” The abundant light is also great for choos-ing clothes, he adds.

To lighten the addition’s exterior appearance, Finne devel-oped an innovative building section. Rather than cantilever the second-floor structure to support the bays, he directed Vassal-lo’s crew to suspend them from the roof’s I-beam rafters using steel structural tubes. “If we hadn’t hung them, the bays would be much heavier looking,” Finne says. “We had to put in some amazingly big steel headers,” he adds, but carrying the loads overhead allowed the carpenters to frame the bays’ undersides with floor structures shallow enough to hide within the cabi-nets’ kick spaces.

To make Vassallo’s life even more interesting, Finne specified custom recessed shades that disappear into pockets in the ceiling. “There’s an unbelievable amount of effort in planning for those shade pockets,” Vassallo says, “and it goes all the way back to the steel, to the early structural work. Then there’s wiring, tolerances, motor size and location, getting the shades to line up so there are no gaps, access to the pockets … and on a remodel, you don’t even have control of the original conditions; that adds another layer. We definitely scratch our heads to make those things come out right. ”

PIECE INITIATIVEIn the course of his career, Finne has assembled a portfolio of ar-chitectural elements—steel hardware fittings, CNC-milled cab-inet faces, lighting fixtures, and more—that unify his body of work and allow clients to enjoy custom designed pieces without bearing the full cost of product development. Here, the master bathroom is fitted out with Finne’s twisted steel robe hooks and towel bars—“We use them on pretty much all of our projects,” he says—and a pair of steel-framed mirrors with integral LED light-ing, also of his design. Suspended in front of the vanity cabinet’s window wall, the latter elegantly do their job without obscuring the view outside.

The steel balusters that transform the home’s central stair-case also drew from Finne’s catalogue, with a delicate abstract design laser-cut into 3/8-inch steel plate. “The pattern had already

1. Three window bays extend the master bathroom and dressing space. Copper panels in a shoji-like pattern are a subtle Asian reference. 2. Laser-cut steel balusters with a custom sapele rail cap modernize the stair hall while paying due respect to the home’s traditional style.

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been road-tested,” says Finne, as had the asymmetrically carved sapele cap rail, but the railing assembly still required a custom installation. “It’s very difficult to predict how something like that will perform,” Vassallo says. “We modified how the pieces were installed as we learned more about how the installation was performing. We [developed] some methods of adding rigidi-ty without detracting from the design concept.”

For the 8-foot glass light fixture that hangs in the stair hall, Finne scaled up an earlier 18-inch-long version, arranging colored glass rods on a sheet of tempered glass, fusing the assembly in an oversize kiln, and laser-cutting it into a serpentine shape. The result is striking, but unlike Finne’s other custom gear, it will re-main unique to this house. “I’ll sell the mirrors; I have a small inventory,” he says. But in spite of receiving numerous calls re-questing a duplicate light fixture, “I will not make that again for anyone,” he says. “The installation was really tough. It took us six hours to hang that one light fixture.”

‘JIM’S CEILING’Drawing from a repertoire of previous patterns and designs also frees Finne to devote more attention to the completely custom areas of a job. “So many of the things that Nils brings to the proj-ect are first-time ideas that are unique to the job,” says Vassallo, who offers the master bath ceiling as a prime example. Assem-bled from Douglas fir stock in a variety of widths and thickness-es, the composition walks a fine line between order and chaos. “There is a repeat to the pattern,” Finne says, “but it does have a random feel. The repeat is about every 24 to 30 inches.”

The task of projecting that pattern onto the room’s complex ceil-ing plan fell to lead carpenter Jim Hovick, a 25-year Schultz Mill-er employee and master finish carpenter. “That ceiling was called ‘Jim’s Ceiling,’” Vassallo says. “He was absolutely the right guy for the job.” And Hovick’s input went beyond scribing the multitude of fir pieces to plaster walls and steel beams. “Because of the ceiling geometry, he did a lot of figuring out in the field,” says Finne, who considers jobsite feedback essential to the success of such one-off de-signs. “You really can’t anticipate every condition,” he says. “You can draw a lot, but there’s a point at which you have to stop drawing.”

“Nils is very open to input from the trades and the carpenters, to hearing someone say, ‘If you can make this a quarter-inch larger, we can use a different material and save some money,’” Vassallo says. When working with Finne, he adds, “we use a lot of mockups—with light fixtures, trim details, cabinetry—prior to investing in the actual production. We do elaborate things out of cardboard and foam. Often that yields refinements.” —Bruce Snider is a senior editor for Custom Home and Residential Ar-chitect, sister publications of Remodeling.

3. Limestone floors, sapele cabinetry, and Douglas fir wall and ceiling paneling lend warmth and texture to the master bath. 4. Exposed steel roof framing provides a crisp counterpoint. 5. One of the two built-in dressers. 6. Many of the room’s fittings, including the lighted vanity mirrors, towel bars, and this robe hook, were drawn from architect Nils Finne’s portfolio of designs.

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American Standard Brands ........................................................ C3

BehrPro ........................................................................................29

BOSCH Power Tools & Accessories ...............................................38

ClimateMaster ............................................................................. 75

DEWALT .......................................................................................19

Diablo ...........................................................................................16

Eldorado Stone ............................................................................6-7

Feeney, Inc. .............................................................................. 14, 79

Ferguson ...................................................................................... 13

Ford Motor Company ................................................................... 15

GEICO * .................................................................................. 40a-b

Glen Raven Custom Fabrics .................................................... 20-21

Grace ...........................................................................................53

Granite Transformations .............................................................69

Great Southern Wood * ............................................................ 8a-b

Greenbuild .................................................................................... 8

Guardian Industries .................................................................... 37

JELD-WEN ...................................................................................43

Laticrete International, Inc. ........................................................34

Leviton ........................................................................................35

Mark E Industries ........................................................................14

Masonite * ...............................................................................64a-b

Masterchem Industries/KILZ ......................................................23

Matrix Building Products ............................................................26

MAX USA .....................................................................................36

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter .............................................................. 31

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71| m ay 2 0 14 | r e m o d e l i n gr e m o d e l i n g m a g . c o m|

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This child’s bedroom in an early-1900s warehouse remodeled as a family home, celebrates both the building’s historical nature and its owners’ love of all things nautical. “They’re involved in the yacht business,” says cabinetmaker Harley Ashbaugh, “and they wanted something that [reflected] that lifestyle.” Following that lead, Ashbaugh integrated the room’s new three-bed corner bunk with a bookcase built into an old window opening, provid-ing access to the upper berth with a traditional companionway

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Doors | Windows | Siding | Stone

RG 5 2014 Downmagaz.com

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